Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon

[areaseven]

Golgo 13: Kuron no Kubi (ゴルゴ13 九竜の首)
Toei Company, Ltd., 1977
BCI Eclipse, 2006 (Bundled with The Bullet Train and Virus in the Sonny Chiba Action Pack)
Directed by Yukio Noda
Based on the manga character by Takao Saito
Running Time: 93 minutes
Rated R for graphic violence, nudity, sexual situations and profanity.

Cast
Sonny Chiba (Takuma Tsurugi in The Street Fighter series, Hattori Hanzo in Kill Bill Vol. 1) as Duke Togo/Golgo 13
Callan Leung as Detective Smith
Jerry Ito as Polansky
Etsuko Shihomi (Li Koryu in Sister Street Fighter) as Lin Li

Synopsis
Golgo 13 is hired by an American crime syndicate to take down Chou Lei Fang, the leader of the syndicate's Hong Kong branch who has gone rogue by selling their drugs through his own channels. He also has to keep an eye out for Detective Smith, a hard-boiled Hong Kong detective who will stop at nothing to put Chou behind bars before Golgo 13 completes his mission. However, when someone else puts the hit on Chou before Golgo 13 pulls the trigger, the assassin must find the mastermind behind the incident.

Lowdown
For years, I had skipped this movie because I thought there was no way Golgo 13 could be properly adapted into live-action. Putting the character into anime was a hit-or-miss deal: Golgo 13: The Professional (1983) was so-so, Golgo 13: Queen Bee (1998) was absolute crap, and the 2008 TV series had its moments. So I got bored one night and decided to check out this movie.

Damn, was I wrong.

Sonny Chiba as Golgo 13 is like Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man - he fits the role like a glove. He already had that glassy stare made famous in The Street Fighter, so all he needed were the sideburns and bushy eyebrows to complete the look. And as a character with very few words, Chiba's performance will have you convinced he is Golgo 13.

As for the storyline itself, it's much better than the anime storylines, but that's not saying much. Just about everything in a Golgo 13 story is here - sex, guns and Golgo 13 doing impossible shots from just about anywhere. Callan Leung as Detective Smith provides a good counterbalance as the other lead character. And though her role is very short, female martial artist Etsuko Shihomi delivers an excellent fight scene after the film's beginning. The music is also pretty good, especially the epic opening theme.

Overall, until someone actually comes up with a better movie, this is the way a Golgo 13 movie should be.

Rating: B+

References
The Internet Movie Database Edited October 12, 2013 by areaseven

[Duke Togo]

KOWLOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111111111ONEONEONEoneoneoneone

I was always somewhat amused and puzzled by the end of the movie, which comes out of nowhere.

[Agent ONE]

A7, You are the man for reviewing this.

I sent Duke Togo (MW member that posted above) a copy of this movie years ago. This is my favorite low budget hong kong action movie. On top of that G13 is my favorite franchise in history aside from Star Wars.

[Duke Togo]

I sent Duke Togo (MW member that posted above) a copy of this movie years ago. Wars.

Who?

[Agent ONE]

Who?

KOWLOON ASSIGNMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111111111oneoneoneone

I would like to add that the dub of this movie is awesome, and adds a level of craziness. The voice actors are totally over the top.

[Duke Togo]

KOWLOON ASSIGNMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111111111oneoneoneone

I would like to add that the dub of this movie is awesome, and adds a level of craziness. The voice actors are totally over the top.

It's a good movie to watch back-to-back with the dubbed DYRL.

Edited August 17, 2011 by Duke Togo

[Agent ONE]

It's not good movie to watch back-to-back with the dubbed DYRL.

Certainly not... At least you don't miss half of the story when you watch the G13 dub. And thank goodness for that weird narrator that comes in in the last two minuets of the film then doesn't shut up. Out of nowhere. Just awesome.

Are either of you guys watching the G13 show? It just finished with 50 episodes. Its AWESOME!!!!!!! My second favorite animated show of all time.

[Duke Togo]

Certainly not... At least you don't miss half of the story when you watch the G13 dub. And thank goodness for that weird narrator that comes in in the last two minuets of the film then doesn't shut up. Out of nowhere. Just awesome.

Are either of you guys watching the G13 show? It just finished with 50 episodes. Its AWESOME!!!!!!! My second favorite animated show of all time.

I actually meant to say it is, but my iPhone auto-corrected to say something else, LOL.

I picked the show up early on but never got into it.