Japan had its Bruce Lee craze just like everywhere else in the early seventies and Sonny Chiba was their answer to Bruce Lee. The action scenes are on par with anything Bruce lee has done, and perhaps have more of a grittier edge. Along with the vicious, fast and furious action scenes there are some typically Japanese acts of misogyny which may 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?).
This entry into the Street Fighter series is somewhat tamer than the first films in the series. This time around Chiba is more of a James Bond kind of character, donning rubber masks and vampire fangs and manages to become embroiled 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!). A must see for any self respecting fan of martial arts films.
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.

Director Shigeo Ozawa and Sonny Chiba did this sequel immediately after the first “Street Fighter”. The plot is almost identical to the original hit film as Sonny plays the same super kung fu bad ass street tough that does dirty jobs for the mob and does not seem to suffer from any ethical dilemmas. Misogyny, cruelty and ultra violence rule in this “shadow world”.
Return of the Street Fighter has many flashbacks from the first film and the action is plentiful as Sonny cuts a swath of ass kicking badness through the mean streets of Yakuza controlled Tokyo. The violence is shocking and extreme enough to secure the highest X rating (or NC-17) for its sheer carnal ferocity. This is one of the greatest martial arts films ever made and I highly recommend this film!

Street Fighter is a show case for the kung fu talents of Sonny Chiba. Chiba plays Terry Tsurugi, a man who was orphaned when his Japanese father was executed in China during World War II. Terry is the personification of a bad ass; tough guy, mercenary, and master of the martial arts.
Terry is now back in Japan and kicking ass for a living. He’s the best of the best in Japan and is hired to help get a criminal on death row out of prison. He manages to do this using an ancient martial arts technique. Sonny then ends up killing the guy’s brother due to an argument over payment and getting his sister sold into prostitution.
After this Sonny is propositioned by the Yakuza to kidnap a girl who is an oil heiress. Sonny jumps sides and starts working for her protectors after a show down with her uncle, the leader of a karate school. This flick is packed with violence galore. Sonny does some pretty cool stuff, and amazingly, the whole plot manages to come together at the end. There are also a few one liners that are pretty cool.
Sonny Chiba is the ultimate martial arts star. Everything about this movie is great…well, not everything. For instance…Rat-nose? If you were the sidekick of a martial arts maniac like Terry, would you call yourself Rat-nose? Oh well, as annoying as Rat-nose is, you can live with it because The Street fighter is what it’s all about. You will become tired of hearing Rat-nose whine “Terry, Terry, Terrrrrryyyyy!”….. This movie is a classic! You cannot call yourself a martial arts fan unless you’ve seen all the street fighter movies! This is one of the greatest martial arts movies of all time and I highly recommend this film.