Blu-ray Synopsis: Hot off of PRAY FOR DEATH (1985), Sho Kosugi, the Japanese John Wayne of ninja cinema, is back in action! When his partner is murdered by sadistic drug dealers, narcotics cop Shiro Tanaka (Kosugi) vows revenge. Disobeying orders, he tracks the killers from Singapore to Buenos Aires. But in a cruel twist, the killers kidnap Tanaka's girlfriend and take her deep into the jungles of South America. Now, armed with an arsenal of weapons, Tanaka must use all his powers to destroy a battalion of highly trained terrorists and get her back.

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Trans World Entertainment/VPD UK VHS Synopsis: Shiro and Ray are the best undercover cops in Phoenix. They do things their own way, even if it means taking high risks. But the one risk they didn't count on was betrayal – by someone on the force. Ray calls Shiro for help, but Shiro is too late, he finds Ray brutally murdered. Shiro's wife begs him not to pursue the killers without help, but Shiro tells her that he alone must bring the killers to justice – it's a question of honor. It's about to become much more than a question...

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Views: When his partner and close friend is brutally murdered by some twisted drug dealers, Phoenix cop Shiro quits the force and disobeys his chief's orders when he tries to gain permission for revenge. Making his way to Buenos Aires with his girlfriend, Shiro meets another police friend who offers his help in finding the killers but it doesn't take long for the tables to turn, and soon the killers are hunting them. With the help of a crooked cop, the villains eventually kidnap his girlfriend and fellow cop and take them to the wild jungles of South America. Now, Shiro must put his ninja skills to use and begin his rescue mission while tackling local tribesmen, ninjas, mother nature, and the killers themselves!

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German-born director Gordon Hessler was in his early 60s when he helmed Rage Of Honor, and with plenty of experience behind him, certainly knew how to deliver a decent show. From episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Kung Fu, Wonder Woman, CHiPs, and Hawaii Five-O behind him, Hessler clearly had a love for action and adventure and started a working relationship with Sho Kosugi on the fun television series, The Master. From there, he would direct Sho in the awesome Pray For Death – one of my favourite Kosugi movies – and again in Shogun Warrior, which would also be his final project at the helm. While most of Rage Of Honour was shot in Argentina, the film definitely has more of a globe-trotting feel to it and played like a good old James Bond movie for the most part. There is, of course, the sequence where our hero finds himself surrounded by some jungle natives and takes each of them out with a range of ninja weapons. It seems slightly out of place with what went on in the first half of the movie, but I wouldn't say it's too distracting with the second half of the movie continuing to stay there...

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At this stage of the game, Sho had already secured his position as a big action star and was the go-to ninja of the 1980s. His big debut came with the fun action thriller Enter The Ninja for Cannon Films, quickly followed by Revenge Of The Ninja, The Master television show, Ninja 3: The Domination, and the abysmal 9 Deaths Of The Ninja, before he got onto Hessler's projects. I must admit though, I've never been the biggest fan of the Nipponese star and was often confused as to how he became such a hit with the American audience in the 1980s and Jackie Chan didn't. Saying that I did quite enjoy him here in this role, and have done in many others of course. It's a role that very much reminded me of Jackie in The Protector (strangely enough with both films carrying similar artwork on the video covers), with his tough-guy cop approach and particular style of fight choreography – albeit with a few more trampoline jumps here than Chan would have done. The rest of the cast involved are actually quite palatable and not as cheesy as most would be around this time, with Lewis Van Bergen playing the role of Havlock, in particular, standing out as the villain of the piece. Having been in the industry for a good decade before Rage Of Honor, Van Bergen appeared in many popular television shows such as ChiPs, The Dukes Of Hazzard, The Fall Guy, Cagney & Lacey, and many more.

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While the action director has been listed as Alan Amiel, I would say that Sho himself had more to do with his own fight scenes than not. And there are certainly plenty to enjoy! From the opening boat chase to the ninja attack in the jungle, and the one-on-one river fight to the explosive warehouse shoot-out, Rage Of Honor gives action fans plenty to love and keeps a strong pace throughout its running time. The only problem I have is down to 101 Films and the fact that their Blu-ray release wasn't in full widescreen. Although uncut compared to my 88 minute VHS version, the picture format is still 4:3 which is just a shame. Regardless, I still really enjoyed the film and it was nice to see it in full HD for once as opposed to my regular VHS viewing!

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Overall: Another of my favourite Sho Kosugi movies, Rage Of Honor is a well made action-thriller that has held up pretty good!

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Blu-ray Extras: Trailer