Cast out from the karate community for his volatile temperament and fierce fighting style, karate master Masutatsu Oyama (Sonny Chiba) becomes a well-paid yakuza bodyguard for an old military friend, but discovers that he has strayed from the disciplined path he had once proudly set out on. An opportunity to help those in need and face a rival put him back on course.

After fighting a bull barehanded in Karate Bullfighter, Sonny Chiba could only follow that up in a sequel by fighting a bear. Karate Bear Fighter is part two in a trilogy of karate films starring Chiba as real-life karate master Masutatsu Oyama (watch for his cameo during the opening credits). This time, loose reality becomes fantasy as Chiba takes on countless foes, from the bear itself to scythe and sword-wielding assassins. It’s essentially more of the same with the action meter turned up a notch or two and the plot on broken auto pilot, which is basically good news for pure action fans and bad news for anyone looking for a sensible movie.

Story-wise, Karate Bear Fighter copies the same plot structure, yet is even less coherent than the episodic Karate Bullfighter. Already an outcast in the karate circuit, Oyama can think of nothing but challenging schools in his uniquely brutal brand of karate. He quickly makes an enemy out of a school instructor played by Masashi Ishibashi, a regular Chiba villain who has a knack for coming back to life for sequels. But, that’s not Oyama’s main antagonist. Once again, Oyama is his own worst enemy and after engaging in drunken brawling, he falls into the wrong crowd when he agrees to take a job as a well-paid bodyguard for a yakuza friend. What little respect he once had is nearly ruined now. When two of his friends are killed by Ishibashi, Oyama beats the tar out of him and sets the stage for the instructor’s more ruthless brother to show up looking for revenge. But he’s forced to wait, for Oyama retreats to the countryside to take up with an ailing widower and his son. Having fought a bear to earn money to pay for the father’s hospital bills, Oyama returns to face Ishibashi’s brother.

In a number of ways, this film is unintentionally hilarious and in other ways just plain bad. Everybody is overacting and most of the fighting makes little sense in regards to the story. Chiba’s bullfight was adequate, but the bear fight is nothing but a corny gimmick to draw in a movie audience. Of course, no man could engage in a protracted hand-to-hand battle with a fit bear that’s four times or more of his weight. So, Chiba spends most of the battle running away, getting clawed and waiting for the right time to strike a death blow. A lot of shaky cam and trick editing is going on here, but it seems a bit sloppier than with the bull.

Chiba’s returning love interest, played once again by Yumi Takagawa has no purpose in this film and only appears once or twice. The rest of the characters are pretty forgettable, although the main villain does exhibit the ability to punch perfect holes into wine bottles with his fingers, which is nice. Try that at your next party and you’re sure to impress no one and possibly end up with a broken finger or two.

The one improvement in Karate Bear Fighter, apart from the bear fight, is the overall action. Chiba goes nutty for most of the running time, battling one foe after another. He reuses a number of trademark moves, but mixes it up enough to keep things interesting. In the first fifteen minutes alone, he gets into three separate fights. There is also some superhuman leaping going on which probably owes more to kung fu movies of the day than anything else. The finale is sloppily thrown together unfortunately, with the focus being on Oyama’s advanced fighting revelation about a circle and clearing the mind that never really makes any sense the way it’s presented. Despite this martial “development,” it’s certain that Masutatsu Oyama as Chiba’s live-action cartoon interpretation has learned nothing and we can expect more mind-numbing violence and hammy acting in the third and final chapter.

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