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More than 15 years after the debut of The Professional: Gogol 13 (1983), Duke Togo, the assassin-hero of Takao Saito's popular manga, returns to the screen. Queen Bee plays like the animated daydreams of a frustrated high school sophomore: lots of nudity, sex, and violence, strung together by an over-the-top, clichéd story line. A ruthless Democratic vice presidential candidate hires Gogol to murder Sonia, a.k.a. the Queen Bee, because of her ties to his weak-willed running mate. She's a big-time cocaine dealer and the assistant leader of a Marxist revolution in a small Central American country. Although she's had at least eight children by different fathers, Sonia is built like a brick guerrilla camp. Her amoral indifference to murder and her sexual passion make her fire to Gogol's ice. Gogol and Sonia have no trouble outwitting the Secret Service, U.S. law enforcement, and a rogue army unit led by a deranged Vietnam veteran. But their mutual respect and passion don't stop Gogol from fulfilling his contract. U.S. viewers can only hope Japanese audiences don't see this bloody James Bond rip-off as a realistic portrait of American politics. Rated for mature audiences ages 18 and older for graphic sex, profanity, tobacco use, and extreme violence. --Charles Solomon
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