The Executioner

This karate classic is one of a kind. Sonny Chiba is remember for his Street Fighter prowess plays a fighter with ninja skills who is recruited by a ex-cop now hit-man along with a another fighter who is a complete nincompoop and very sexy lady. They go after a drug syndicate who uses a deaf-mute as a pawn to their schemes. The death-scenes are a little more animated than gruesome. The fighting scenes are great as well. I liked the part where Sonny's character steps on the paint and painted the enemies up. More plans do come up, and the fighter wants to get more of his share of the cut. However, he trust in the boss is questionable. The crime syndicate gets more fighters to take on Sonny's character. Somehow, arrogance and egos clashed with some of the fighters which gave Sonny character an edge. This movie was rather corny in some areas, other than that, in was fun to watch in my opinion. A very big keeper. 5 stars!

Totally badass Sonny Chiba film with our hero playing a Koga ninja descendant who can kick ass and look cool in both a waiter outfit with a cute little bowtie and also in crazy fishnets which he can also use as a weapon. I'll be honest this is my first entry into Sonny Chiba starring films and I'm already hooked. It's got fantastic action, tons of gore, tons of laughs, tons of personality, and overall maybe one of the coolest films of all time.

A group of gangsters are sent on a mission where upon they will fight lots of kung fu battles and scream a lot. There will be double crosses and chases and lots of kicks and flips.

The tone of this movie is all over the place with wackiness and goofiness mixed in with the fighting and violence. It's nowhere near as good as some of Chiba's best but it still has his level of charm and brutality that is enough to get your through the brief run time. Maybe Chiba super fans will get the most out of it, but otherwise I'd say stick to stuff like THE STREET FIGHTER for better era Chiba madness and fun.

I'm not really in love with karate but I have to say that Sonny Chiba has a certain charm and really can fight (and dance). There is a story but it is not very interesting so it is all about the fighting and its great fun. Straightaway we notice that this is not just long silent fights, they are fast and terribly bloody. There is some humour which is copied later by Jackie Chan, even during that ferocious fighting Teruo Ishii manages to find some car crashes and some sex to keep everything going. Actually the sex scenes are rather good and the fights. Chiba was just 20 when he was found by a talent search from Toei Studios and he made almost 200 films. Not only was he good at karate, getting a black belt, but also did judo and kenpo. Tarantino loved him and of course put him in both of his Kill Bill films.

I'm currently battling a long standing and gravely serious addiction to 70's B-pictures. Blaxploitation, kung-fu, pinky violence, spaghetti westerns, monster movies, Russ Meyer flicks, Italian crime movies - the effects of such an addiction can be gargantuan. However, the crime of many artifacts from the dead era of true 'trash' cinema is that they simply tend not to quite live up to their own hype. See, all these movies had was poster art, outrageous titles, taglines and perhaps one star attraction (like Sid Haig, Franco Nero or star of The Executioner, Sonny Chiba).

However, there is on occasional a movie that comes you way which meets and exceeds your wildest fantasies - Mario Bava's Rabid Dogs, Larry Cohen's Q The Winged Serpent, Giuliano Montaldo's heist film Grand Slam, Sergio Corbucci's Death Rides a Horse - these are all movies that are actually as good as they sound. The Executioner is one such film - it will surpass your wildest grindhouse dreams.

This movie is so stacked with raw humour, outrageous action scenes and sheer entertainment factor that it almost goes beyond belief. I simply can't overstate the pleasure that awaits you with this one - get some friends together, get some beers out, maybe roll yourselves a 'camberwell carrot' or two, and bask in the absurdity and outlandishness of this - Sonny Chiba's FINEST, most hilarious film.

It'll will restore your faith in exploitation films... and maybe, just maybe it will be the best 90 minutes of your entire life.