Rage of Honor – 1987 – Sho Kosugi is the King Ninja
The thing about referring to Sho Kosugi as a ninja on the cover is of course a way to market the movie. It’s the same for me. I mention Sho Kosugi and Ninja in the same sentence to try to get your attention. Did I succeed? The fact is that this movie has very little to do with ninjas as I see it. There is the occasional throwing star but that’s about it. There is no ninja assassin in the true sense of the word. Rage of Honor is a film about revenge, not assassination. You can see that on the cover as well. Why would you picture sho Kosugi with an automatic weapon and then call him a ninja?
It’s still entertaining though. Maybe not as entertaining as the other Sho Kosugi flick I wrote about some time ago – Pray For Death. I think Rage of Honor was made in the wake of the success of that but it don’t reach all the way through. The two movies have nothing to do with each other plot-wise.
This is a movie about this cop whose partner gets killed. And since he is Japanese he sees the need for honor in revenge. So he goes rogue and goes all in during his search for revenge. He tracks down the evil drug lord responsible for the partners’ death and… well, you get it!
Rage of Honor is a pretty straightforward film. It might not be of interest to everybody but if you like action and Sho Kosugi, regardless if he’s a ninja or not, this is the film for you.
