Riki Fudoh’s dad is a big wheel in the Yakuza.
If you’re not aware of the Yakuza, they are a Japanese organized crime group. They take apologies very seriously.
As in, you might have to cut off your own finger, without wincing, crying, or passing out, and then hand it to the person to whom you own an apology.
Riki’s dad had to apologize even bigger than that, so he killed Riki’s older brother and cut off his head.
Riki saw the whole thing, with completely understandable trauma resulting from that. Instead of acting out, Riki made himself into a model Yakuza boss.
Now he’s in high school, with a pair of high-school girls who can shoot poison darts from their panties, and a gang of seven-year-old assassins.
Verdict
A Yakuza movie directed by Takashi Miike shouldn’t be this boring.
Okay, to be fair, Miike directed this movie in 1996. He was three years from Audition. He was five years from Family and Ichi the Killer. He was fourteen years from 13 Assassins.
I mean, you have to admire his work ethic. The man releases multiple movies each year. He works hard, and if you can stomach the images he puts on screen, the man delivers thrills, chills, and excitement.
Chances are, if you’re a big fan of the Fudoh manga, this movie made a lot more sense to you.
For me, though, Riki was a cipher, an enigma. We don’t get to see his thought process as he develops his plan for revenge against his father and the rest of the Yakuza. We don’t get to see how he gathers his minions. We don’t know how they develop their talents, or how Riki gets their weapons.
I don’t want to sit through that prologue about his dad, and his older brother, and then skip what comes next.
As a result, Riki isn’t much of a character. He has a context, as explained earlier.
We know that he wants revenge against his father, but not his greatest fear. As a result, we don’t really understand his conflict. Without understanding the conflict, Riki’s actions become an excuse for outrageous scenes, brutal violence, twisted sexuality, and blood.
Some big muscle-y guy, supposedly a high school student even though he looks about 30, is actually better drawn than Riki, and I can’t even remember that guy’s name.
There’s also an English teacher who wears skin-tight outfits to school and a new gym teacher. They probably had some important roles, but I turned the sound off after they walked into the movie because I just didn’t care anymore.
Conclusion
Sometimes it’s fun to go back and watch the early work of an actor or director, to see what changed and what didn’t in that person’s technique.
Only give this movie a shot if you’re a big fan of Takashi Miike Otherwise, watch 13 Assassins. That movie rocks!
Oh, and in case you thought I was kidding about the pantie darts:
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