Search - Zero Woman - Assassin Lovers on DVD

Well-endowed hitwoman vs. drunkard killer

Manfred Zeichmann | Austria | 11/11/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This installment in the ZERO WOMAN series is a standard but enjoyable Japanese girl-with-gun direct-to-video movie. The story revolves around hitwoman Rei, who is assigned to kill the leading personel of a criminal company. This turns out to be not an easy task, since the bad guys hire professional killer Katsumura, an expert despite his problematic drinking habits. Rei and Katsu fall for one another (hence the title). Things turn bad when the gangsters kidnapp Katsu's girlfriend Tomomi to put pressure on the assassin to kill Rei. Will Katsu do as ordered? Or will they team up? Is Rei willing to fulfill her assignment by killing all the gangsters, including her lover?
Well, watch for yourself...Busty Kumiko TAKEDA may not be much of an actress and neither is she my favorite ZERO WOMAN, but she is undeniably very good looking and the script provides her with many opportunities to show her naked ample assets. In this installment of the series her character suffers from flashbacks of a trauma ( her policeman father attempted suicide after shooting dead his unfaithful wife and her lover, and in the hospital young Rei pulled away the oxygen mask from his face resulting in his death), so the ZERO WOMAN is an unstable, insecure and angstridden killer unlike in the other entries. So Rei is not very convincing as professional killer. And her drunkard assassin lover is a total loser!
As far as I am concerned I didn't like this pseudo-psychological characterization too much.On the up side there is plenty of violence, nudity and sex on display. The impact of the bullets is shown quite gory with lots of blood spraying around.(As far as Rei's boss is concerned, thank God there's Kevlar!) The sleazy gangster boss who is into S/M adds to the entertainment value.
Camerawork is also fine. And I really liked the score and the rather cynical ending...
The film is presented letterboxed (in Japan also direct-to-video films are presented this way in order to give it a more "cinematic" look). Subtitles are easy on the eyes. Extras include the film's trailer, additional trailers for several other ASIAN PULP releases, a "meet the characters" section and trivia. This last extra consists of a multiple choice quiz, where you are asked to answer questions about the film by highlighting the correct answer with your remote. If the answer is correct, you are awarded with a short scene from the movie and a caption like "You are a genius!". Silly, but fun!Overall: Definitely not a must-have, but good entertainment nonetheless."

Zero Woman 3

Pei Chia Li | 07/09/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I own two of the "Zero Woman" movies and plan to buy others. In my movies, Rei-Agent Zero-is played by sexy Natsuki Ozawa in #2 and by beautiful Kumiko Takeda in #3. The girls are both 5'2" tall and similar in waist and hips, but Natsuki's bust is 30.8" while Kumiko's is 34". Natsuki has bolder nude senes, while Kumiko is topless in several movies. I am an artist and a writer. In my "Sekai No Rekodo"(Japanese for "World Records"), I say the most beautiful living woman is Kumiko Takeda. I saw her doing a photo book in New York and a DVD profile in California. She said she has moved from Japan to San Diego. I bought the original version of "Zero Woman 3" without subtitles when it first appeared. I studied French, German, Japanese and Chinese and have movies in all of those languages. "Mangia Mai" and "Zero Woman 3" are my favorite movies starring Kumiko. In the former, she uses a katana, but in the latter, she carries a Beretta .380ACP pistol. She has a wide range of roles, so I find her to be versatile...unlike some reviewers who seem to imagine that it is obligatory to criticize everything unmercifully. Guys, don't buy it if you hate it! I love her and her movies, photo books, calendar and songs. Did you know that she lost her first chance at a modelling job at age four to her brother who was prettier then? She is a clown and full of fun. If some of her critics knew her, they might change their minds. Who can really say this movie is not entertaining? I may buy a DVD version if it has extras I want. I recommend it!!!!!"

Don't be fooled by the cover

Gadgester | Mother Earth | 04/27/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I did, and this movie really stinks. There's absolutely nothing cool about this, and you won't find anything that can satisfy your piqued interest. The storyline is lame, the acting laughable, and the video quality unacceptably bad. If you feel like collecting suggestive covers like this, buy it. Otherwise, you'll be sorely disappointed. BTW I rented this from Netflix so my loss was relatively small, not counting the hour and a half wasted viewing this POS."