Perhaps my favorite thing about Japanese filmmaker
Takashi Miike is his desire and ability to not only elevate
genre conventions with great humor and detail, but to do so
in projects that many filmmakers would never even consider.
Be it a big-budget theatrical release or a miniscule V-Cinema
presentation, Miike usually attacks every film with equal
verve and invention. Full Metal Jacket is
a crazy, comical take on both Yakuza thrillers and Frankenstein
monster myth. If you can imagine Abel Ferrara leaping into
a film combining RoboCop, Goodfellas
and The Toxic Avenger, you might be able
to get a feel for what our favorite cinema trickster has done
here.
Yakuza soldier, or "gokudo," Keisuke Hagane (played
by a hilarious Tsuyoshi Ujiki) looks up to Boss Tosu (Takeshi
Ceasar) with honor and admiration, but unfortunatley Hagane
isn't much of a gangster. Hagane's strongarm tactics usually
wind up getting him copious beatings but Tosu takes him under
his wing just the same as they share a father/son sort of
kinship. Once conspiracy rears its head, Tosu and Hagane find
themselves under attack and both are gunned down. Hagane,
though, is soon reborn at the hands of a hipster mad-scientist
(the scene-stealing Tomorowo Taguchi) who rebuilds him using
mecha-technology and a few of Boss Tosu's leftover body parts.
The result is a mild-mannered man transformed into the uber-powerful
RoboGangster out for revenge against the killers of his hero
and himself.
As this is a sci-fi crime film, the requisite violence and
syndicate storyline drives the narrative but here things are
supercharged by our loveable Hagane. Though deeply saddened,
he delights in his newfound skills here and there. Be he laying
waste to a Yakuza Headquarters or fending off gunfire using
a ridiculous shielding technique that makes him look like
a prancing killer droid, Tsuyoshi is note perfect as the put-upon
man trying to honor his mentor. Though the conclusion goes
a little too far for my tastes regarding the fate of a certain
female character, the movie still has a certain measure of
sweetness and a great deal of humor. Any movie about a reborn
avenger in which the first thing the man does is check his
genitals to see if they're still there can't really be taken
too seriously.
The film's DVD presentation follows suit in the same manner
of Artsmagic's commendable previous works. While the digitally
enhanced picture is characteristically dark given the nature
of Miike's low budget aesthetic, one does wish that the image
quality were on par with Miike's later works. Audio and subtitles
are clear and without fault. In addition to the usual interviews
featuring Miike and film editor Shimamura, Artsmagic adds
a brief interview with lead actor Ujiki, who compares the
directorial styles of Miike, Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Cure)
and the late Hideo Gosha, who's work sounds intruguing. Author
Tom Mes contibutes another decent commentary track relating
much information of interest. Three films into Artsmagic's
Miike collection I've warmed up to Mes's delivery, but I still
think a contributing speaker would add measurably to future
tracks
Quite possibly the perfect Friday Night, beer-drinking movie
for Japanese film fans, Takashi Miike's Full Metal
Yakuza is a fast, funny and welcome addition all
three Yakuza, sci-fi and comedy genres. Featuring themes that
would later be explored in Ichi The Killer
and Gozu, Miike has given us one of his slightest
but still most enjoyable movies. In fact, if Gozu can be billed
as 'Yakuza Horror" then Full Metal Yakuza could
be a "Yakuza Fantasy" -- and a punchline.
--Matthew Goltz
Review DVD courtesy Artsmagic DVD. View a trailers of the
above at www.artsmagicdvd.com.
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