But But Not Essential
Summary
The Executioner Collection is only really worth picking up for the first movie alone as the sequel is mostly terrible with little in the way of action until the last 10 minutes. There are some entertaining special features, so if you’re a big Sonny Chiba fan then this is worth picking up but if you’re more of a casual viewer then you can maybe live without it.
I picked up Arrow’s The Executioner Collection at the Toronto FanExpo back in August and only just have had the time to sit down and watch them both. So, lets take a look and see if it’s actually worth adding to your collection.
The Executioner
Plot: Ryuichi Koga (Chiba) is a descendent of the Koga Ninja school, now earning his living through more nefarious means as a gun for hire. When he is enlisted to take down a drug cartel alongside Hayabusa (Makoto Sato), a disgraced former narcotics detective now operating within the criminal underworld, and renegade Aikido master Sakura (Eiji Gō), tensions grow among this three-man team of ne’er-do-wells as each come to question each other’s motives.
Review: Sonny Chiba stars in these lighthearted tales and the first one runs just under 86 minutes and is packed with fight scenes, nudity, gore and even more fight scenes.
There is a lot of humour which keeps the tone breezy and it has this trippy 70’s vibe throughout. The music is hilariously awful with occasional “Boing” sound effects which just adds to the craziness. Chiba is as cool as ever as Koga, a ninja who joins forces with a disgraced cop and Aikido master named Sakura.
Trust is an issue between these men throughout so we are never quite sure who is on the level or not. Plot and character development don’t really matter here as this film is all about the fights and they are awesomely brutal especially for the final half hour. At one point Chiba rips out an opponent’s rib which is worth the price of entry alone. Chiba always had the moves and managed to look ice cool every time.
It’s a rapidly paced 86 minutes so you’re never bored for a second making this a movie that’s easily rewatchable.
This Blu-ray has been well remastered with near perfect picture and sound which is astonishing considering the age and quality of the original film.
Overall, The Executioner is an absolute blast with constant fight scenes, gratuitous nudity, some awesome kills and plenty of humour to keep things light and fun.
The Executioner II: Karate Inferno
Plot: Koga returns in the even more gungho follow up, Karate Inferno, as the ringmaster of a gang of thieves plotting to steal a priceless jewel from a master criminal.
Review: It’s funny how the first film is a bit of a martial arts gem with some comedic elements and this ill-advised sequel is arguably one of the worst films I’ve ever seen.
There is barely any action with only a 5-minute fight scene at the end, but the rest of the film is packed with unfunny slapstick and is just a farce. It’s only 85 minutes long but it feels longer due to the sheer lack of any action whatsoever.
Why are these movies even called The Executioner? You’d think that would mean Sonny Chiba was playing some kind of a badass assassin but no, this is Chiba just doing “comedy” and it may have worked at the time but watching it now is mostly painful.
The cast return from the first film but this just goes for all out goofiness which is a genre I tend to despise, so there is very little I liked about this movie. It is at least well remastered so it looks and sounds decent, but it doesn’t matter when the film is so terrible. It does have at least some nudity and the final 5-10 minutes picks up a little in terms of fights (a guy gets his heart ripped out which is cool, I guess) but there just isn’t enough to keep you invested.
Like the first movie the music mostly consists of “boing” and ‘whee” sound effects and is every bit as awful this time around.
Overall, The Executioner 2: Karate Inferno has little in the way of actual karate with only a few minutes throughout the entire 85 minute runtime; it’s mostly unfunny slapstick and there isn’t anything especially memorable about it either, so there isn’t anything I’d recommend about this one.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- High Definition Bluray (1080p) presentation
- Original uncompressed Japanese mono audio for both films
- Original uncompressed English mono audio track for The Executioner
- Optional English subtitles
- Brand new audio commentary by Chris Poggiali and Marc Walkow
- Sonny Chiba, Karate King, a 30 minute featurette on the legendary Sonny Chiba, featuring Grady Hendrix, Tom Mes, Chris Poggiali, Marco Joachim and Seiji Anno, from the band Guitar Wolf
- Original trailers
- Image galleries for The Executioner and The Executioner II: Karate Inferno
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Lucas Peverill
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by by Mark Schilling
The first Executioner is packed with kick-ass fight scenes and Sonny Chiba being cool while also poking fun at his tough-guy demeanor whereas the second film is just an annoying farce with little in the way of action and it’s not something I plan on watching ever again. This set is only really worth buying for the first film and there are some entertaining special features but as I can’t stand the second film I’d suggest buying the Sonny Chiba Street Fighter Collection instead.
