RAGE OF HONOR REVIEWED
“Rage of Honor” continues my rediscovery of Sho Kosugi. Kosugi plays a federal agent wanting to avenge his recently slain partner. So, he becomes a ninja and starts murdering the hell out of people. The film flies with the pacing of early Spielberg, while packing in the cringe of Cannon Films era action films. By the time the film gets to South America, you won’t believe that half of the film is over.
While the film treats the ninja mythos in the same way I treat hipsters, it’s fun to see what can happen in an era when no one cared. Creating pure action for the sake of action allows for true art to be made out of macho cinema. A lot of people talk about the different needs to treat and cover various forms of cinema. When is something great and when is it trash?
The Trans World movies of the 1980s allowed for something semi-similar that existed at the same as Cannon and New World. Trans World Entertainment movies almost felt like dressed up DTV movies that get theatrical releases at venues that didn’t care anymore. It’s visual and sensory bombardment and far less than narrative. Could Sho Kosugi exist now? Perhaps in a Scott Adkins sense, but I really doubt it. “Rage of Honor” marked a glorious time that has seemingly passed us by.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Interviews
- Featurette
- Trailer Gallery
A/V QUALITY STATS
- 1.85:1 1080p transfer
- LPCM 2.0