This was a damn good movie!

Movie is good, need to watch part 2

They evidently meant for Sonny Chiba to be Japan's answer to Bruce Lee - in The Street Fighter, he has similar moves, similar styling, and similar (if more exaggerated) expressions - but this is a more sombre and sadistic film than any Bruce had made. It seems like Chiba is fighting everyone in this flick, whatever side of the law they are, and ripping their eyes out - or their balls off! - in the process of protecting an heiress (for perhaps not the right reasons). I don't mind the hyperviolence - it's a feature, not a bug - but Japanese exploitation in the 70s usually meant sexual violence as well, and it's entirely unnecessary. The fights are still good. They're cheaply filmed, but dynamic. But if you're a Hong Kong action aficionado, you won't find them that special. Chiba snarls his way through the movie, or else tries to out-grimace Bruce Lee, so he's not half as charismatic as I was led to believe he'd be. If ultimately I pan The Street Fighter, it's really because of Chiba's pathetic sidekick Ratnose, an absolutely horrendous comedy character whose loyalty to the hero is as unjustified as it is irritating. (Watched with English dub, which I expect is the worst possible format, especially in terms of Ratnose's whining.)