No pun intended - there is something about this story ... yes we have seen it before. It is not something new we really get served here. But the way it is presented is ... well you kind of can see that the director is seasoned as they say. This is not his first rodeo (if they had them in ... actually why shouldn't they have them in Japan?) ... but cultural things aside, this takes lessons from the West (noir, crime movies) as much as just being aware of its own culture.
The acting is really top notch - and the script is as tight as it has to be! It reminds me a bit of Johnnie To but also Kitano. Showing the trivial life in between shootouts ... showing the interactions between Yakuza ... but also how they present themselves to outsiders. A lot of research was done surely (I'm not calling anyone Shirley).
The movie knows what it wants and while it is two hours long (which may seem like a lot for some), it never gets boring ... not for one second! I understand that some may have issues with the characters presented ... and trying to keep track of them is not an easy task! But that also makes this movie re-watchable ... a lot! To say the least!
The fact that we deal with the Yakuza (sorry for the pun) also means that there will be a lot of violence! And the violence is as well shot as the scenes of dialog. This may not be action of fast paced - but you need the time to breathe in between! Especially after the movie gets really mad ... and to understand what the next move or step is going to be.
Characters are well drawn, but they also have codes of ethics that we may not entirely understand ... not all of us. The respect - the punishment ... where even the boss is not shown mercy if he screws up ... again, quite complex, but in the best way possible and imaginable! Glad I found it - and another example of Netflix doing things right.
The acting is really top notch - and the script is as tight as it has to be! It reminds me a bit of Johnnie To but also Kitano. Showing the trivial life in between shootouts ... showing the interactions between Yakuza ... but also how they present themselves to outsiders. A lot of research was done surely (I'm not calling anyone Shirley).
The movie knows what it wants and while it is two hours long (which may seem like a lot for some), it never gets boring ... not for one second! I understand that some may have issues with the characters presented ... and trying to keep track of them is not an easy task! But that also makes this movie re-watchable ... a lot! To say the least!
The fact that we deal with the Yakuza (sorry for the pun) also means that there will be a lot of violence! And the violence is as well shot as the scenes of dialog. This may not be action of fast paced - but you need the time to breathe in between! Especially after the movie gets really mad ... and to understand what the next move or step is going to be.
Characters are well drawn, but they also have codes of ethics that we may not entirely understand ... not all of us. The respect - the punishment ... where even the boss is not shown mercy if he screws up ... again, quite complex, but in the best way possible and imaginable! Glad I found it - and another example of Netflix doing things right.