Several high-profile politicians are found mysteriously murdered. The cause of death? A single karate chop to the neck. It’s then up to the masked crimefighter Neutron to snoop around a local karate school and snuff out the mastermind behind the insidious plot.
The addition of karate into the usual Lucha Libre shenanigans gives Neutron vs. the Karate Assassins a slightly different flavor than the other entries in the series. Instead of scenes of wrestlers practicing their moves in sweaty gymnasiums, we have karate students battling hand to hand in karate schools. The problem is that it was released way before the martial arts movie craze kicked into gear, so there is very little here in terms of Kung Fu action to get excited about. Most of the fights are brief and lack the hallmarks that would eventually be found in the genre as it progressed.
Another stumbling block is the noticeable lack of Neutron. From the looks of things, this was taken from either a television series and/or a serial as there are title cards for the various chapters. That means that Neutron only shows up towards the end of each chapter (about every twenty minutes or so), which may disappoint some viewers. To make matters worse, he spends more time creeping around and spying on the villains than actually fighting them.
That said, the pace is agreeable, and even the Neutron-less patches are surprisingly watchable. The comic relief police inspector’s schtick is also kind of funny this time out. The participation of The Monsters Demolisher’s German Robles as the sympathetic villain also helps to keep you invested. The nightclub performances (of which there are three) are kind of dull this time around though.
Ultimately, Neutron vs. the Karate Assassins isn’t all that bad. It’s just kind of slight and forgettable. Fans of the series may be disappointed by the lack of action, but it still remains kinda fun.
AKA: Neutron Battles the Karate Assassins.
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