Sister Streetfighter 2/Review

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Etsuko is back and kicking just as much ass as she did in the original film. Some people think Sonny Chiba is the only truly mean badass of Japanese martial arts cinema but in fact Etsuko too can be one hellava mean chick when she feels like it. Twisting a guy’s head 180 degrees in the previous film and cutting off a villain's arm in this one are good examples. Her martial arts skills are also very impressive and she’s certainly no pop star pretending she can fight.

The main villain is played by Hideo Murota (Female Prisoner 701: Scorpion, Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs) and as expected he does great job although he doesn’t do much martial arts in the film. The fighting is left mostly Masashi Ishibashi who plays the villain in just about every other Sonny Chiba and Etsuko Shihomi film ever made. But it’s great, the guy is excellent and I love to seeing him playing the villain. The most famous male star in the film however is Yasuaki Kurata who makes the already great cast even better. There’s also quite a few other familiar faces in the supporting roles.

The fighting is great although zoom is over used and early on there’s maybe too many occasions when the image is frozen and a text explaining the fighters fighting style is displayed. Near the end there’s one wonderful surreal colorful scene that I won’t spoil with screencaps. Fans of 70’s pinky violence film should know what to expect. And one last thing; you gotta admire the villains’ logic at times. Once they’ve captured and tied up the intruder (with ropes) after a huge fight where half of their men got killed, they decide to humiliate him by throwing him down from the second floor to the room where his partner is fighting against a swordsman... Great film and essential viewing for all karate film fans.

Reviewed by Hung Fist