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Again, Media Blasters play fast and loose here: this was actually the first Zero Woman film, but in their chronology, they released it last with a meaningless subtitle - there's nothing "final" here at all. Between this and their botched release of Kunoichi: Lady Ninja (hey! Let's start with part seven!), they seem to run Miramax a close second in disrespect for Asian cinema, even as they milk the cash cow. Though, in their defence, there isn't much to show this is the first either, with heroine Rei (Iijima) tossed straight in to her role as an official assassin without any explanation as to how she got the job. There does still seem to be some backstory here. She's friends with a detective in another section; together with a reformed woman criminal, they're out for a daytrip when they witness a hit-and-run. But their attempts to investigate are thwarted, since the driver is related to a high-ranking political figure. When our trio persist, it becomes clear they're to be disposed of...or, in the females' case, first given to a pervert midget to play with. This is how the film justifies the required quantity of S+M footage, and the "little person" is probably the most twisted such character since Ralphus in Bloodsucking Freaks. Otherwise, it's more subdued than later (or earlier, in Media Blasters' chronology) entries in the series, a restraint that leaves it without many memorable moments either. The best one is perhaps an assailant creeping into Rei's bathroom, not knowing that she's on the other side of the shower curtain, pointing a gun at him. Of course, we all have a silenced weapon, right next to the conditioner and bodywash, but this has never been a series to let reality get in the way. This entry is neither the best nor the worst it has to offer, but is passable enough as entertainment. [February 2005] |
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