Return of the Street Fighter (4½ Stars)

This film is a sequel to "The Street Fighter", made only two months later in April 1974. Were they made back to back? Probably not, because the two films have different styles, especially the fight scenes. In the first film Takuma Tsuguri, played by Sonny Chiba, was slow and deliberate in his fights. In the second film he's a whirlwind of kicks and punches.

The same theme is used about Tsuguri fighting on the wrong side of the law. In this film it's unintentional. He's a faithful student of the Ryukoden karate school, but he doesn't know that his master is blackmailing wealthy students to collect money for the Mafia. When the heads of the rival school, the Seikuban karate school, arrive and make accusations, Tsuguri considers it slander and fights to defend the honour of his school.

I have a suspicion about the film, which I haven't been able to verify in my online research. Sonny Chiba has many mannerisms that are similar to those of Bruce Lee. This wasn't the case in the first film. "Enter the Dragon" was made a year earlier. Could it be that Sonny Chiba is deliberately imitating Bruce Lee to set himself up as the Japanese Bruce Lee? That would be a cheap blow. But as I said, this was merely my impression when watching the film.

Sonny Chiba was doubtlessly a skilled martial artist, but he wasn't Bruce Lee, and he had no reason to pretend he was.