Blue Tiger (1994) User Reviews

An ambitious revenge drama

[khalifakhella · 6/10 · 8 March 2006]

"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.

Virginia Madsen movies—(2): Average highly melodramatic vigilante thriller

[Cristi_Ciopron · 6/10 · 6 January 2009]

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.

Underwhelming

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 7 July 2019]

BLUE TIGER isn't necessarily a bad film, but it is one that's hard to get excited about. Virginia Madsen - hot off the success of CANDYMAN - stars as a mother left grieving when her son is accidentally gunned down. Turns out he was in the wrong place at the wrong time; in the middle of a battle between rival Japanese gangsters, no less. Madsen swears revenge, and this involves her going undercover in the seedy world of the Yakuza; she even get extensive tattoo work. The set-up of all this is quite interesting, although dated in the visuals and particularly the dim blue lighting in a lot of the night time scenes. The second half drops off in quality a bit, turning into a half-hearted romance and ending in a way which is a little weak and drawn-out.

Initially Showed Promise but Lacked Necessary Realism

[Uriah43 · 5/10 · 29 November 2017]

After watching in horror as her young son is shot and killed in an ambush by a Yakuza hit-man upon a leader of the Italian mafia, a woman named "Gina Hayes" (Virginia Madsen) sets out to track down and kill all of those responsible. To that end, after buying a gun she subsequently hires on as a waitress at a nightclub frequented by members of that specific Japanese organization. In the meantime, however, the battle between the two rival groups becomes even more heated and this creates great difficulty for everyone involved. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this initially appeared to be a polished Hollywood production which had a good cast and definitely showed some promise. Unfortunately, like so many films made during this day and age, there was a lack of realism which strained its credibility to a certain degree. Additionally, the chemistry between Virginia Madsen and Toru Nakamura (as the Yakuza assassin by the name of "Seiji") was rather tepid as well. Having said that, however, I don't believe that this was necessarily a bad film by any means and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Average.

Another In A Long Line Of 'Revenge Flicks,' But Not Bad

[ccthemovieman-1 · 7/10 · 14 July 2007]

Revenge turns nice "Gina Hayes" (Virginia Madsen) into a cold-blooded killer. In a nutshell, her son is accidentally shot. Some scumbag was aiming for another crook in a mob shootout, missed, and killed Gina's young son instead. Gina only remembers seeing a red tiger tattoo on the guy's chest. Her plan is to find this guy so she has sex with a number of them with the sole purpose of seeing if they have this tattoo.

Madsen looks very hot in here but the best parts are the action scenes. Overall, it was good but so much like so many other revenge films that it got lost in the shuffle among the many of the movie of this genre in the '70s-'90s.

It's still worth a look, and now that it's out on DVD I wouldn't mind seeing it again because Director Noberta Barba put some style into this film.

Watchable, forgettable.

[bombersflyup · 3/10 · 21 March 2023]

Blue Tiger has a good premise and isn't awful, but the characters are so hollow and the script non-existent.

Take the romance for example, barely written at all. The film's entirely sombrely monotone, but unevoking and unprovocative as well for the plot and seediness involved. Why'd she give this Smith guy on his deathbed a roll of cash anyway, what's he gonna do with that? The realism is lacking and there's no performance worthy of note either. The ending's too stupid as well, with the cliche bad guy Soames running his mouth off and pouring himself a drink while Seiji has a gun in hand. Yep.

Female revenge done right ..........

[merklekranz · 7/10 · 30 January 2012]

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

To Sing Swing

[bemyfriend-40184 · 5/10 · 14 April 2021]

Bobby Darin released a swing lp in 2002. It really wasn't the genre for his 1960's hits. But he grew up when swing was the most popular music. So he knew swing. This movie is made in the classic noir style. It is not the self-conscious, over the top, retro style like Sin City, or The Girl From the Naked Eye. No, whoever made this flick was old. They KNEW noir. But unfortunately in 2021, it is kind of slow, and cliched. Still gets five stars; because it is quality. Seen on Tubi, the free streaming site.

Short, sweet, and right to the point.

[squelcho · 7/10 · 2 August 2005]

I finally managed to track down a VHS copy of this movie, and I'm glad I did. The quality of the print is astonishing. No blurry edges or twitches to distract the eye from a superb little revenge movie. The plot reminded me of Ms.45. Woman goes a bit obsessively bonkers and vows to track down a tattooed killer when her son gets killed in the crossfire from a bodged gang hit. Cue hair dye, naff outfits, shooting practice and Japanese lessons. Woot!

