In 2014, Kurando Mitsutake presented Gun Woman, a Japanese grindhouse action film starring Kairi Narita and former AV actress Asami Sugiura. The film tells the story of a doctor whose life is destroyed when the son of a former patient abducts him and his wife in an attempt to make him pay for being unable to save his father. The man tortures them both, leaving the doctor crippled and unable to intervene as he witnesses the rape and murder of his beloved wife. After barely surviving the ordeal, the doctor vows to take revenge and devises a plan to train a drug addict to become the killer he needs to get his payback.

This film is very straightforward; the story is recounted by two men driving on the highway while they reach their destination, as we get to see the events they talk about through flashbacks. It splits into three acts, starting with the setup where we get to know our characters backstories very quickly, a very long training montage, and the final confrontation. The biggest issue about the film to me was that there’s really not much that actually happens throughout its runtime. You’d expect that an action flick like this would deliver lots of intense shooting and fighting scenes, but in the end what we actually got is pretty much just a slow-burn character drama disguised as an action film. More than half of the movie is spent on a pretty long and slow training montage where our doctor abuses the woman mentally and physically while training her in martial arts and gun wielding. The long set up makes you feel the climax would be an extremely dangerous and impossible mission, but when it finally plays out, the actual threat isn’t what the buildup suggested; we only get to see a quick confrontation that can feel rewarding if you’ve been engaged with the characters and their motivations but underwhelming if you came in expecting to see more action.

In terms of the technical aspects of the film, it’s pretty much what you’d expect from a movie of this type. Visually, the cinematography is pretty simple most of the time. Some shots are genuinely stylish, while in others, the low budget becomes more apparent. That said, it’s clear the team behind the camera did the most with what they had. The practical effects are convincing enough, but strangely, during the final scenes where you’d expect the most carnage, the quality drops and the bleeding becomes oddly restrained, almost like they ran out of fake blood when it mattered most. The editing also starts showing some not-too-subtle cuts during the last action moments; these aren’t overly distracting, but they do take a bit of the flow out of the scenes if you’re paying close attention. The acting is also a bit of a mixed bag. The Japanese cast delivered the strongest performances overall, especially Asami, showcasing an impressive physicality for the role. She clearly prepared herself for the role, but sadly this wasn’t taken advantage of as much as it should have with the small amount of choreography she did. Something worth mentioning about Asami is that she sang the theme song we can hear in the credits, which is quite dope and shows her versatility. Another standout was Noriaki Kamata with his portrayal of the rapist; he makes the character feel genuinely unsettling with a demeanor that seems inspired by real-life infamous cannibal Issei Sagawa. In contrast, some American actors and extras feel stiff or under-directed in some scenes, as if they didn’t have the luxury of multiple takes or enough rehearsal.

Overall, Gun Woman is pretty enjoyable if you’re okay with something rough around the edges. Despite its flaws, I had a good time with it. I’d rate it a 4/10 because the effort is clearly there, but there was so much more they could have done with it to elevate it into something more memorable. ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆☆☆☆☆☆