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Golgo 13: Kuron no Kubi (ゴルゴ13 九竜の首) Toei Company, Ltd., 1977 BCI Eclipse, 2006 (Bundled with The Bullet Train and Virus in the Sonny Chiba Action Pack) Directed by Yukio Noda Based on the manga character by Takao Saito Running Time: 93 minutes Rated R for graphic violence, nudity, sexual situations and profanity. Cast Sonny Chiba (Takuma Tsurugi in The Street Fighter series, Hattori Hanzo in Kill Bill Vol. 1) as Duke Togo/Golgo 13 Callan Leung as Detective Smith Jerry Ito as Polansky Etsuko Shihomi (Li Koryu in Sister Street Fighter) as Lin Li Synopsis Golgo 13 is hired by an American crime syndicate to take down Chou Lei Fang, the leader of the syndicate's Hong Kong branch who has gone rogue by selling their drugs through his own channels. He also has to keep an eye out for Detective Smith, a hard-boiled Hong Kong detective who will stop at nothing to put Chou behind bars before Golgo 13 completes his mission. However, when someone else puts the hit on Chou before Golgo 13 pulls the trigger, the assassin must find the mastermind behind the incident. Lowdown For years, I had skipped this movie because I thought there was no way Golgo 13 could be properly adapted into live-action. Putting the character into anime was a hit-or-miss deal: Golgo 13: The Professional (1983) was so-so, Golgo 13: Queen Bee (1998) was absolute crap, and the 2008 TV series had its moments. So I got bored one night and decided to check out this movie. Damn, was I wrong. Sonny Chiba as Golgo 13 is like Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man - he fits the role like a glove. He already had that glassy stare made famous in The Street Fighter, so all he needed were the sideburns and bushy eyebrows to complete the look. And as a character with very few words, Chiba's performance will have you convinced he is Golgo 13. As for the storyline itself, it's much better than the anime storylines, but that's not saying much. Just about everything in a Golgo 13 story is here - sex, guns and Golgo 13 doing impossible shots from just about anywhere. Callan Leung as Detective Smith provides a good counterbalance as the other lead character. And though her role is very short, female martial artist Etsuko Shihomi delivers an excellent fight scene after the film's beginning. The music is also pretty good, especially the epic opening theme. Overall, until someone actually comes up with a better movie, this is the way a Golgo 13 movie should be. Rating: B+ References The Internet Movie Database