The tattoo thing allows Harry Dean Stanton to reprise his wheezy old wise man role from Repo Man. A neat cameo from one of my favourite actors. Michael Madsen also appears briefly to sell his sister a gun. Well he wasn't going to sell her flowers, was he?

The surprising thing about this movie is the pace. It's relentless, and it has that moody low budget Ferrara/Cohen urgency about it from start to finish. Great performances all round from a decent cast. Shame the mob guys looked like extras from the Kojak school of pie munching. Seeing as their main role is as cannon fodder, that's forgivable. At just under 80 minutes, this movie feels way too short. It's a good lesson in lean mean movie making , and appears to have left all the excess baggage on the cutting room floor. Worth the price of the video if you can find one, and worthy of a few brews if it turns up on cable.

B-movies don't come any better

[Phroggy · 10/10 · 2 April 1999]

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".

Driven by revenge

[lost-in-limbo · 7/10 · 20 November 2014]

Searing, passionate and stylish revenge thriller that rises above its b- grade formula due to its well-written character dramas lead by a powerful performance from Virginia Madsen. Its her character's fierce determination of a mother that drives it, especially in her commitment as she gets the tattoo of the avenging red tiger on her back. Madsen really takes it upon herself to portray a damaged individual who's desire for revenge sees her character entering the dangerous underworld of the Japanese mafia seeking the identity of the killer of her son who was caught in the crossfire during an Yakuza hit. The only clue driving her was the glimpse of a tattoo of a blue tiger across the killer's chest. Fearsome action with heated drama and cold straight-faced villains… no surprises with the intrigue, but its well-made and there's perfect support parts led by Harry Dean Stanton.

Virginia Madsen versus the Yakuza. Killer idea. Thankfully, the movie more or less delivers.

[tarbosh22000 · 6/10 · 2 April 2020]

Gina Hayes (Madsen) is a loving single mother to her young son Darin (Mortensen). When Darin is shot in the crossfire of a Yakuza war, Gina drops whatever it was she was doing, learns Japanese, dyes her hair black, and puts on her leather revenge jacket. She obsessively and single-mindedly attempts to track down her son's murderer, and her only clue (because the assailant wore a mask) is that he has a very recognizable tattoo on his chest.



She gets a job as a waitress in a dance club where the Yakuza hangs out, then begins the laborious process of coming up with reasons for all of them to get shirtless so she can identify the killer. When ailing tattoo master Smith (Stanton) emblazons her body with a certain red dragon, it signals that she is close to fulfilling her mission. But the Yakuza is getting wise, her friend Emily (Varda) is against her, and "Asian Crimes Inspector" Lt. Sakagami (Okumoto) is on her trail. With time running out, she must unravel the true nature of her newfound relationship with Seiji (Nakamura). Who - or what - is the real meaning of BLUE TIGER?



Virginia Madsen versus the Yakuza. Killer idea. Thankfully, the movie more or less delivers. It's well-shot and technically is quality all the way around. It can certainly stand with other movies cut from a similar cloth such as American Yakuza (1993), American Dragons (1998), and White Tiger (1996). It's noticeably better than Distant Justice (1992), another American-Japanese co-production from the same era.



While it does feature some beat-ups and shooting (including a noteworthy, classic-90's drive-by), we're not in PM territory here. The movie concentrates largely on drama, but is punctuated at appropriate times with well-executed action scenes. The Japanese actors acquit themselves well as usual, and the presence of top-flight actors like Madsen, fan favorite Harry Dean Stanton, and No Retreat No Surrender's Dean Hallo really help things. Virginia's brother Michael has a cameo as a gun dealer for the classic scene where the revenge-seeker (in this case Virginia, of course) goes to a gun range and learns to shoot.



Blue Tiger is a worthy addition to the revenge movie canon. Thanks to films like this one, video stores in a now-bygone era had added color and interest. It's all very professional and serious-minded. Perhaps too much so: it actually could have been more exploitative and trashy, but that was eschewed. The plot is a bit slow-moving in the middle, but it rights itself.



Blue Tiger is recommended, especially for revenge film fans.