Karate Kill

I am a product of the mid-’80s, which means I grew up in the golden age of the action movie. I am not ashamed to say that I will still watch any Jean-Claude Van Damme movie if it is on TV.

Sometimes I long for the action movies of yesteryear. You remember, the action films that were not always preoccupied with global scale plots and an overabundance of CG effects. This is what makes films like the John Wickseries so welcome. Those are films that keep the focus on the execution and entertainment value.

Awhile back, I reviewed the trailer for Karate Kill, and I thought it looked like a cross between a martial arts film and an exploitation film. The trailer instantly piqued my interest and I have been looking forward to it ever since. Recently, I got the chance to check out Karate Kill. Did it measure up to my expectations? Here are my thoughts.

Since bursting onto the scene in 2009 with ‘Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf’, director Kurando Mitsutake’s films have all run by the same rules and similar themes, mainly those incorporating revenge.

All Hail Capital Messiah! Kurando Mitsutake’s latest movie Karate Kill is in the vein of 70’s/80’s exploitation movies with the right amount of humour, strangeness and graphic violence. There isn’t anything particularly offensive or shocking about the movie as it’s really just over the top, cartoon bloodshed but it is occasionally disturbing and mostly just a lot of fun.

Kenji is a bar busboy who has been supporting his younger sister Mayumi when she decides to study in the United States. However, he has not heard from her in over a month.

Japanese action cinema has a history of making movies that act as a showcase for the karate skills of the stars that headline them, from Ken Kazama in Karate from Shaolin Temple back in 1976, to Rina Takeda in 2009’s High Kick Girl. Unfortunately, outside the likes of Yasuaki Kurata, and Japan Action Club alumni Sonny Chiba, Estsuko Shihomi, and Hiroyuki Sanada, few action stars from Japan have really shown a level of longevity compared with their Hong Kong counterparts.

Tarantino meets Cannon Films in Karate Kill, from acclaimed filmmaker Kurando Mitsutake, on Blu-ray, DVD and VOD July 18. Today, we have the hard-hitting first trailer for this action neo-masterpiece. We also have a cool throwback poster that showcases the tone of this 80s revival in schlock cinema.

Prior to 2014, I had not been hugely familar with director Mitsutake Kurando's work. Then, following Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf in 2009, Gun Woman happened and it essentially, vociferously, put him on my radar as I'm sure it did for many folks in festivals as well as other niche viewers who may all agree on the consensus here: His is a no holds barred, unapologetic, down and dirty, retro style of direction, done so with a sheer sense of clarity and understanding on how to assemble an action film, and importantly, without selling his performers short.

The movie starts out by immediately grabbing my attention, mainly because of the nudity, haha. We open up to our main character, Kenji, feeling concerned that his sister, Mayumi - who has moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career - has not contacted him in over a month.