The Resurrection of the Golden Wolf (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3

And so goes the "hero's journey," as Asakura fights off numerous potential enemies using his wits and superior fighting skills, blackmails them, and climbs up the social ladder until there's nowhere to go but down. Based on a novel by Haruhiko Oyabu, one of the first authors of "hard-boiled" novels in Japan, Resurrection of the Golden Wolf forces you to identify with Asakura just because he happens to be the "best" bad guy in the whole film by virtue of being the smartest and the strongest. The rest of the characters are sleazy killers, shady blackmailers, despicable executives, and women who are love interests disguised as sex objects. This is a primal hard-boiled action noir not for the politically correct, as it proudly presents a protagonist whose actions are glorified, even though he steps on everyone else without batting an eyelash.

Films like this are hard to pull off, because the filmmakers can risk alienating the audience if the protagonist appears too harsh. Thankfully, director Toru Murakawa has Yusaku Matsuda's award-nominated performance on his side. Sporting an afro that could only exist in the 70s, Matsuda oozes charisma as Asakura, as he alternates between sociopathic psycho, brilliant criminal, nerdy salaryman, and ladies man over the course of the film (in one scene, he literally holds a mask over his face to represent his multiple personalities). But the film's roots as a novel show from the very first scene as we are thrown right into the robbery without any type of context. Besides the basic human need for lots of cash, sex, drugs, and violence, why does Asakura choose to do what he does in the film? And how does he pick up all that knowledge about weaponry? Certainly not from boxing training. The result is almost like a video game, where audiences are forced to follow Asakura along on this journey simply because it's what they're watching onscreen.

Then again, some audiences are tired of psychological insights and just want to see a good old-fashioned anti-hero do what he does best. In this fashion, Resurrection of the Golden Wolf certainly fits the bill. Murakawa employs a dynamic style, pulling off several impressive long takes, including two action sequences where Asakura finds many ways to plow through evil henchmen, sometimes using just a slingshot! Like most exploitation action films, Murakawa does go a little too far, adding gratuitous nudity (a scene at a dance club comes to mind) plus a very strangely edited montage of an all-night tryst. Furthermore, the film packs in so many characters that seemingly important plot points involving minor characters are often skirted around and explained in verbal exposition, making the journey from point A to point B sometimes confusing. The film also drags slightly at parts, exposing screenwriter Shuichi Nagahara's need to follow the literary structure by cramming too much plot into the adaptation. In the end, enjoyment from Resurrection of the Golden Wolf really depends on personal taste. Not everyone will be able to find a character to identify with, since everyone is pretty unlikable. If you can handle a bit of misogyny and general brutality in your action films, then this film is probably going to a blast right up to its anti-climatic ending. At least Murakawa does it with no apologies.

By Kevin Ma