I will give this anime movie credit for several things, it has excellent animation, the art is very stylish, the fight scenes are satisfying to watch, and the music is so awesome I just can't get enough of it. It's a very well directed film.
The only problem, however, is that it is also a very cynical, grim and depressing film. Golgo 13 himself is a cold-hearted, borderline sociopath with very few, if any, humanizing qualities (he does have moments where he warns one of his female friends to get out of the city immediately and pays respect to a deceased friend, but even then that's not really enough) and the whole plot is about the film's main antagonist, Leonard Dawson, seeking revenge on Golgo 13 for assassinating his son, and while at first Leonard sounds more sympathetic than Golgo 13, he does a lot of terrible things in order to achieve his goal, to the point where it is difficult to root for him either. The characters that are sympathetic are doomed to gruesome deaths, so in the end, it's really difficult to get invested in a story where there is no one to root for or sympathize with.
I only recommend watching this anime once. Personally, Space Adventure Cobra, which Osamu Dezaki also directed, is a better pick, since that series at-least has a likable protagonist and entertaining plots in each episode, as opposed to the bleak nihilism that this movie suffers from.
The only problem, however, is that it is also a very cynical, grim and depressing film. Golgo 13 himself is a cold-hearted, borderline sociopath with very few, if any, humanizing qualities (he does have moments where he warns one of his female friends to get out of the city immediately and pays respect to a deceased friend, but even then that's not really enough) and the whole plot is about the film's main antagonist, Leonard Dawson, seeking revenge on Golgo 13 for assassinating his son, and while at first Leonard sounds more sympathetic than Golgo 13, he does a lot of terrible things in order to achieve his goal, to the point where it is difficult to root for him either. The characters that are sympathetic are doomed to gruesome deaths, so in the end, it's really difficult to get invested in a story where there is no one to root for or sympathize with.
I only recommend watching this anime once. Personally, Space Adventure Cobra, which Osamu Dezaki also directed, is a better pick, since that series at-least has a likable protagonist and entertaining plots in each episode, as opposed to the bleak nihilism that this movie suffers from.