Bullet Points: Roaring Fire

1981’s Roaring Fire had everything I look for in an action movie… a hero to love, a villain to loathe, memorable action set pieces, a little comedy, a completely out of the blue appearance, plus an action icon as I had never seen him before…

• Cold Open: Roaring Fire starts off hot, as a man is being pursued in the busy streets of Hong Kong by a mob of mean mugged baddies. The man eventually hits a dead end, in more ways than one. With nowhere left to run, he succumbs to a firing squad that leaves him dead in an alley… but unless my eyes were deceiving me, the man in question was played by Hiroyuki Sanada… who I was led to believe was the star of Roaring Fire. How are they going to kill off the star of the movie in the opening minutes? Or was this one of those gimmicks where they start with the end of the movie, then we flashback after the opening credits? Or did my eyes truly deceive me thanks in part to the distinctively VHS quality of the copy I watched on YouTube?

• Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch: After the opening credits, things shift to the great state of Texas and that’s where we see Joji (Hiroyuki Sanada, Ninja in the Dragon’s Den) herding some cattle. Joji’s work is interrupted when he finds out his father needs to speak to him urgently. Joji’s father makes some startling deathbed confessions to Joji… first and foremost, he is not actually Joji’s father. Joji’s “father” kidnapped Joji when he was just a young boy living in Japan, separating Joji from his twin brother (that explains the Hiroyuki Sanada in the opening scene) and blind sister. Then before he dies, Joji’s “father” tells him it is time that Joji return to his true family in Japan.
• Welcome to Kobe: Joji (and his pet monkey Peter) arrive in Japan and get a ride to the address that Joji’s “father” provided him. When Joji arrives at the estate he finds a swimming pool filled with bathing beauties and Peter finds himself a bikini top… the young ladies in the pool have no idea who Joji is and think him and his monkey are a bunch of perverts. The ladies then summon Spartacus (who is later referred to as Samson) and I can honestly say in nearly nine years of writing for this site I have never been more surprised by an appearance than I was here… because Spartacus was played by none other than professional wrestling legend, Abdullah the Butcher! Joji is able to use his speed and agility to evade Spartacus as he chases him around poolside… earning Joji the nickname Little Tarzan…. I guess that makes Peter Little Cheetah?!?!

• Party Up: After the initial confusion, Joji is welcomed with open arms by his family as he meets his sister Chihiro and the man who has stepped up as the head of the family following the deaths of Joji’s biological parents, Uncle Ikeda. Uncle Ikeda throws a welcome home party for Joji at one of the clubs he owns and that’s where we meet Mr. Magic (Sonny Chiba, The Street Fighter)… in addition to illusions, Mr. Magic also does a ventriloquist act, where his dummy proceeds to mock the man of the hour Joji and let him know that he is hanging out with a murderer… awkward! If the dummy didn’t plant a seed of suspicion in Joji’s mind about his Uncle Ikeda, when Joji tumbles upon his Uncle’s secret lair in the club, complete with Nazi decor… I think he knew exactly the kind of man his Uncle really was. Ikeda shoots Joji with a tranquilizer dart and throws him in a cell where Joji ends up fighting two fearsome fighters back to back while Ikeda and his cohorts watch via television monitor. Joji then manages to escape with some help from Spartacus.
• Queen of Sheba: Uncle Ikeda may be the head of the Hinoharu Family, but he doesn’t know where Joji and Chihiro’s parents stashed a 130ct diamond known as the Queen of Sheba… Ikeda wants the diamond to trade for some high quality narcotics. With some help from Peter, Chihiro and Joji figure out where the Queen of Sheba is hidden and after Joji retrieves it things really get crazy… with Ikeda’s minions chasing Joji all around Japan, on foot, on bicycle and even off the side of a building! Since his men were unable to take the diamond from Joji, he goes to Plan B… kidnap Chihiro and use her as bait. Ikeda proposes an exchange, the Queen of Sheba diamond for Chihiro and in typical bad guy fashion, Ikeda ends up double crossing Joji.

• Full Circle: Joji knows Uncle Ikeda is heading to Hong Kong to complete his nefarious deal and this is where business really picks up with Joji finding himself in a similar scenario as his twin brother (Toru for those in the know) from the start of the movie as he is on the run in Hong Kong… he almost met a similar fate, but fortunately Mr. Magic shows up and we find out he’s not just a magician, he is an agent with Interpol’s narcotics division… At one point Joji finds himself fighting inside and on top of a double decker bus… this is why I devote so much of my free time to watching action movies. Top notch stuff! Catching Uncle Ikeda is easier said than done… but that just meant even more action to cap off what was already a wild ride!

I feel like this review only scratched the surface on the greatness that is Roaring Fire. It went from a movie I was not even aware of a week ago to a movie on my Blu-ray wish list over the course of its 95 minute runtime… and that may be some kind of record.

I’ll probably sound like a broken record right about now, but here are some Bonus Bullet Points…

• Blind Fury: Chihiro may have been blind, but she proved she could still kick some ass, Zatoichi style! I loved the detail that the way to defeat her was to loudly play Beethoven so she couldn’t hear her attackers coming… that’s interesting writing.
• If You Ever: …wanted to see Hiroyuki Sanada fall victim to “the giant swing” then Roaring Fire is the movie for you.
• Special Thanks: I need to thank Big Mike Leeder for making me aware of this fantastic film thanks to his Instagram posts and I also need to thank R. Marcus Taylor for uploading this movie to YouTube so I was able to watch it.
• Pay It Forward: Big Mike brought Roaring Fire to my attention and I am hoping this review brings Roaring Fire to more fans’ attention and that includes our friends over at Exploding Helicopter. Spoiler Alert?!