Nami Matsushima (Meiko Kaji) once again escapes from the cops, and is soon hidden & cared for by a strip club worker, Yasuo Kudo (Masakazu Tamura) who shares her disdain of the law. She cares for him, too, to the extent that he might actually change her very low opinion of men. Kinuyo Kodama (Yumi Kanei) is the unorthodox, sadistic lawman still pursuing our tight-lipped anti-heroine.
The last in this four-film series about "Female Prisoner # 701", a.k.a. "Scorpion", showed this viewer a reasonably good time. It serves its purpose as an exploitation film: it's grim, it's brutal, it has a smattering of sex & nudity. Nami is still a compelling piece of work who never lets her nemesis break her, and she still always causes trouble whenever she gets a chance. It's fun to watch Kaji do her thing, and the supporting cast is fine, too. The viewer hates Kodama in record time, and feels some sympathy for Kudo (the cops tortured him, too) until what has to be an inevitable moment of disappointment.
The first half of the film, however, when it focuses on Kudo and gives Nami precious little to do except react and be swept along, is not nearly as compelling as when the story once again becomes hers. This is a great character, and at least the viewer can feel some degree of satisfaction in the way things are resolved.
The consensus is that this is the least film in this series, but it did remain watchable for me for a fairly well-paced 89 minutes.
Seven out of 10.
The last in this four-film series about "Female Prisoner # 701", a.k.a. "Scorpion", showed this viewer a reasonably good time. It serves its purpose as an exploitation film: it's grim, it's brutal, it has a smattering of sex & nudity. Nami is still a compelling piece of work who never lets her nemesis break her, and she still always causes trouble whenever she gets a chance. It's fun to watch Kaji do her thing, and the supporting cast is fine, too. The viewer hates Kodama in record time, and feels some sympathy for Kudo (the cops tortured him, too) until what has to be an inevitable moment of disappointment.
The first half of the film, however, when it focuses on Kudo and gives Nami precious little to do except react and be swept along, is not nearly as compelling as when the story once again becomes hers. This is a great character, and at least the viewer can feel some degree of satisfaction in the way things are resolved.
The consensus is that this is the least film in this series, but it did remain watchable for me for a fairly well-paced 89 minutes.
Seven out of 10.