I remember buying Mighty Jack for £1 in a discount store many years ago. There was nothing overly appealing about it (apart from the price), but I knew that with most 60's/70's Japanese sci-fi action films, there was often a diamond in the rough that provided some genuine viewing pleasure for fans of Asian cinema. And after a few years on the shelf, I finally got round to watching it...
A diamond it is not.
By no means is Mighty Jack terrible! It's shot well enough, the (dubbed) performances seem alright, and the action is akin to that of the oldest Godzilla movies (albeit minus the rubber suited monsters). With a dull, out-dated looking print taken straight from video, I'm sure Mighty Jack would actually fare better with a HD clean up and original language release. It just screams late 60's film, taking tips from James Bond in style and with its main Western villain called Q, complete with fluffy white cat on his lap.
Mighty Jack itself is a submarine vessel that plays as the base for the good guys. That's pretty much the basis of it all. Even though the team spend much of the film above the water, they gather now and again on Mighty Jack to thwart the evil Q via a collection of scenes that plays out like an episode of the classic Thunderbirds.
Although not as bad as much of their other content, Mighty Jack is the kind of film you would probably see on Mystery Science Theatre 3000 - allowing for plenty of laughs and corny entertainment. And that includes a classic 60's freeze-gun! You could do worse, but for £1 and some background viewing, I'm happy enough...
A diamond it is not.
By no means is Mighty Jack terrible! It's shot well enough, the (dubbed) performances seem alright, and the action is akin to that of the oldest Godzilla movies (albeit minus the rubber suited monsters). With a dull, out-dated looking print taken straight from video, I'm sure Mighty Jack would actually fare better with a HD clean up and original language release. It just screams late 60's film, taking tips from James Bond in style and with its main Western villain called Q, complete with fluffy white cat on his lap.
Mighty Jack itself is a submarine vessel that plays as the base for the good guys. That's pretty much the basis of it all. Even though the team spend much of the film above the water, they gather now and again on Mighty Jack to thwart the evil Q via a collection of scenes that plays out like an episode of the classic Thunderbirds.
Although not as bad as much of their other content, Mighty Jack is the kind of film you would probably see on Mystery Science Theatre 3000 - allowing for plenty of laughs and corny entertainment. And that includes a classic 60's freeze-gun! You could do worse, but for £1 and some background viewing, I'm happy enough...