Cover Art

Credits

Director: Hideaki Anno Starring: Eriko Sato, Jun Murakami, Mikako Ichikawa, Eisuke Sakai, Mitsuhiro Oikawa Screenplay: Gô Nagai Music: Kumi Koda Country: Japan AKA: Kyûti Hani

By day she hides behind her Honey Kisaragi alter-ego – a vivacious, air-headed office worker who just can't seem to fit in anywhere – but when trouble calls she responds by shouting "Honeeeeeeeeeey Flash!" and is transformed into Cutie Honey – a super spunky super heroine, rebuilt by science, who can assume numerous cunning disguises, take on dozens of villains at the one time, and fend off thousands of bullets with a few flicks of her sword!

The plot – which is virtually irrelevant in a kitschy, fun filled romp like this - has something to do with a nefarious organisation called Panther Claw which has kidnapped Cutie's Uncle as part of their villainous leaders ongoing quest for eternal life, and so it is up to Cutie to save the day with the help of an uptight police Detective and a nosey reporter with a hidden agenda.

As I prepared to take my first dip into the world of Cutie Honey I didn't know what to expect after hitting the play button, but the opening ten minutes – with vanity shots of its scantily clad star followed by an outrageous comic book style action set-piece - set the tone perfectly and gave a pretty good idea of what was to follow. Putting it simply, Cutie Honey is cheesy...it's campy…and it's a whole lot of fun! Imagine an episode of the classic 60's Batman television series with a distinctly Japanese make-over and you'll get an idea.

Any person with even the slightest interest in the female form is bound to be transfixed by the sight of star Eriko Sato, who spends much of the film in various outfits (or her underwear), and if her looks don't win you over her enthusiastic performance as Cutie Honey – a character that is virtually bubbling with infectious personality - surely will. Cutie is one of the most easily likeable characters I have seen in recent years, and makes for a refreshing change from the repressed - and sometimes downright depressed - American big screen super heroes we've become accustomed to.

On the downside though, after its crash-bang opening the action is limited to a few minor scuffles here and there as Cutie sporadically takes on the colour coded and outrageously designed Tiger Claw minions (Gold Claw, Crimson Claw, etc) in between frequent costume changes and snack food binges to recharge her powers, and the ending in particular proved to be a disappointment as it ditched the biffo completely in favour of a more existential – and dare I say sappy – climax which waffled on about the meaning of love, or something like that. Also, those who like their films with a distinctly Western sensibility should be warned – Cutie Honey is loaded with trademark Japanese kookiness, and is at times just plain weird. Sato's hyper-active gesticulations and facial expressions would certainly be considered "over-acting" by most Gaijin audiences, and in one of the films more surreal moments a Tiger Claw minion bursts into a song and dance routine before his fight to the death with Cutie, which is certainly not something you'd see in your average Jerry Bruckheimer production!

As is usually the case with Madman's foreign language releases, the English subtitles are easy to read and never clash or blend in with the on-screen action.