02-10-2025, 01:11 AM
(This post was last modified: 02-10-2025, 01:12 AM by Drunk Monk.)
Karate for Life (1977)
The Japanese title is Karate Baka Ichidai which is the title of the book that this trilogy is based on. This installment has the best fights but the sloppiest story. It starts with Oyama challenging a dojo and having to fight all 100 students before getting to the head sensei. The dojo greases the floor with oil and then everyone steps in a kitty litter box (at least that’s what it looks like) to get traction. Oyama slips about for a bit until he figures out that he should walk in the bodies of his fallen victims which was exactly what I would’ve done. Then he makes sandals out of some black belts and pokes the sensei’s eye out. A good opening.
Then it loses its way as Oyama enters the world of big time wrasslin in Okinawa. There’s a lot of US soldiers occupying the area and they are the bad guys. He teams up with a judoka and a Japanese wrestler and they compete against huge dudes and masked dudes. It’s silly and it’s contrary to everything that has been established for the character of Oyama in the previous two films. But Oyama can’t throw bouts and winds up upsetting the gang controlling the fights. So the three split and go on the run.
Then another group of kids steal Oyama’s bag. You’d think he’d learn from the last film. He eventually finds the kids, a gang of orphans, and befriends them. Then a gal comes in, getting beat by gangsters, then getting drunk and takes out a straight razor to slit her wrists but Oyama stops her and she collapses in a rainy graveyard. Of course, she’s the sister of one of the kids. The brother watched her get raped in the mud by a US soldier.
Then Oyama reconnects with his wrasslin bros who are out of work and dreaming of going to the US to start fresh. The sister comes back and nearly pukes on Oyama, but she’s got TB and US penicillin costs $500 so Oyama agrees to wrassle again and take a dive for medicine money. But he doesn’t. He KOs his opponent and the three make a run for it. The wrassler gets shot.
The shot wrassler is brought to the orphan hideout but the gang finds them there and another fight ensues. The wrassler is shot again and dies. Oyama gets a gun and starts shooting everywhere to chase out the gang.
Then the gang catches the sister and tortured her by hanging her by her arms and electrocuting her. That scene goes on way too long. They dump her and she’s brought to the orphan’s hideout where she finds her brother then promptly dies.
Then the judoka reunites with Oyama and they attack the gang’s mansion. The two bang their way in, fighting off dozens of gangsters. The judoka beats his opponents by locking up their wrist or arm, snapping something and they collapse. When the gangsters dwindle, Oyama goes for the bad guys’ boss who throws darts that look like golden chopsticks. He pursues him into a hall of mirrors - An homage or a rip off of Enter the Dragon’s massive mirrored bathroom. It’s a stupid fight so I say it’s the latter.
Then it ends.
So disappointing. The promise of the first film is left unfulfilled. The films drop in quality each time, although the fights in 3 are the best of the series, and when it gets right down to it, that’s what happens a lot. The first was good. The second was meh. The third left me flat.
Not D00M recommended. Seen on internet archive
The Japanese title is Karate Baka Ichidai which is the title of the book that this trilogy is based on. This installment has the best fights but the sloppiest story. It starts with Oyama challenging a dojo and having to fight all 100 students before getting to the head sensei. The dojo greases the floor with oil and then everyone steps in a kitty litter box (at least that’s what it looks like) to get traction. Oyama slips about for a bit until he figures out that he should walk in the bodies of his fallen victims which was exactly what I would’ve done. Then he makes sandals out of some black belts and pokes the sensei’s eye out. A good opening.
Then it loses its way as Oyama enters the world of big time wrasslin in Okinawa. There’s a lot of US soldiers occupying the area and they are the bad guys. He teams up with a judoka and a Japanese wrestler and they compete against huge dudes and masked dudes. It’s silly and it’s contrary to everything that has been established for the character of Oyama in the previous two films. But Oyama can’t throw bouts and winds up upsetting the gang controlling the fights. So the three split and go on the run.
Then another group of kids steal Oyama’s bag. You’d think he’d learn from the last film. He eventually finds the kids, a gang of orphans, and befriends them. Then a gal comes in, getting beat by gangsters, then getting drunk and takes out a straight razor to slit her wrists but Oyama stops her and she collapses in a rainy graveyard. Of course, she’s the sister of one of the kids. The brother watched her get raped in the mud by a US soldier.
Then Oyama reconnects with his wrasslin bros who are out of work and dreaming of going to the US to start fresh. The sister comes back and nearly pukes on Oyama, but she’s got TB and US penicillin costs $500 so Oyama agrees to wrassle again and take a dive for medicine money. But he doesn’t. He KOs his opponent and the three make a run for it. The wrassler gets shot.
The shot wrassler is brought to the orphan hideout but the gang finds them there and another fight ensues. The wrassler is shot again and dies. Oyama gets a gun and starts shooting everywhere to chase out the gang.
Then the gang catches the sister and tortured her by hanging her by her arms and electrocuting her. That scene goes on way too long. They dump her and she’s brought to the orphan’s hideout where she finds her brother then promptly dies.
Then the judoka reunites with Oyama and they attack the gang’s mansion. The two bang their way in, fighting off dozens of gangsters. The judoka beats his opponents by locking up their wrist or arm, snapping something and they collapse. When the gangsters dwindle, Oyama goes for the bad guys’ boss who throws darts that look like golden chopsticks. He pursues him into a hall of mirrors - An homage or a rip off of Enter the Dragon’s massive mirrored bathroom. It’s a stupid fight so I say it’s the latter.
Then it ends.
So disappointing. The promise of the first film is left unfulfilled. The films drop in quality each time, although the fights in 3 are the best of the series, and when it gets right down to it, that’s what happens a lot. The first was good. The second was meh. The third left me flat.
Not D00M recommended. Seen on internet archive
Shadow boxing the apocalypse