review
Black Angel
Review By: Matthew Anderson
Cinema: Japanese
Company: Tokyo Shock
Running Time: 107 minutes
Region: 1
Rated: R for action, violence, and nudity
SHORT VIEW
When Ikko was a
little girl, her parents were murdered at the behest of her step sister,
Chiaki. Before she could be killed, Ikko is rescued by Mayo, a hit
woman known as "Black Angel". Before she sends the little
girl to America, Mayo tells her that she will always be there for her.
14 years later, Ikko returns to Japan, hell bent to take revenge on Chiaki and her boyfriend Mogi, the man who ordered the hit. Leaving a trail of Yakuza in her wake, Mogi decides to take out Ikko once and for all.
He decides to use Mayo, who is now addicted to drugs as bait. After sobering her up, he tricks the "Black Angel" into helping him capture Ikko.
Now, the stage is set for a winner take all battle, that will leave the streets of Tokyo covered in blood.
THE LONG VIEW
VIDEO: The DVD is of moderate quality. There are
pixels, wrinkles, and other digital garbage all over the place.
While not as bad as the Misa the Dark Angel release, it's still noticeable.
AUDIO: Well done for both the English and Japanese Dolby 2.0 tracks. The English track is louder in volume, but the Japanese language track has a fuller sound. On both versions, the sound is crisp and rich, full of surround sound during the action elements.
EDITS: The Japanese closing credits have been replaced
with English credits. No edits to the movie have been made.
EXTRAS: No extras. Just trailers.
STORY: This is a pretty typical "Yakuza revenge" film. Takashi Ishii has all the pre-requisites for this film. Attractive women with guns, hard as stone Yakazua, sneaky crooked cops who play both sides, and plot twists you can see a mile away. Its ending is also nihilistic, which is usually the only route these films can take.
ACTING: The Japanese cast is very good. I like how Riona Hazuki played Ikko as a real human being. When her character switches from tough-as-nails bitch to innocent young woman, her whole body undergoes a transformation.
I was totally shocked at seeing Reiko Takashima playing a slobbering drunk. Every thing I have seen her in, she has always been the tough one, never letting anything drag her down. I was totally convinced that she was nothing more than a booze swilling lush, who lost the power to control her own destiny.
The English dub is pretty good. They match their Japanese counterparts on portraying the emotions.
FAN SERVICE: Well, if girls with guns is your fetish, then this movie will fill you up. There is also some nudity (no, not of Riona Hazuki), to keep you flesh fans happy.
THE 2 VIEW
Yakuza
eiga films are 10 yen a dozen. The scripts are pretty much the same,
the characters are not that complex, and the violence is plentiful.
The key to having a successful Yakuza Eiga film is the presentation, and
on that level director Takashi Ishii has done well.
The film is full of bizarre film angles, funky lighting effects, and plenty of stylized pose shots. You can feel the influence of films from Hong Kong, Hollywood, and even Bollywood. For example, Ikko and her friend Zille have just returned to their room after taking out several Yakuza gangsters. Instead of doing the nasty to celebrate, they start a well choreographed dance routine. Pretty funky huh?
For a low budget film, the cast was pretty good. I was very impressed with Riona Hazuki. She starts off as this hard as steel killer, ready to enact her terrible revenge on the people that destroyed her life. However, as the movie progress, she shows us that she is still a child, holding on to the past. When her single minded view of the world is challenged, she quickly dissolves into a mass of neurosis, her pain showing on her face, and with her body.
Reiko Takashima is one of the best "B" actresses out there. When she first appears in the movie, I figured we were going to be treated to another version of her character from "A Woman of Many Cuts: The Bodyguard". When she appears later on as a drunk, barely holding on to what dignity she had, I was impressed that she could play such a weak character.
Those of you who love Hong Kong films may find the action scenes a little stiff, and the gun play is no where near as plentiful. Also, there is tons of "Nipponglish" in this movie. You can't help but laugh at scenes that are supposed to be dramatic.
As
this was an early release for Tokyo Shock, I am inclined to cut them some
slack for the so/so quality of the DVD. With so much of this movie
set in the dark or at night, you can see every single piece of digital
crap. Thank goodness the source was pretty grainy, or it would have
looked really bad.
This movie is kind of a guilty pleasure. Despite the cookie cutter script, the acting, mood, and Takashi Ishii's visual style help make Black Angel better than most revenge flicks.