Director: Kensuke Sonomura
Year: 2019
Country: Japan
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Action:
Plot:
Working as a chef in a small restaurant, a former assassin tries to keep his past hidden while he protects the bar’s owner, the daughter of a deceased colleague that he has secretly entrusted with his life. When hints of his past life begin to creep up on him as his former boss informs him that the organization he was a part of is needing his help to root out a police corruption ring, he reluctantly refuses for fear of interrupting his new life. After finding out that his friends have gotten involved in the crime ring inadvertently, he sets out to use his skills one last time to rescue them and get them to safety.
Review:
Overall, this was a pretty simplistic and straightforward if still highly fun feature. The main feature to enjoy here, which should be no surprise given its pedigree, is the film’s high action quotient that generates a lot of excitement. Featuring plenty to like in terms of brutal brawling and confrontations, manly from the scenes showing off his assassination prowess that extends to the opening attack at the urinal station alongside the eventual clean-up, a stunningly original knife-fight that goes against the usual conventions of what’s seen in such efforts and a montage of his effectiveness as an as assassin previously that generates some brutal encounters with a lot to like about them. This is carried over pretty nicely to the rest of the film as the series of fights continue on which are all impressively choreographed and relentless in their speed and ferocity. These aspects manage to hold this one up overall.
That said, this one does have some problems. The main factor here is a somewhat slow and quiet pace that manages to remain quite sluggish and sedate for most of its running time. Rather than break into action constantly, which is what its plot seems geared for, the film focuses quite heavily on the drama surrounding his desire to keep her safe in a way that keeps his past a secret. The mystery of his background to the other patrons and the rest of the build-up surrounding the need to call him back into action is quite prominent here which results in a longer waiting time than normal for what’s supposedly a brisk, breezy action effort. Moreover, the long build-up highlights the other factor on display here in an overly complex and unnecessary amount of interwoven storylines that could’ve easily been trimmed down to keep this one from getting in its way. However, while these do hold it back some they’re not that detrimental.
Overview: ***/5
Managing to be quite exciting as the main purpose of its existence yet stumbling slightly with the storyline and some of its pacing, for the most part, this one comes off as uneven but highly watchable. Those who are interested in that aspect of the film or curious about the exploits of the creative crew will have a lot to like here while others looking for a more cohesive experience might want to take caution here.
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