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Yakuza Weapon (2011)
Well Go USA
Blu-ray Disc Released: 2/7/2012
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Review by Mike Long, Posted on 2/6/2012
I recently reviewed the movie
Helldriver as a way of checking out the new wave of outrageous Japanese movies. I had expected something along the lines of the early works of Sam Raimi or Peter Jackson, but what I discovered was a movie which was too over-the-top for its own good. However, any statistician worth their salt will tell you that one is an unacceptable sample size, and I knew that I had to try out another movie. Thus, I’m checking out Yakuza Weapon, which leans more towards action than horror.Yakuza Weapon tells the story of Shozo (Tak Sakaguchi), the son of a yakuza boss who has been away from Japan (fighting in some odd war). He gets word that he father has been killed, so he returns to Japan. Once there, he finds that his father’s former underling Kurawaki (Shingo Tsurumi) has taken over the family business. Shozo vows revenge and begins a war on Kurawaki. He also runs into Nayoko (Mei Kurokawa), with whom Shozo has been arranged to be married. But, he now ignores her, as he concentrates on his fight. Despite his fighting prowess, Shozo’s skills aren’t enough. But, the Japanese government has other plans for him and they give Shozo improvements which make him the most powerful yakuza ever.
So, after two movies the score is wacky Japanese movies: 2, Mike: 0, as I just can’t get behind this genre. Yakuza Weapon is better than Helldriver, but it shares some of the same issues. The problems come down to three main departments; pacing, budget and tone. Hitting around two hours, Helldriver was way too long and Yakuza Weapon doesn’t fare much better, as it clocks in at 105 minutes. It takes nearly 45-minutes for the movies defining characteristic to show up. Up to that point, we are treated to one seemingly pointless scene after another which tell Shozo’s situation over and over again. There is some action in these scenes, but with little story to back it up, it seems frivolous. Also, the story is quite vague at times, making this feel like the sequel to a movie which I hadn’t seen.
I typically don’t bring budget and production issues into a review, but they do affect Yakuza Weapon. The movie was reportedly made for the equivalent of $600,000, which is an amazing feat. However, the enthusiasm of the filmmakers can’t hide some of the shoddy details. I fully realize that CGI has become a mainstay of modern movie-making and that these effects can be a great cost-cutting tool, but the CG explosions here really stand out as looking fake. Thankfully, we aren’t treated to the constant CG blood spurting which hampered Helldriver. There are also real-world issues with the film. When Shozo is attacked by the “Death Drop Mafia” (does that mean something), we simply get women dressed as nurses, and guys in hoodies. Not exactly intimidating costumes.
However, my biggest issue with Yakuza Weapon is the tone of the film. Essentially Co-directors Tak Sakaguchi and Yudai Yamaguchi have attempted to create a live-action comic book with the film, which is fine, but they can never keep the tone even. From the outset, the movie does everything which it can to be absurd. The movie opens with Shozo, who is rarely without his fedora, fighting in some bizarre war which looks like Vietnam, but contains Nazis who speak English. He can apparently dodge bullets and is somehow impervious to pain. The movie just takes off from there, as things get weirder and weirder. There’s nothing wrong with weird, but it must be juxtaposed with normal in order to be effective. At its core, Yakuza Weapon is a very silly movie, and when everything is over-the-top, nothing is going to be effective. The movie does try to add some serious moments, such as Shozo’s memories of a fellow yakuza who was like a brother to him, but instead of adding balance to the movie, these scenes fill out-of-place.
Whereas I felt that Helldriver failed on most every front, Yakuza Weapon is more of a frustrating experience as it had potential. The movie could have easily been a Robocop-like spoof of Japanese gangster movies, where the insane violence would outdo that of its more serious contemporaries. And there’s no denying that some of the action scenes here are cool, most notably one which occurs in one long take. However, it’s difficult to look past the slack pacing and overall immature tone of the film.
Yakuza Weapon should garner attention for placing a grenade launcher in a place which even Robert Rodriguez hadn’t considered on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Well Go USA. The film has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 15 Mbps. The image is clear, showing no grain from the source materials. However, the picture is notably soft at times, with haloes appearing around the actors. The colors are good, bordering on vibrant at times, and the image is never overly dark or bright. The level of detail and depth are acceptable, but not great. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 2.3 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects, except for the English dialogue in the opening scene, which was garbled. The stereo and surround effects are nicely done in the action scenes, with each speaker being well represented. The explosions provide subwoofers effects which are notable, but not overpowering. The track does an especially good job with sounds which move from side-to-side or front-to-back.
The Yakuza Weapon Blu-ray Disc a selection of extras. "Behind the Scenes" (46 minutes) takes us on-set to see many of the film's key scenes being shot. Tak Sakaguchi provides many comments throughout, as we see rehearsals for the fight scenes and the work of the stunt choreography. The cast talk about their characters and what it was like to work on this crazy movie. There is also a look at the special effects. The Disc contains five DELETED SCENES which run about 12 minutes. The first scene is a 5-minute reel of the introductions of 36 characters who aren't in the film. I have no idea what this was supposed to be. The other four are actual deleted scenes which are brief and feel more like the deleted sections from the beginning or ending of scenes from the finished film. "Spin-off Short 'Takuzo Weapon'" (16 minutes) is an odd sequel of sorts which shows the misadventures of Shozo's bodyguards.
Review Copyright 2012 by Mike Long