Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. (1991)

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

This is definitely one of the best Troma movies.It actually has a plot and there's no gore at all.The first thing I should say is that you should watch this before you watch Citizen Toxie.There is at least one really funny joke that you won't get if you watch them in the wrong order.In typical Troma fashion, Kabukiman is completely different in CT and I like the latter version better.Even though this is one of the better Troma flicks, there's still a lot of stuff in it that doesn't make sense.At one point Kabukiman turns into a clown and his clown powers can't hurt the bad guys.I can buy that.Then he starts running from them and after a minute of them chasing him with cars, he jumps on one of the cars and now they are scared of him.Was that supposed to be funny?Those little bad parts don't really hurt the movie though.This is a Troma movie that non-Troma fans might enjoy.

Another offering from the Troma stable, and it's as you would expect: dumb all the way and packed with crude vomiting jokes and the like. However, I did find this film to be a bit better than other Troma films because the idea of a Japanese superhero is quite an appealing one, and I did like the costumes, transformations, and silly sound effects of the heroic, magical crime fighter who uses deadly chop-sticks on the villains.Otherwise, it's business as usual, with a gang of moronic thugs beating people up and getting beaten up themselves; corrupt business men getting their just desserts; and lots of slapstick and pratfalls. They even include a fight between Kabukiman and a big, slimy rubbery monster at the end. Basically this film is just a comedy variation on THE TOXIC AVENGER, except done in a lighter, less gruesome way. Saying that, the usual ingredients are all there, so this isn't a film for kids. Worth a look just for its curiosity value and the sheer offbeat and crazy nature of it, and because it's a bit funnier and more aware than rubbish that Troma distributed like CHOPPER CHICKS IN ZOMBIETOWN.

Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. starts as New York police detective Harry Griswold (Rick Gianasi) decides to go to a Japanese theatre but has his night ruined when a bunch of machine gun wielding thugs burst in & begin shooting up the place, the owner of the theatre manages to breathe his dying Kabukiman spirit into Harry who over the next few days experiences some strange transformations. He suddenly becomes Kabukiman a Japanese superhero who fights crime & evil, speaking of evil an ancient Japanese legend states that every 1000 years 'the evil one' will take form on earth & well generally be evil & this is the year so Kabukiman is charged with the task of stooping him.Directed by the 'brains' behind Troma Michael Herz & Lloyd Kaufman this is actually far better than I expected considering their general output. The script by Kaufman, Andrew Osborne & Jeffrey W. Sass is a clear homage to the superhero genre with some mildly amusing scenes that rip-off the likes of Batman, The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man & Superman. Not everything works but at least it tries without having to resort to the stupid, childish gross out humour & violence most Troma films rely on & in fact this is surprisingly restrained & light hearted compared to a lot of Troma's output, whether this is a good or bad thing I'll let you decide but I thought it made watching it a lot easier. Everything about Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. seems just that bit better than the usual Troma film which obviously helps, it isn't going to win any awards but as trashy entertainment that makes you smile on occasion it's not too bad.Director's Herz & Kaufman do OK, while still not up to Hollywood standards this has a greater level of technical competence than any other Troma film I can remember. As already mentioned this is surprisingly tame, apparently available in two versions of differing strength I'm not sure which one I saw but as far as gore goes there's some people shot in the head, some is attacked by a Tiger & eaten plus there's a silly blue demon monster thing at the end.This probably had a slightly bigger budget than the usual Troma & it show's, apparently this didn't get distributed in the States until 1996 some 5 years after it was initially made. Again while the acting isn't going to win any awards it's much better than in most Troma films.Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. isn't too bad a film & one if watched in the right mood provides a few decent laughs although you have to be of a certain disposition to enjoy stuff like this. Worth a watch for those twisted souls wanting something a bit different.

the problem with this movie was that some of the same sort of funny things done in the movie got old. yeah they were funny at first but then after a while it got to be old. i'm sure this would have been a great comedy movie if it was just shortened 25 to 50%. i give it 6/10