Feisty and determined karate expert Tina Long (winningly played by the beautiful and charismatic Etsuko Shihomi) goes to Hong Kong to find her missing undercover cop brother. Tina runs afoul of an evil drug cartel that specializes in smuggling heroin. She enlists the aid of a local karate school who include nonconformist loner Sonny Kawasaka (the almighty Sonny Chiba) in order to fight these no-count thugs. Director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi keeps the pace brisk and unflagging throughout. Moreover, Yamaguchi stages the copious brutal action with considerable rip-snorting aplomb, sprinkles in a little gratuitous female nudity, and even adds a dash of graphic gore (the definite grisly highlight occurs when Chiba literally tears an opponent's guts out!). The bad guys are a truly nasty and colorfully quirky bunch; Masashi Ishibashi is especially notable as the heinous Hammerhead. There are a few inspired nutty touches as well; I really dug the butt-stomping chopsocky ballerina and the flunkies who wear black baskets over their heads. Best of all, the lovely and personable Shihomi puts on an often fierce, graceful and breathtaking display of martial arts in her thrilling and vigorous fight scenes. Yoshio Nakajima's vibrant, agile cinematography and Shunsuke Kikuchi's groovy disco funk score both hit the spot. A fun flick.
Review of Sister Street Fighter
