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For 
years, I have heard about this series of Japanese live action films that had a major cult following and were a favorite among both men and women. With nudity, guns, blood, violence and one hot chick, there was little not to like about the films. Finally, I was able to get my hands on four of the films in the series and I have to admit that these are the best films I have seen from Japan since I started watching their live action cinema.
The main character, Rei, is a woman without a past or real identity, flashbacks throughout the series fill in the gaps. She works for the Zero Department; a deadly shadow division of the police force that pretty much gets away with murder. The plot made for a really cool premise; it's one that has been used in American films before, but not in the sexy, exotic way the Japanese have done in Zero Woman.
In each of the Zero Woman movies, a different actress played Rei. I don't know if this was intentional, or if it happened by fluke, but either way, the actresses tend to change the way the story is told. You see different sides of Rei and you get to see a sharp contrast in the way each actress plays the part.
I saw this film last and I have to say that despite the poor voice dubbing, it was my second favorite in the series. I would rather have seen this flick in Japanese, because nothing is lost in the translation that way, but I still enjoyed this movie.
Rei is haunted by memories of her father's death and she begins to find it harder to kill with each new victim she puts away. Turns out that her father caught his wife cheating on him and he killed her and her lover. He then went to kill himself, but I guess he wasn't that good with a gun, because he lived, only to be killed by Rei when she took his oxygen mask off in the hospital. She now lives with those painful memories and starts to hate her job and wants to leave it behind. However, one past assignment leaves her a marked woman and now another Assassin is after her.
To complicate matters, Rei had sex with this assassin and he loves her, but maybe not as much as he loves his own girlfriend. He has to kill Rei or lose his girlfriend and what ensues in this movie are some really awesome gun battles between the two assassins and only one can survive. This was truly a great film in the series. I recommend it for the gun action, alone.
While this flick added new layers to the character, it was not much to write home about. It was probably the saddest of the films and really made you feel for Rei as she actually quits the Zero Department so she can seek out 'true love'. She has sex with someone in every film, but in this film, she really falls for the waiter of this restaurant who wants her to quit the life she leads and be with him.
No Zero Woman episode would be complete without flashbacks. Rei has a sister who was scarred as a child when some man forced himself on her and slashed her arm with a knife. She notices one woman who takes care of her at a beauty salon has a similar scar, but never asks her how she got it.
When Rei quits the Zero Department loses their best assassin, so they must find a way to get her back. The only way to do that is to eliminate her lover by someone equal to Rei's skill. In the end Rei actually ends up killing her own lover. I enjoyed the way Rei's lover is killed and I like the battle between the two Zero Women. The end leaves you guessing and makes the movie well worth the watch.
While I feel this installment of Zero Woman was good, it ranked as the worst of the bunch. I actually fell asleep during the middle of this movie. I just couldn't get into the lead actress' portrayal of the Zero Woman character. She was too emotional and was not the killing machine I wanted her to be. I did not like her in this movie and the movie's themes kind of grossed me out.
Rei is sent to find a female killer preying on businessmen looking for a good time. Of course, one place to go to find the killer is on the nightclub scene. While Rei does not find the perpetrator she does not find the killer she find a man to have relations with, just one little problem he is a transvestite.
So, Rei is screwed again when it comes to finding a good man, and now she must decide on whether she should complete the mission she has been assigned or help him out. The Hunted the movie is was well acted, but I could not get into Rei's role in this film. I liked the young transvestite who falls for Rei, because he acted very well for a dude in a dress. And though I didn't like it as much as the other films, I would have definitely liked the film if I didn't have any other Zero Woman movies to compare it to.
I loved this film. This actually was the first film I saw in the series. And it set the tone for the others and in all honesty, none of the other three films could match Dangerous Game. It had everything I could want in a Zero Woman film and more. Some American films could learn something from this little cinematic piece.
The woman who played the role of Rei in this film is the best looking of the four and nailed the character. She was tough and she didn't care about anyone. She just shot people, got her job done and went home to look at her fish. I was really into Rei's character in this movie. She was by far the coolest of the four actresses playing the role. I was so upset when I saw she was not going to be in the other films.
In this installment terror strikes the streets of Tokyo, someone is slaughtering countless victims for the medical black market. Rei must take down this brutal criminal, but her only lead is the mistress of the notorious crime boss, who really doesn't have much of a clue. She does have a clue on how to live life and cooks for Rei and convinces her that the world is not only about death. The two developed a cool friendship.
Then there were the risqué scenes of the crime boss dressing up as a woman and making his mistress' true love, a young member of the mob, kiss him. But the end is where it gets pretty hairy, and might leave viewers a bit disturbed. Of course I loved it, every minute of it. I just wish every one of the films could have been like it.
I believe the Zero Woman series of movies could stand on their own in America. I urge everyone to see them all, especially Dangerous Game. If you like blood, violence, guns and beautiful women, this series of films are for you. Zero Woman gets a ten.
Send your comments and or questions about this article to JMinners@ybfree.com.