The Executioner II: Karate Inferno Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

The Executioner II: Karate Inferno Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 2, 2023

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Arrow Video's The Executioner Collection.

In one of the supplements Arrow Video has aggregated for its Sonny Chiba double feature of Executioner films, commentators Chris Poggiali and Marc Walkow mention that the first time ninjas appeared in a Western feature film was in the 1967 James Bond opus You Only Live Twice, but the popularity of that film may have been at least partially responsible for the glut of ninjas characters who would soon start populating global cinema. Some of those films may have contributed to star Sonny Chiba's own popularity, though that said, it would probably be hard to try to stuff either Executioner film neatly into a "ninja pigeonhole", though Chiba's character of Ryūichi Koga does supposedly have that kind of training. Poggiali, Walkow and some other talking heads in various supplements also get into the mad dash to find the "next Bruce Lee" after Lee so unexpectedly and tragically died at such a young age, and that while there were any number of "pretenders", including another kinda sorta mini-glut, this time of performers with supposedly similar names, according to some of these analysts Sonny Chiba might arguably be considered as the true heir to the Lee legacy. Kind of interestingly in that regard, and at least in terms of mass recognition by audiences, Chiba's first successes were in television, at least a bit like Lee for American audiences in particular vis a vis the short-lived television adaptation of The Green Hornet. Chiba had the same kind of clean cut good looks that Lee also offered, but he had a somewhat more feral, menacing presence at times that allowed him to play anti-heroes as often as stalwart straight and narrow types. Both of the Executioner films exploit not just Chiba's remarkable athleticism in any number of martial arts related scenes, but they also rely on the tried and true trope of a band of quasi-mercenaries, some with questionable pasts, working together, in a plot device that may remind those on this side of the pond of everything from The Dirty Dozen to The Expendables .

The Executioner II: Karate Inferno reunites the principal cast of the first film and returns the quasi-mercenaries to another "impossible mission", this time to rescue both a stolen jewel and a kidnapped woman. The film noticeably ups the comedy angle, and a lot of the story and characterizations are geared toward goofy, often cartoonish, laughs, though there are still probably enough adrenaline pumping action scenes to satisfy at least the minimum requirements of action junkies. If the first film (and frankly also this one) apes the "choose your mission members from these files" aspect that I mention in our The Executioner Blu-ray review may remind some of the television version of Mission: Impossible, there are some stunt scenes in this film that may remind some of the Tom Cruise film adaptations of the series (see screenshot 1 for one example).

The immense popularity of The Executioner perhaps ironically may have put the kibosh on this sequel from the get go, for a couple of reasons. As is so often the case in Hollywood, and which was evidently questionably copied by the bean counters at Toei, the impressive box office receipts for the first film made this follow up a seeming "necessity", and perhaps trying to catch a nonexistent wave (considering what happened), this film probably followed too quickly for its own good. There's that oft quoted term "sophomore slump" often applied to second helpings of any number of different media, but considering the consistently enjoyable results of The Executioner when compared to this often slapdash feeling affair, some might be tempted to term it a "sophomore chasm". The fact that The Executioner II: Karate Inferno also doesn't shirk from utilizing clips from the first film may only add to this feeling that this is a half baked casserole consisting of leftover (and/or rewarmed) ingredients. But part of the problem is simply that the first Executioner was a rather bracingly sly combo platter of humor and action in about equal doses, and this film simply can't compete.

The Executioner II: Karate Inferno Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Executioner II: Karate Inferno is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Arrow's insert booklet lumps the two films together in its verbiage about the transfers:

The Executioner and The Executioner II: Karate Inferno are presented in their original 2.35:1 aspect ratio with mono sound. The high definition masters were produced and supplied by Toei from the best available archival materials, with additional grading and picture restoration by Arrow Films at R3Store Studios.

The English dubbed monoaural soundtrack for The Executioner, originally produced by Minotaur Productions Inc. for the film's US theatrical release in 1978, has been conformed to the uncut Japanese version for this release by Matt Jarman at Bad Princess Productions using two archive masters, courtesy of Televentures Corporation.

If this sequel can't quite muster the same élan as the first film, for better or worse this film's transfer probably outshines the first film. The palette is more robust and more consistently natural looking here, without the skew towards brown I mention can attend some of the first film's presentation. There are still some very minor variances in color temperature, and some of the interior scenes in particular don't offer the same pop. As mentioned above, this film utilizes clips from the first film, and I'd argue even some of those look at least marginally better here than they do in the "complete" transfer of the first film, for whatever reason. Detail levels are typically very good to excellent, and grain resolution encounters no hurdles.

The Executioner II: Karate Inferno Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Executioner II: Karate Inferno features LPCM Mono audio in the original Japanese (there is no English dub for this film on this disc, as is the case for the first Executioner film). This is a nicely energetic sounding track that benefits from the groovaliciously funky score by Hajime Kaburagi, which sounds great throughout. Dialogue and effects are also rendered without any problems. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Executioner II: Karate Inferno Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Arrow has packaged both of the Executioner films on one disc with the following supplements:

• Audio commentary on The Executioner with Chris Poggiali and Marc Walkow


• The Karate King (HD; 29:51) is an enjoyable overview of Sonny Chiba's life and career.


• Teruo Ishii Filmography (HD) offers a series of text pages with film data points.


• Trailers

  The Executioner (Japanese Version) (HD; 2:40)

  
  

  The Executioner (English Version) (HD; 1:53)

  
  

  The Executioner II: Karate Inferno (HD; 2:25)

• Image Galleries

  The Executioner Image Gallery (HD)

  
  

  Karate Inferno Image Gallery (HD)

Additionally, Arrow provides its typically nicely appointed insert booklet, this one including an essay by Mark Shilling in addition to technical information and production credits. The keepcase sleeve is reversible. Though I don't see it listed on the back cover, the keepcase also includes a folded double sided mini poster with the first film's key art on one side and a larger reproduction of this release's cover on the other. Packaging features a slipcover.

The Executioner II: Karate Inferno Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Toei evidently didn't subscribe to "absence makes the heart grow fonder", and probably tried to get this follow up out to audiences as quickly as possible, and the result is a pretty significant drop in consistency from the first film. This second outing does have some totally goofy comedy, and it may in fact appeal to some courtesy of that very fact. Technical merits are solid and the supplements very enjoyable, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.