Sho Kosugi re-teamed with PRAY FOR DEATH (1985) director Gordon Hessler for this international action flick. Shiro (Kosugi) is a Drug Investigation Bureau (D.I.B.?) agent who seeks revenge after his partner is murdered by drug-lord Havelock (Lewis Van Bergen). He quits the force and flies to Buenos Aires to get his revenge. Oh, I'm sorry, he rages his honor. Shiro is apparently not the smartest cookie as he brings his girlfriend along and she is quickly kidnapped, resulting in a huge chase through the jungles of Argentina. This was Kosugi trying to expand his screen image a bit, resulting in a character that is sort of like James Bond with some ninja tendencies. He doesn't have Bond's instincts though. For example, the "good guys" send a chopper to pick him up and 6 deadly ninjas pop out to kill him. Shiro dispatches of them, yet still follows the instructions of the "good guys" to "take the disc to the abandoned factory" (how he knew which factory is beyond me). The action is very well staged by Hessler, who gives the production a really big budget look. The last half hour is pretty much fighting and shootouts non-stop. The MGM DVD I have have (part of a ninja 3-pack with American NINJA and REVENGE OF THE NINJA) is frustrating in that it starts the film widescreen for the credits and then jumps to 1.85 for the movie. But at least it is better than the full frame single edition release MGM previously put out.
Review of Rage of Honor
