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Bad City (JP, 2022) - Kensuke Sonomura


laagi

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My first movie at this year's NIFFF (Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival). Which marked the world premiere if I'm not mistaken.

Regardless this will now forever have a special place in my heart. For the simple fact it's the first asian movie I've watched on the big screen. And overall I'm very pleased with not only the experience but also the movie.

If you haven't watched the director's freshman effort Hydra I highly recommend you do. The finale features some of the best on screen fighting coming out of Japan in a long time.

Now let's talk a bit about Bad City. Starring veteran actor and V-Cinema legend Hitoshi Ozawa which I honestly didn't know much about. His screen presence is simply amazing! I absoluetly loved it. For what it's worth the guy just turned 60! years old and from what I could tell he did most of his own stunts here. 

Kensuke Sonomura was clearly given a bigger budget. This is simply evident by the number of familiar faces and the scale of the movie.

One name in particular that should make any action fan excited is Tak Sakaguchi. And while not giving too much away he does have some of best one on one fight scenes in the movie. 

Also worth mentioning the choreography does rely a lot on the style used in Re:Born. I know there's quite a few out there who weren't big fans of it. However here it never really bothered me. The fights feel raw and real. I've really enjoyed watching the increasing tension!

For the story there's not much in particular to say here. Basically it's a revenge thriller including the yakuza, corrupt politician, a detective not playing by the books and some witty dialogue. Overall while simple it's a good mix which for the most part does work remarkably well. Some sub plots that could've probably been scrapped but nothing too distracting.

Bad City is a great revenge thriller that once again features some amazing fight scenes. Which this time around seem plentiful. Adding to this is a legendary lead who easily steals the show! I'm excited to see what Kensuke Sonomura can deliver next. Highly recommended.

 

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I wasn't a fan of Hydra at all but I did enjoy Bad City much more. It did have a throwback raw V-Cinema feel which I enjoyed. The one thing I didn't like was the casting of Akane Sakanoue as the 'greenhorn' detective assigned to the Violent Crimes unit. Her storyline just felt forced and her character was not believable at all. Other than that, it was quite enjoyable from a fight choreo and action perspective. I pretty much dismiss all the betrayal and backstabbing twists & sub plots that are concomitant with these modern Yakuza films & just enjoy the visceral action.

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One Armed Boxer
On 3/26/2023 at 7:23 AM, Yihetuan said:

I wasn't a fan of Hydra at all but I did enjoy Bad City much more.

On 7/9/2022 at 6:33 AM, laagi said:

Bad City is a great revenge thriller that once again features some amazing fight scenes. Which this time around seem plentiful.

I wasn't quite as enthused with this one as you guys, but still thought it was a solid effort, I think the biggest issue it has is the sheer number of characters that have bloated the runtime to an unnecessary 2 hours. I gave it the full review treatment over at COF - 

https://cityonfire.com/bad-city-2022-review-hitoshi-ozawa-well-go-usa-blu-ray-dvd-4k-uhd-zero-range-combat-system/

On 6/21/2022 at 3:55 AM, KUNG FU BOB said:

Anyway, bring it on! If Well Go (or any other company) decides to release this to home video I will pre-order it the second it's listed.

Hitting Blu-ray on 19th September dude courtesy of Well Go (who else!), time to make good on your promise!:tongueout

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Drunken Monk

Those that don't want to wait for the Blu Ray or want to rent it before pulling the trigger on a physical release, it hits digital platforms tomorrow. For rent and purchase, I imagine.

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One Armed Boxer
22 hours ago, laagi said:

@One Armed Boxer The release schedule for some of these titles is just plain insanity! I mean I watched this over a year ago...

Props to @laagi for throwing in the most casual flex of 2023 so far. :tongueout You already have awesome cheese, chocolate, and watches - now you're getting Asian movies before everyone else as well!

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