Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Eric Stevenson I admit that this movie does have a lot of flaws, but I think in the long run, the good outweighed the bad. It was interesting to watch if only because "Golgo 13" is the longest running manga by number of years. It was interesting just to find out about it. It's pretty easy to tell that this was modeled after James Bond. I think the worst part is how it does take awhile to really get good. When it does get good, it just keeps getting better and better! This is the first animated film to use CGI in some way. The helicopter at the end looks very bad. The opening sequence, however, does it a lot better, if only because it's not meant to be part of the story.It's weird to see an animated movie of any kind that has swearing and nudity. Keep in the mind that it wasn't really until the 1980's that the Japanese started making feature length anime movies and this was one of the first to be based on a manga. Makes sense, seeing as how it's the longest running one. The villain in the film is probably the best part. He really is set up very well and you could even argue that he might have fewer vices than the actual hero of the story. It's a very gracefully done film, but due to its content is probably not for all tastes. Still nice. ***

siderite 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.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.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.

GrandpaBunche This anime adaptation of Takao Saito's long-running manga classic is one of my all-time favorite action movies, animated or otherwise, and I'm at a loss to explain why so many dyed-in-the-wool anime junkies despise it (cruise the internet and you'll see what I mean).Duke Togo is the world's greatest assassin-for-hire, better known as "Golgo 13," and if you're on his list you might as well dig the hole because there is no way, repeat, NO WAY you will elude him. Once he's hired, it's your ass. Togo's adventures take him across the globe, and his skills with weaponry, hand-to-hand combat, and damned near anything else a human being could master are constantly put to hair-raising tests. Though lacking in actual meta-human superpowers, Togo could nonetheless be considered a superman, so with that in mind it's seldom in doubt that he'll come out on top in any given situation, so the suspense lies in seeing just how the hell he's going to pull off the often impossible assignments he chooses to accept. All of this information is old news to readers of the venerable manga series, but it's given the most cursory noting in the feature, seen briefly in a C.I.A. transcript at the film's beginning, but it's vital to suspending one's disbelief and once past that we're immediately thrust into Togo's violent world.Gazillionaire industrialist Leonard Dawson throws a birthday party for his son, Leonard Jr., aboard his private cruise ship, a lavish ceremony in which he names his son heir and successor to his empire, but Dawson's elation is shattered when his son is surgically shot through the forehead with but a single bullet, killing him instantly. The assassin: Duke Togo. The senior Dawson, now nearly insane with grief, launches an all-out war against Golgo 13, employing the most vicious and lethal professionals that his bottomless coffers can procure, including horrific ex-military sociopaths, crooked intelligence officials, and an unspeakably terrifying monster of a man who rightly goes by the moniker "Snake," all while Togo hops the globe carrying out other "jobs." Togo must stay one step ahead of his assailants, each as hard as he is, and figure out how to survive one Christ Almighty perfect storm of graphic violence. And there also lurks the mystery that spurs the plot: exactly who wanted the junior Dawson murdered, and why?Loaded with more action than most films have any right to possess, Golgo 13 is a breathless kick in the ass that fans of old school James Bond and other such espionage will simply eat up. I first saw it on an untranslated VHS tape in 1986 and I've been a staunch supporter ever since, sharing it with as many people as I can convince to give it a chance despite its reputation as a bomb. I think it may come off a tame when compared to the later excesses in Japanese animation, such as post-apocalyptic slug-fest filled with showering viscera, city- leveling psychic children and titanic robots, female ninjas with poisonous naughty bits, and the ever-popular spectacle of sailor-suited schoolgirls having their every orifice explored by the tentacles and other bits of demonic rapists just before they explode in a torrent of offal and demonic DNA, but Golgo 13 has all of them beat for sheer quality entertainment that even your parents might dig.

ZMBKLR One of the best in adult anime, this one has it all. A taciturn, near unstoppable assassin, a rich man who want's the assassin dead (and is willing to let one of his paid killers rape his own daughter in law!), a bunch of crazed killers and a dedicated cop out to get him. Golgo 13, Duke Togo is the worlds greatest assassin, but in this, he's the hunted. Very realistic and grim, this is not for children. Watch for the scene when he shoots a guy THROUGH a skyscraper, especially for the shadows thrown by the beer sign he's under! Superb film!