The Street Fighter

release year: 1974
genre: action
viewing setting: home Bluray 1/25/23

synopsis: An amoral and violent thug wanders around doing whatever he feels like, which usually involves beating people up.

impressions: This came highly touted as a masterpiece of brutal fighting action, but I was disappointed. The fight scenes and bloodletting may have been groundbreaking in 1974, but they just didn't seem that great to me in 2023. And the plot, while simple and sensible, may not have translated perfectly into English. I will say, the fighting scenes were well-done and violent...it's just that they weren't as classic as the hype made them out to be. Well, except maybe for the throat-rip.

acting: Acting is tough to rate when a movie has to be dubbed and/or subtitled. Sonny Chiba does give an unforgettable performance as a leering, sneering, Bruce-Lee-face-making pugilist who doesn't hesitate for a second to beat the crap out of anybody who gets in his way.

final word: Watchable at least once, but overrated.

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