Toru Murakawa's "Distant Justice" is a mediocre action film.Like any self-respecting "Death Wish" clone,it certainly delivers plenty of violence,but there is absolutely no suspense to be found here.Visiting America for the first time with his wife and daughter,Inspector Rio Yuki(Bunta Sugawara)discovers how dangerous Boston can be.After Rio's wife inadvertently photographs a drug buy,she is gunned down and his daughter Sakura(Sakura Sugawara)is kidnapped.Despite assurances from his police buddy,soon-to-retire Chief Bradfield(George Kennedy)Rio decides to take the law into his own hands.The film isn't as bad as its rating suggests-it is just extremely routine and predictable.There is a nice amount of violence(even gang-rape attempt scene),so fans of gritty action movies won't be disappointed.My rating:6 out of 10.
4 Reviews
Basic to the core.
lost-in-limbo25 December 2021
A strong cast (George Kennedy, David Carradine) led by Bunta Sugawara make little headway in this incredibly flat and disconnected dramatic action-thriller directed by Japanese film-maker Toru Murakawa.
A Japanese police inspector (Sugawara) is visiting the states with his wife and daughter. Stopping at Boston to visit an old friend, the Police Chief (Kennedy). While his wife and daughter are out and about, they unknowingly take a photograph of a drug exchange going in the park. And in doing so, the daughter is kidnapped and the wife murdered.
The story delves into the formulaic corruption angle, of going outside of the law to seek justice since it is already bought by criminal bosses and shifty political figures who would do anything to keep their dirty little secrets under wrap. So the investigation goes underground. So think along the lines of 'Death Wish' meets 'Taken'. But on a superficial level.
Some nice camera shots, and on-location work do pop out. Especially the foot chases. Although when it came to the action, despite at times being vicious. The choreography was rather laboured and all the commotion was mostly saved for the climax. The film's tempo was really cheapened by its poor music score. Undercutting the danger, and any real sense of tension it tries to build. If not for the nudity, and bloody shootouts it would come across like a hokey TV movie. At least we do get to see Sugawara get angry, and take out plenty of scummy bad guys along the way.
A Japanese police inspector (Sugawara) is visiting the states with his wife and daughter. Stopping at Boston to visit an old friend, the Police Chief (Kennedy). While his wife and daughter are out and about, they unknowingly take a photograph of a drug exchange going in the park. And in doing so, the daughter is kidnapped and the wife murdered.
The story delves into the formulaic corruption angle, of going outside of the law to seek justice since it is already bought by criminal bosses and shifty political figures who would do anything to keep their dirty little secrets under wrap. So the investigation goes underground. So think along the lines of 'Death Wish' meets 'Taken'. But on a superficial level.
Some nice camera shots, and on-location work do pop out. Especially the foot chases. Although when it came to the action, despite at times being vicious. The choreography was rather laboured and all the commotion was mostly saved for the climax. The film's tempo was really cheapened by its poor music score. Undercutting the danger, and any real sense of tension it tries to build. If not for the nudity, and bloody shootouts it would come across like a hokey TV movie. At least we do get to see Sugawara get angry, and take out plenty of scummy bad guys along the way.
Distant Justice is far from perfect, but it's a pretty unique entry in the revenge film canon.
tarbosh2200013 February 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Inspector Rio Yuki (Sugawara) travels from Japan to Boston to not just take in the sights, but to visit with his old buddy Tom Bradfield (Kennedy), now a police chief. When Yuki's wife Hiroko (Nogiwa) and his daughter Sakura (Sugawara - Bunta's real-life daughter?) go off sightseeing while Tom and Rio reminisce about the old days, trouble finds them.
As they are wont to do, they begin taking photos during their trip. Unfortunately, they inadvertently snap a drug deal going on in the background. It turns out these aren't just your run-of-the-mill drug fiends - a line (no pun intended) of corruption leads all the way to aspiring senator Joe Foley (Carradine).
After bad things happen to his family members, Rio is raging for real revenge. Bradfield can't officially help him, so Rio goes rogue. Fellow cop Charlie Givens (Lutes) is there to help, but Rio, in essence, goes it alone. Will main baddie Roy Pennola (Lovelett) stand in his way? Because Rio comes from Japan, will Boston-area baddies feel a new kind of justice? Perhaps...DISTANT JUSTICE?
While it seems to have been written off as a Death Wish knockoff, Distant Justice has its own charm and isn't any more or less Death Wish-y than many other revenge movies that came in Bronson's wake. We love revenge movies here at Comeuppance Reviews and like to see them in any form they come in. This one just happens to have a man with an extremely thick Japanese accent as the main protagonist. C'est la vie.
Distant Justice seems to be Toei Corporation's attempt to make inroads into the American video market of the day. It features a mixture of Japanese and American actors and technical crew, much like the later (and far worse) Double Deception (2001). We don't know if Toei thought Bunta Sugawara, who was a big name back home, could somehow translate into being an American star, but - intentionally or not - everything he says is gold. His voice alone is extremely entertaining.
He makes Gerald Okamura and Mako sound like Alistair Cooke. His accent is so heavy he even sounds like Schwarzenegger at times. Maybe Arnie was the model Toei was trying to emulate of a foreign star with limited English proficiency penetrating our American shores. But Sugawara's effort, earnestness, and intensity are much appreciated and helped the movie a lot.
