Jail Breakers (1976) [Film Review]

Jail Breakers; or, Sonny Chiba the Escape Coordinator!

Have you committed a serious offence and landed in a high-security prison? Even though you tried to break free numerous times, it’s still too darn hard? Well, in that case, it’s high time to call the professionals. Special team of the so-called “Escape Coordinators” will get you out in no time, but for substantial remuneration.

Release Info

Directed by: Kôsaku Yamashita Starring: Sonny Chiba, Haruko Wanibuchi, Eitarô Ozawa
Language: Japanese Original Title: Dassou Yuugi Runtime: 93 min

Plot

Kamiki (larger-than-life Sonny Chiba) is a petty criminal and a notorious prison escapee. After his 32nd(!) attempt, fortunate coincidence gives him another opportunity. When one of the prisoners fails to reach the rendezvous point, Kamiki takes his place in spur of the moment. The escape succeeds, but Kamiki’s unexpected presence instead of the other prisoner, greatly angers the gangsters who organised the whole thing. As a result, he becomes entangled in a series of scams and hustles in which he and the gang are constantly trying to deceive each other. In the end, Kamiki joins forces with “the escape coordinators” when they get an assignment worth approximately 3 billion yen. All it takes is to get out of prison a certain young lady and her father…

Feel the might of Chiba!

This forgotten, yet highly enjoyable, film starts right off the bat as our protagonist outruns masses of prison wardens and catches the helicopter ladder just to change his clothes while hanging hundreds of feet above the ground (genius opening sequence!). All in all, we’re talking about Sonny Chiba himself. Things have to be epic!

The title of the film says it all, and the film perfectly delivers it’s topic. Thankfully, the picture does not attempt to fall back on the tone of an exploitation flick (so popular in Japan of the 1970s), but instead, it imitates the style of a heist movie. However, there's still some room for humour. In my opinion, the most hilarious part of the film is when, during a mission at women's prison, female convincts suddenly wake up in their cell and jump with wild lust at one of the gangsters!

Yet, instead of the break-ins, we are served with the break-outs. On top of that, we also get to see gunfights, car chases, and Sonny kicking lots of butts in hand-to-hand combat. What can be considered a letdown are definitely the quarrels between Kamiki and the gang. Firstly, they want him to pay 30 million yen and throw him into the river. Then, Kamiki fools them during the break out job, by stealing the prisoner’s payment. Next, the boss of the gang, Reverend Tadokoro (Eitarô Ozawa), wants him dead, but boss’ girlfriend, Yoko (Haruko Wanibuchi), saves Kamiki just in time and orders him to kill the boss. During a confrontation between Kamiki and Tadokoro, the boss talks about a gig involving diamonds, which ultimately makes them join forces. Unfortunately, all these shifting alliances are very hard to follow.

Nevertheless, where there’s Chiba there’s action. As mentioned previously, the movie offers a great deal of action sequences and every single one was made flawlessly, especially the final escape, which deserves an honourable mention. In terms of acting, Sonny Chiba is basically himself at the top of his prime, which is always a great pleasure to watch, Eitaro Ozawa convincingly portrays a double-faced gang leader, and Haruko Wanibuchi shines with her beauty as Tadokoro’s manipulative girlfriend.

Recommendations

I recommend this film primarily to Sonny Chiba fans. Unfortunately, it’s quite a rare film and it’s not included in The Ten Faces of Sonny Chiba- 10 Movie Pack, but after a careful search on the internet you should be able to find it. In addition, if you want to introduce your child to Sonny Chiba, it’s best to start either with Jail Breakers or The Bullet Train (1975), because, contrary to Street Fighter Trilogy, these do not splash the screen with graphic violence. To sum up, Jail Breakers is a cool and entertaining flick for Saturday afternoon.

Overall score: 7/10