wanderingstar
To sum this movie up as briefly as possible (it does not need elaboration)... karate master (Sonny Chiba) is crippled by evil assailants, then trains daughter (Sue Shiomi) in the art of karate, mindless vengeance and coldhearted blood-letting. (I don't know, I would have encouraged her into dentistry or some other respectable profession, but that's just me) There are some good choreographed moves, and Shiomi, like Chiba, displays a penchant for not only kicking an opponent's ass but making a point of crushing her opponent's bones and internal organs afterwards.In a lot of the fights though, the techniques are obscured by bad and changing camera angles.Overall, not that great. You are only going to want to see this if you are a Sonny Chiba fan.
dj_bassett
Actually a pretty descriptive title the "Princess" is Sue Shiomi, Sonny Chiba's daughter, who he trains to take revenge on the men who crippled him. (Chiba himself is in this movie for all of fifteen minutes or so.) A bit choppy here and there, with some continuity errors, but it's hard to tell if that's in the original print (I saw a dubbed American release). Very loose plot turns into a variation of "your school is better than my school" and the inevitable martial arts tournament, although that's eventually dropped for just a big battle. Shiomi is attractive and seemingly a good actress, the fight choreography is mostly pretty good although there's a tendency to indulge in weirdo camera angles, and there's one great bad guy, a white-haired gentleman who's blind and goes nuts when loud noises hit. Fine of its kind.
mwidunn
I saw this for sale at my local grocery store as one of the movies on a two-movie DVD sold for $1. Couldn't beat that! As I have found with some Kung Fu films, the movie begins with absolutely no explanation: just two guys in a church (?) arguing over who will be chosen as the next leader of the local Karate school. Of course, Evil Guy brings along some thugs to settle the question and solidify his position. Good Guy, for some reason, brings along his little girl.Anyways, Good Guy is irreparably crippled, and slinks off to New York City . . . or, to Los Angeles. (The film shows New York; but, later someone says he went to L.A. Gotta love these films!) Father beats his hatred and desire for vengeance into Little Girl, who turns into a stunningly beautiful Etsuko Shihomi, who is credited here as SUE SHIOMI. IMDb doesn't show this listing for her, though. SONNY CHIBA shows up as a member of Evil Guy's academy, who might have his own reasons for revenge against Evil Guy. Do you think nice-looking Chiba and pretty Shiomi will pull together and fight Evil Guy? Do you "wax off" after waxing on? (R.I.P. Mr. Miagi) I agree that the camera work is quite shaky, and certainly detracts from the fight scenes. Also, there are no "foosh-foosh; fuh-pish, fuh-pish" arm and leg movements like one finds in traditional Chinese Kung Fu. So, that is a difference. However, there are some camera angles and shots that are interesting and nuanced. The editing stinks, thus making some parts incomprehensible.The story is a carbon copy of so many other martial arts films: Girl sets out to avenge her father's disgrace, meets a guy with "a past" who allies with her, and all the Goodies and Baddies meet up for a final battle. If only they had kept it simple: There's something about a Karate tournament at Evil Guy's academy . . . a storyline which is set up in detail and, then, mysteriously goes nowhere, even though Evil Guy goes to great lengths (like, the island Cuba) in order to assassinate his competition. It's almost as if the directors decided, "Let's be done with this!," and threw out the more involved story about the tournament, opting instead to throw in the easier solution of a final "duel" between Chiba/Shiomi and Evil Guy and his thugs.Not the greatest Karate film ever made; but, higher marks for promise.
William
Sonny chiba is only in this film for the first 7 minutes. Intresting actioner showcase Sue Shiomi's talent as a action star casting her opposite to Japanese action star (who also does Hong Kong films) Yasuaki Kurata (of G-men 75 fame). Good soundtrack and some good action scene helps this poorly put together film. This film actually still played in Cameo, a Los Angeles grindhouse theatre in 1992!