Another commendable thing about Distant Justice is how it completely avoids the Collision Course-esque "he likes hot dogs and he likes sushi" clichés. That's not to say there aren't plenty of humorous moments throughout the film, however. For a revenge tale featuring shooting, blow-ups, beat-ups, and even rapes, overall the movie is pretty funny. Case in point we have Sergeant Largent (Fiore). Could he be related to Hardcase and Fist's Warden Borden? We may never know.
Now, it's not without its faults, mainly in the plotting and pacing departments. You have to wait over an hour to get to David Carradine, and even at that there's minimal Carradine. But what Carradine you get is good Carradine.
There isn't a main, evil villain we as the audience keep checking in with throughout the film. We never visit with Roy as he shouts racial slurs about Rio and admonishes his underlings to make "no more mistakes!" - had there been a strong, central baddie the movie would have had more zest. And there's an intro with some guys holding up a restaurant and then leaving the Yuki family stranded by the side of the road that really doesn't need to be there. But fan favorite George Kennedy seems to be having fun, and the outing as a whole is just off-kilter enough to warrant at least one viewing.
Distant Justice is far from perfect, but it's a pretty unique entry in the revenge film canon. Fans of the genre, George Kennedy, David Carradine, and Bunta Sugawara (if there are any out there in the English-speaking world) are encouraged to check it out.
As they are wont to do, they begin taking photos during their trip. Unfortunately, they inadvertently snap a drug deal going on in the background. It turns out these aren't just your run-of-the-mill drug fiends - a line (no pun intended) of corruption leads all the way to aspiring senator Joe Foley (Carradine).
After bad things happen to his family members, Rio is raging for real revenge. Bradfield can't officially help him, so Rio goes rogue. Fellow cop Charlie Givens (Lutes) is there to help, but Rio, in essence, goes it alone. Will main baddie Roy Pennola (Lovelett) stand in his way? Because Rio comes from Japan, will Boston-area baddies feel a new kind of justice? Perhaps...DISTANT JUSTICE?
While it seems to have been written off as a Death Wish knockoff, Distant Justice has its own charm and isn't any more or less Death Wish-y than many other revenge movies that came in Bronson's wake. We love revenge movies here at Comeuppance Reviews and like to see them in any form they come in. This one just happens to have a man with an extremely thick Japanese accent as the main protagonist. C'est la vie.
Distant Justice seems to be Toei Corporation's attempt to make inroads into the American video market of the day. It features a mixture of Japanese and American actors and technical crew, much like the later (and far worse) Double Deception (2001). We don't know if Toei thought Bunta Sugawara, who was a big name back home, could somehow translate into being an American star, but - intentionally or not - everything he says is gold. His voice alone is extremely entertaining.
He makes Gerald Okamura and Mako sound like Alistair Cooke. His accent is so heavy he even sounds like Schwarzenegger at times. Maybe Arnie was the model Toei was trying to emulate of a foreign star with limited English proficiency penetrating our American shores. But Sugawara's effort, earnestness, and intensity are much appreciated and helped the movie a lot.
Another commendable thing about Distant Justice is how it completely avoids the Collision Course-esque "he likes hot dogs and he likes sushi" clichés. That's not to say there aren't plenty of humorous moments throughout the film, however. For a revenge tale featuring shooting, blow-ups, beat-ups, and even rapes, overall the movie is pretty funny. Case in point we have Sergeant Largent (Fiore). Could he be related to Hardcase and Fist's Warden Borden? We may never know.
Now, it's not without its faults, mainly in the plotting and pacing departments. You have to wait over an hour to get to David Carradine, and even at that there's minimal Carradine. But what Carradine you get is good Carradine.
There isn't a main, evil villain we as the audience keep checking in with throughout the film. We never visit with Roy as he shouts racial slurs about Rio and admonishes his underlings to make "no more mistakes!" - had there been a strong, central baddie the movie would have had more zest. And there's an intro with some guys holding up a restaurant and then leaving the Yuki family stranded by the side of the road that really doesn't need to be there. But fan favorite George Kennedy seems to be having fun, and the outing as a whole is just off-kilter enough to warrant at least one viewing.
Distant Justice is far from perfect, but it's a pretty unique entry in the revenge film canon. Fans of the genre, George Kennedy, David Carradine, and Bunta Sugawara (if there are any out there in the English-speaking world) are encouraged to check it out.
Vehicle for an ageing gangster star
Leofwine_draca23 August 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This Japanese/American action flick provides a neat role for middle-aged action hero Bunta Sugawara, whom you may or may not remember as the lead in the vibrant BATTLES WITHOUT HONOUR & HUMANITY series in the 1970s. Here he's older and wiser, but no less a tough guy. Sugawara plays a man who visits America with his wife and daughter and hooks up with an old pal, police chief George Kennedy. Unfortunately his wife is murdered while sightseeing and his daughter kidnapped, leading him on a revenge mission. This is low budget stuff that nonetheless delivers the goods where it counts, with a hugely lengthy footchase/fight scene taking up the last half hour. No masterpiece, but as a programmer it works well and Sugawara is a delight.
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