Gun Crazy: Episode 2 - Beyond the Law

The extremely beautiful Rei Kikukawa (who also seems to be adorable in real life, going by a short interview with her that is included on the DVD) plays an idealistic young lawyer who gets increasingly frustrated when the judicial system lets obviously guilty people walk free because of loops in the law. One day she finds herself in a violent confrontation with some gangsters, who are about to shoot her when a mysterious man arrives and saves her life by shooting them instead. Fascinated by the "instant judgement" of the gun, she follows him around and asks him to train her in shooting. She soon embarks on a second career, as a vigilante hitwoman, but eventually finds out just how ruthless the people she is associated with now really are.

The second "Gun Crazy" film is quite a bit different from the first ("A Woman From Nowhere"): it has an urban setting, and the heroine is not an expert with guns when the story starts, she has to work her way there. But one thing they have in common is that they are both considerably superior to the somewhat similar "Zero Woman" series: they look better, they move faster, and they contain more action. This movie is careful not to overstay its welcome - it only needs about 65 minutes to tell its story. Kikukawa looks like a natural with two guns in her hands, and the director seems to know that women with guns are sexy and films her appropriately. For the small, low-budget action film that it is, "Beyond The Law" is an overachiever. **1/2 out of 4.