Return of the Street Fighter

aka Blood of the Dragon

Released a few months (!) after the original Street Fighter, Return of the Street Fighter finds Terry Tsurugi once again going up against the Mafia and the Yakuza. And I kind of wish there was more to it than that. Despite being only 83 minutes long, Return of the Street Fighter is padded out with training montages, weapons demonstrations and three flashbacks to the first film. Sonny Chiba’s action sequences are all good but whenever he’s not on screen, which is a little too often, the movie really drags. The violence has been toned down this time around which seems like an… interesting choice. Fans of the first film will still find plenty to enjoy here, but Return of the Street Fighter pales in comparison to the original film.

Rating: 63%

(Image from Wikipedia)

The Street Fighter

Terry Tsurugi is one mean S.O.B. And when I say that, I'm not trying to suggest that Terry is cold or gruff like so many other action movie protagonists often are. Early on in The Street Fighter, when a brother and sister can't pay Terry the money they owe him, he kills the brother and sells the sister into slavery. That's Terry for you, our "hero." As the movie goes on, there are some attempts to humanize Terry, but he remains pretty vicious and unrepentant throughout. The crux of the plot finds Terry taking on the Mob and the Yakuza after they try to kidnap a young heiress. The Street Fighter is a particularly violent movie. When it was released in the US, an early success for New Line Cinema, it received an X rating. The fight scenes are well shot, with great uses of long takes and slow motion. Sonny Chiba gets the full Bruce Lee treatment in his portrayal of Terry, with many loving shots of him training and cruelly dispatching scores of bad guys.

Rating: 73%

(Image from Wikipedia)