merklekranz After her son is shot and killed in a Yakuza hit, Virginia Madsen goes after the killers, using an ancient Japanese myth about dragon tattoos to plot her revenge. Unlike another female assassin film, "Ms. 45", the plot here is not straightforward, and is somewhat unpredictable. The movie is well photographed, and has an outstanding rhythmic soundtrack, that reminds me of the work of Philip Glass. There is plenty of violence, and things progress at an acceptable pace. It should be noted that Harry Dean Stanton has a very limited part as a tattoo artist. As female revenge thrillers go, "Blue Tiger" ranks with with the best of them. Recommended viewing. - MERK

Cristi_Ciopron In this Virginia Madsen vehicle, the writing is quite bad—not unusually bad, I would hurry to add; she looks extremely cool as a vigilante.Let's face it, Virginia is a piece of fine ass—not necessarily very glamorous—but rather like your sexiest neighbor, a very sexy midwife.Here she does a nice physical role, as an action star in a very average Yakuza thriller.The cast offers one more interesting actor—daddy Stanton.You can enjoy Virginia as a tough babe—Gina Hayes. If you're, like myself, her fan, then there's no discussion—BLUE TIGER offers Virginia a lead role; otherwise, the flick sucks rather badly.The action sequences are few and stale.'Gina', Virginia's character, is a single mother set to revenge the death of her little son who was accidentally killed by a Yakuza murderer. She trains to acquire some confrontational skills, learns to handle a gun, and learns Japanese.A mention of presumable interest to a Virginia fan:--no nudity, alas; only, now and then (a shower scene, a sex scene), small portions of her breasts. Yet she is, as I said, at her very hottest, and a delight to behold.

khalifakhella "Blue Tiger" is a rare example of ambition almost overcoming budget, almost. The film tells the story of a young single mother who loses her 5 year old son when he is hit by a stray bullet in an attempt on a crime-lord's life by a Yakuza hit-man and her obsessive descent into the American Yakkuza underworld in search of her son's killer. The story which is rather original and urgent, is told in a straightforward manner, with some moments of stylish direction by Norberto Barba and cinematographer Christopher Walling who manage to give the film a much more lush look than would be expected from such a low-budget effort. But what truly sets this film apart are the combination of the stylish production and the energetic performances of the cast headed by the ever admirable Virginia Madsen who gives a touching and mesmerizing performance as the revenge-bent mother. Despite a mostly mediocre (and sometimes annoying) musical score, a first half that suffers from overly choppy editing that doesn't allow the first act enough time to breathe and develop properly and some misjudged moments of melodrama, this is one of those forgotten, ambitious B-movies that deserve a second chance for its sheer energy and ambition to transcend its humble origins.

Phroggy From the crop of "Yakusa thrillers" made in the eighties, this one is easily the best. It has it all : a great actress (Virginia Madsen of "Candyman"'s fame), a good story unfolding almost like a Greek tragedy, good direction with more than one nod to John Woo… Yes, there are shoot-outs, but not ONLY shoot-outs. In more than one aspect, this movie reminded me very much of Gans's excellent and sensuous "Crying Freeman".