Indestructible to his enemies and irrestible to women, the professional assassin codenamed GOLGO 13 is shrouded in mystery and anonymity. If you're on his hit list your already dead. Always hired on his reputation alone, GOLGO 13 never breaks a contract. But can he survive the combine forces of the FBI, CIA, The Pentagon and the U.S. Army? Has the nameless agent finally met his match against the superhuman powers of the Snake and the twin evils of the psychopathic mercenaries, Gold and Silver? After killing the son of a powerful oil tycoon, an assassin-for-hire becomes the target of American soldiers and superhuman killers. One of the earliest Japanese animation films I can remember seeing, this film was a perfect introduction to me in how great a textured and visually appealing an anime story could be. Shot like a noir detective film with all the action and speed of a spy thriller, this film set a new benchmark for the sniper/hit-man genre. <br/><br/>Duke Togo, while devoid of most emotion, captivates as a steely and ruthless assassin bent on survival as well as completion of his tasks. The stylish and dark film has conspiracies, presidential assassinations, serial killers, sex, guns, explosions and insane escape scenes. <br/><br/>The story is straight forward; someone has paid Golgo 13 to assassinate the son of a wealthy business man and oil magnate. Revenge is to be taken on Golgo 13 at all costs, involving crooked cops, serial killers, generals, CIA, FBI, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Special Forces. Basically, Leonard Dawson is taking his son's death a bit hard and feels just a little raw toward Duke.<br/><br/>The American translation is passable with pretty good over all emotional tone and great music setting for mood. One of my favorite anime and overall examples of noir style in graphic arts of the 80s if you can ignore that very dated helicopter scene that makes everyone so angry… Personally I didn't think it was bad, just out of place in a film with a perfect fever pitch already. Great ending, great film overall. Well worth a look for anyone who enjoys spy films, hit men or noir. The story here is of a hard paid assassin, called for no good reason either Golgo 13 or Duke Togo, who earns the wrath of very important people who then try to kill him. The atmosphere of the film is dark and hopeless, the main character ruthless and seemingly indomitable. One hour and a half later, you still know nothing about Golgo and no one has killed him yet.<br/><br/>In a way it reminds me of 70's movies Italian movies or maybe French Alain Delon. It does unfold in Europe and, beside Golgo himself and maybe Snake, all characters are European or American. The final fight against weird and powerful assassins is clearly Japanese though.<br/><br/>Bottom line: nice anime, but kind of pointless. It is impossible to sympathize with the main character and, in the end, you don't care if he lives or dies. That's the main drawback of a film that, otherwise, is pretty good.
Nathrayni replied
293 weeks ago