Kuroi Mehyô M

This film feels like a decent yakuza film but cut down to the worst scenes only. Its just over an hour and most of its runtime is comprised of people running after Reiko Ike. There's this whole inside conspiracy in the family which we never actually see. There is a really boring subplot consisting of the relationship between Reiko Ike's character target and his daughter and wife that even though is constantly being mentioned never gets fleshed out in any way shape or form. Overral it just seems really rushed and pointless. There is, however, some enjoyment to be had. If you are a Reiko Ike fan like i am, that is. She is always wonderful, even though she is criminally underused in this one (as often is the case).

A gangster with domestic troubles and an unconvincing toupee is getting too big for his territory so his superiors call in the female assassin known as M to settle his hash for him. More of a martial arts movie than a yakuza tale, much of the interest is in the extended footchases through trashed and abandoned industrial sites, ending in karate standoffs of the type that require a lot of heavy breathing and twisting the hands into contorted shapes to enable one person to whoop the tar out of eight or nine hapless fools. The brief gratuitous nudity is the result of violent attacks by men on women, which are quickly avenged with injury or death by the skilled assassin M. There isn't much more story than that, but it maintains a good pace, and there is some striking camera work making good use of the decaying industrial settings. Reiko Ike as M is moderately attractive and well-dressed in stylish contemporary duds, but the main pleasure is seeing her pound those blouse-ripping louts. There is some spattering of brightly colored blood and a few slightly grotesque stabby demises, but nothing too grisly for the sensitive viewer. All in all an enjoyable entertainment for fans of the genre.

Lots of Japanese regulars take part in Reiko Ike's only Nikkatsu film, giving it some substance, but not enough to make it rise above the titillation of her previous work or the quality seriousness of the three Kinji Fukasaku movies she'd follow up with. Still, she wouldn't be the focal point of those three, whereas here she takes center stage. Nikkatsu makes her run and jump all over the place in this movie, primarily in and around and up and down industrial buildings, all while wearing clogs! It's entertaining, and she looks great of course. And even though the first 20 minutes drag a bit, it sets up the ending which has a great deal of eyebrow-raising tension to it and makes it one worth seeing.