The almighty Sonny Chiba portrays himself as a vehemently anti-drug vigilante who declares open war on dope dealers. Chiba protects the former mistress (fetching Judy Lee) of a murdered New York mob boss from both a rival gang of vicious thugs and the Asian representatives of the Cosa Nostra. Director Simon Nuchtern really pours on the raw, brutal, bone-breaking, blood-spilling violence with ferocious abandon. In addition, Nuchtern provides a generous smattering of tasty gratuitous female nudity and a nasty misogynistic bent to further spice up the sleazy stew. The pace starts out rather slow and dull, but eventually picks up as the film progresses towards its startling downbeat ending. Joel Shapiro’s snazzy cinematography makes nifty use of shaky zooms, whiplash pans, prowling tracking shots, wobbly hand-held camera-work and funky freeze frames. Maurice Sarli’s groovy, syncopated score likewise does the trick. The bad guys are an extremely mean and scummy bunch of no-count wicked hoodlums. The lovely Etsuko Shihomi briefly pops up as Chiba’s feisty younger sister. Martial arts champions Bill Louie and Aaron Banks also make fleeting appearances in a needless, but funny tacked-on prologue. Viva Chiba!