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Man, if you were a kid in the 80s, you were lucky if you had Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode for the NES, a game that somehow had sniper rifle murder, conspiracy, bioterrorism and a sex scene that gives you back your energy. How did we get this game?

After two live action attempts* at telling the story of Dick Togo, the world's greatest killer, Golgo 13: The Professional was made. It isn't just an animated film. It's also one of the first animated films to incorporate CGI animation.

After killing Robert Dawson, the son of oil baron Leonard Dawson and the heir of Dawson Enterprises, as well as liquidating a mob boss named Dr. Z, Golgo 13 finds himself hunted by the Pentagon, the FBI and the CIA, as well as Snake, their genetically-enhanced supersoldier named Snake. It seems like he's finally killed the wrong target, one who has a father who wants him dead.

Dawson is willing to put everyone in his family into the line of fire to kill Golgo 13. He gives Robert's wife to Snake to use and abuse, while sending his granddaughter Emily and butler Albert to assassinate the killing machine. They fail. He just walks away.

So why isn't Dawson going after the people who ordered the hit? Is he rich enough to shut down America? And will the government release the terrifying criminals Gold and Silver to kill Golgo 13?

If you've never experienced Golgo 13 before, you may wonder, how can a man just keep getting shot, stabbed and beaten over and over again, yet have women throw themselves at him, and he never changes his expression? If you get it, you get it, I guess.

* 1973's Golgo 13 and 1977's Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon. There's also a sequel to this animated movie, 1987's Golgo 13: Queen Bee.

In the interest of full disclosure, anime's not really my thing. So I was drawn to this movie by the apparent Internet celebrity of the titular character Duke Togo (classified as Golgo 13). Which is curious, because the title character looks eerily like game show host Richard Dawson, and doesn't say much. So how he's irresistible to women in the movie is beyond me. But he's also the star of a line of comics, and not to mention a TV series.

This particular movie finds our resident badass in the crosshairs of an oil tycoon (named ... wait for it ... Richard Dawson[!]). Dawson ain't too happy when Duke puts a bullet in his son's head, and decides to use all of his resources (FBI, CIA, etc.) to get even. Said revenge campaign involves various freaks of nature, men in suits yelling into phones, and lots of signature shots of Duke shooting stuff. Also, Duke walks away from every gunfight.

Which is part of the reason this film didn't blow my skirt up. I didn't believe for a second that the main character would come to harm (let alone death). And the violence unfurls in such a dramatic slow motion that it cuts any tension or suspense with a Rambo survival knife. And you would think that a movie that features so many topless ladies would be a fool-proof source of titillation. Not so. Every woman has that plastic look of a stripper (such is the downside to anime ladies). Then there's that score, which was obviously supposed to be "noir sax", but just sounds like some malicious brand of Adult Contemporary.

Not for me.

5/10

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03/09/16 Revision

This is why I'm such a proponent for rewatches. Perspective change is always a good thing. What I missed about "Golgo 13" the first time around is, well, the point. The whole thing boils down to style, and the movie's simmering with it. The angles, the camera movements, blood flow, inventive kills, hot women . . . all of this goes into a potent stew of luridity. You don't come to this for the messy narrative - you do so for Duke Togo's lethal turtleneck badassery (dude shoots through a building, for god's sake). Speaking of which, he doesn't look anything like Richard Dawson (I dunno what the hell I was thinking). He reminds me of Ken Takakura (he was in "The Yakuza").

It's not a movie I can watch on a regular basis, but there's no mistaking the movie's got style.

6/10

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. ***