Director: J. Lee Thompson
Starring: Charles Bronson, Perry Lopez
Running Time: 97 minutes
Synopsis: Los Angeles Police Lieutenant Crowe (Charles Bronson) is worried about his teenaged daughter Rita, who is starting to attract boys' attention. He is also unhappy with increased Japanese presence in Los Angeles, but his real nemesis is the despicable Duke (Juan Fernandez), who abducts young girls and forces them into prostitution. Separately, Japanese businessman Hiroshi Hada (James Pax) is transferred to Los Angeles with his wife and daughter Fumiko. He has sexual cravings not satisfied within his marriage, and has a bus encounter with Rita. When Duke targets Fumiko, the lives of Crowe and Hada collide.
What Works Well: A B-movie Cannon Films production, Kinjite nevertheless packs an outsized punch. The sordid world of child prostitution and its impact on victims and police detectives is just the starting point. From there the premise adds traces of racism, a culture clash, a mis-matched married couple, sexual kinks, the Stockholm Syndrome (courtesy of an early Nicole Eggert role), some delicious irony in the intermingling of tensions between Crowe and Hada, and an ultimately really dark outcome for one character. In his last movie, director J. Lee Thompson does not hold back and makes the most out of the limited budget, while Charles Bronson embraces one of his more troubled and unlikeable characters (making good use of a dildo, a wristwatch, and a balcony), moving well beyond revenge and into overt hostility.
What Does Not Work As Well: The disturbing but serious issues reside in a milieu of crass exploitation, far from any avenues for thoughtful exploration.
Key Quote:
Duke: Crowe! You're a mad dog! I shoot mad dogs! I blow their fucking heads off!
Crowe (walking away): Colorful...but dangerous.
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