Golgo 13: The Professional

Golgo 13: The Professional, known as simply Golgo 13 (ゴルゴ13) in Japan, is a 1983 Japanese adult animated action film based on the manga series Golgo 13 by Takao Saito. The film was directed by Osamu Dezaki, produced by Yutaka Fujioka and Mata Yamamoto and was written from a screenplay by Shūkei Nagasaka. It is the first animated film based on the manga, and the third overall Golgo 13 film after two previous live-action films (the second film starring Sonny Chiba as Golgo 13).

Upon its original Japanese theatrical release, Golgo 13: The Professional was the first feature-length animated film to incorporate CGI animation, used in a helicopter action sequence as well as the opening credits. The film was later released in North America by Streamline Pictures in 1992. The Streamline release received mixed reviews from American critics at the time, with praise for the animation design but criticism towards the story, dubbing and adult content.

Plot
Professional contract killer Golgo 13 is hired to assassinate Robert Dawson, the son of oil baron Leonard Dawson and the heir of Dawson Enterprises. He succeeds in doing so. Some time later, Golgo is hired to kill Dr. Z, a shadowy crime boss who rules over the Sicilian mafia. After infiltrating Dr. Z's organization and sleeping with his daughter, Cindy, Golgo survives an ambush from the Dr. Z's henchmen. He calls Cindy to tell her he figured out that she is actually Dr. Z, then later kills her while she is at a beach. Golgo then escapes ambushes by US Special Forces Lieutenant Bob Bragan and three agents from the CIA. Golgo's local contact, a clockmaker, is murdered by a genetically enhanced supersoldier named Snake. Aided by the Pentagon, the FBI, and the CIA, Leonard Dawson has become determined to kill Golgo and avenge his son's death.

Golgo's next job comes from a wealthy Holocaust survivor in San Francisco, California, who wants an ex-Nazi official dead. With the aid of a local mechanic named Rita, Golgo manages to kill his target, but is attacked during his getaway by Bragan and his forces. Golgo kills them all, but before Bragan dies, he manages to wound Golgo. Meanwhile, Snake finds and murders Rita. Golgo later meets up with Pablo, his informant in the Amazon, to find out who set up the hit on him before leaving for Miami to rest and recuperate.

Dawson, now consumed by a desire for revenge, allows Snake to rape Robert's widow, Laura, as a means of securing the killer's cooperation. Dawson also sends his granddaughter Emily and his butler Albert to an airport to murder Golgo. In a meeting with agents from the U.S. intelligence agencies, Dawson demands the release of Gold and Silver, two notorious murderers sitting on Death Row who were part of a covert government operation to test the survival rate of mercenaries. When the group refuses his request, Dawson threatens to halt all operations that his company controls, which include oil refineries and banks. The group relents out of fear that the U.S. economy would collapse. When Laura demands to know why Dawson refuses to seek vengeance on whoever ordered the hit on Robert, he refuses to answer. Despondent, Laura decides to leave Dawson, as well as Emily.

Golgo makes his way to New York City after recuperating in Miami with the aid of Pablo, the last of his contacts. Emily tries to shoot Golgo in the airport; the shot misses, and Golgo kills Albert as the butler reaches for a handgun. In New York City, Pablo informs Golgo that Dawson ordered the hit and is currently holed up in his highrise headquarters, Dawson Castle. Pablo reluctantly tells Golgo that his wife and children are being kept at ransom in the tower, then tries to shoot Golgo, who kills Pablo in self-defense.

Golgo arrives at Dawson Castle and begins his ascent to the top floor on foot. He first plays a game of cat-and-mouse with a fleet of helicopter gunships sent to kill him. While on the move, Golgo is attacked by Snake, and a brutal knifefight occurs between the two in an elevator, during which Snake manages to stab Golgo. A Bell AH-1 attack helicopter shoots the elevator, killing Snake while Golgo hides by the edge unseen by the helicopter. As Golgo resumes his ascent, Gold and Silver ambush and assault him. After Gold reopens one of Golgo's prior stab wounds, Golgo bludgeons Gold on the head repeatedly with the butt of his revolver, then shoots him. Silver, now blinded by rage at his partner's death, rushes at Golgo, who quickly stuffs a live grenade in Silver's mouth, which explodes and kills him. Golgo then proceeds towards Dawson.

Dawson admits failure and orders all action against Golgo to end. After Golgo enters the room, Dawson delivers a brief monologue, then attempts suicide by leaping out of the window. As he falls, Dawson remembers Robert's suicide note: Despite receiving much care from his father throughout his lifetime, Robert believed he would never fulfill his father's ambitions, but since he was unable to commit suicide himself, Robert hired Golgo instead. Before Dawson hits the ground, Golgo shoots him in the head. Dawson lands headfirst, crushing his skull and erasing any evidence that he was shot; his death is ruled as "accidental" by the authorities.

Some time later, Golgo encounters Laura, who has since become a prostitute. Trying to get the attention of men as they pass her by, she recognizes the assassin. She eventually draws a pistol and aims it at Golgo, but when she hesitates to fire, he turns his back to her and walks away. When Laura finally fires the gun, the shot rings out and the scene fades to black. Golgo walks away into the night with a bullet hole in his back as the credits roll.

Production
The film features the voice acting of Tetsurō Sagawa, Gorō Naya, Toshiko Fujita, Kōsei Tomita, Kiyoshi Kobayashi and Reiko Mutō. The film was released by Toho-Towa on May 28, 1983.

Golgo 13: The Professional is also the first animated film to incorporate CGI animation, created by Koichi Omura and Satomi Mikuriya at Toyo Links Co., Ltd. This is most notable in a scene where army helicopters circle around Dawson Tower and attack Golgo as he climbs toward Dawson's office on the top floor. The CGI scene was created by Koichi Omura (大村皓一 Ōmura Kōichi) and Satomi Mikuriya (御厨 さと美 Mikuriya Satomi) at Toyo Links Co., Ltd. (トーヨーリンクス Tōyō Rinkusu).

Reception
The film received largely mixed reviews from American film critics when it was screened in America by Streamline Pictures in 1992. The film was praised by Boston Globe writer Betsy Sherman who cited the animation, visual style, and English dubbing as draws. However, The New York Times reviewer Janet Maslin was highly critical of the film, noting its excessive violence and a scene of sexual assault. She was also critical of the dialogue, writing, and story of the film. LA Weekly was also critical of both the film, calling Golgo himself "2 dimensional", and the story as "cookie cutter" while saying that the film lacked the humanizing elements that Lone Wolf and Cub did. Newsday critic Gene Seymore gave it 2 1/2 stars. Philadelphia Inquirer reviewer Steven Rea called the film a disappointing adaption of the original comic, citing stiff animation and dialogue, with the excessive violence being the only element that someone might find appealing.

Several reviewers compared the film to live-action film Die Hard (1988) starring Bruce Willis. Bob Strauss gave the film just one star out of four, saying the film was "amateurish", and that it lacked the exotic or fantastical elements seen in other Japanese animated films. Charles Solomon in The Los Angeles Times was also critical of the film, citing Golgo 13 as an "emotional void" on the film because he remained expressionless regardless of the situation whether it's frantic action or love making.

The 1996 movie guide "Seen That, Now What?", it was given the rating of "B", stating it to be "a sprawling crime thriller laced with liberal amounts of sex and graphic violence, marked by stylized design, extreme camera angles, and unpredictable plot twists."

Retrospectively, Dave Halverson praised the film following its release on DVD in 2005, calling the film slickly made and entertaining.

In popular culture
Quentin Tarantino paid homage to the Golgo 13 anime in the animated sequence of Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003).