The Street Fighter's Last Revenge (1974)

Wonderful Movie

Undescribable Perfection

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

This film seems to divide a lot of Street Fighter fans. There are a lot of changes from the originals, but for me, it kept most of everything that was great. The action/fight scenes are still magnificent. Really showing off the talents of its stars. The plot is still simple but gets complicated with the obligatory double crossings. This film lacks a real awesome villain. With some illusionist with lasers and a sombrero, he's hardly threatening. Especially since he can't land a punch. Luckily, there are plenty of other great characters, my favorite being Reiko Ike as Aya. A real tragic character whom uses her sexuality to get what ever she wants, whether it be double crossing, or for her own security. Her downfall is her paranoia that everyone wants to kill her. Some people will be perturbed by the constant use of masks and gadgets, as it takes on more of a spy film rather than that of an assassin. Though it's true the violence is toned down, there are still some flourishes of Tsurugi's malicious killer instinct.

The third Sonny Chiba film about the Tsurugi Takuza character continues the trend towards a more sympathetic hero and a less violent/gory film. As such, although it probably has the best story of the three, it's by far the least entertaining. There's virtually none of the gruesome brutality of the original, and Tsurugi is a much less complex and ambiguous man, played with less animal intensity by Chiba. I guess they didn't understand what made the first film so special? There's generally less action in the film, and the fight scenes feel a bit lacklustre when they do occur. Chiba still busts out some cool moves and there are some impressively long takes, but it feels a bit like they want to get the fights out of the way so they can focus on the story (rather than vice versa, as it should have been :p). Etsuko Shiomi returns as a new character who shows some promise, but she's mostly wasted. I hope the SISTER STREET FIGHTER spin off films in which she stars are better.Maybe 3 STREET FIGHTER films in as many nights is just too much Chiba for me... but more likely, 3 STREET FIGHTER films in one year was just too much Chiba for Chiba and director Shigehiro Ozawa. It's not a bad film in its own right, but it's certainly disappointing when compared to the original. Oh well, c'est la vie :)EDIT: from reading the other reviews on IMDb it's clear that the English dubbed version of the film RADICALLY changes the story... the tape and the plot have nothing to do with heroin! Further evidence that dubbed films should be avoided at all costs!

Wow, what can I say about SFLR? It is one of the greatest karate-action flicks ever to grace the screen. For my money, you just can't beat Sonny Chiba. He can act, and he can also do some extremely impressive karate!Something I really like about this series of movies, is the fact that Terry (The Street Fighter) isn't really a 'good guy' per se. He is just the main character. He is only out for himself and is extremely ruthless. I just love the way the character is written. You won't find a movie in this genre that is more entertaining.If you've never seen SFLR and you like this genre, do yourself a favor and get it now!10 out of 10

Japan had its Bruce Lee craze just like everywhere else in the early seventies and Sonny Chiba was their answer to Bruce Lee. Along with the vicious action scenes there were some typically Japanese acts of misogyny which seem pretty bizarre to Western audiences when it's the "hero" doing it (When was the last time you saw Chuck Norris or Jackie Chan sell a woman off to a slave ring because she couldn't afford to pay for getting her brother out of jail?). STREET FIGHTER'S LAST REVENGE is somewhat tamer than the first entries into the series. This time around Chiba is more of a James Bond kinda character, donning rubber masks and vampire fangs(!) and is mixed up in a plot involving cassettes with top secret information. There's also some Gong Show-type freak (Who you see a lot of on Japanese TV) who can break chains (He actually uses a laser) who's heard to kill Chiba (Yeah, right!). Along with the awful dubbing there's also the same black and white footage where Chiba, as a kid, sees his father executed to the Chinese which turns up in all the STREET FIGHTER movies.