Thursday, November 13, 2008

In short: The Legend of the Red Dragon (2006)

A yakuza group in Osaka has a problem it can't handle. A motorcycle helmet wearing, sword wielding serial killer slaughters its members left and right.

Had these guys seen more movies, they'd probably know that the seemingly mild mannered coffee shop waitress Yui (Yu Misaki) is the murderous sword master, taking vengeance for her murdered father.

Even Yui's love for a young yakuza can't change her mind.

 

As far as Japanese Direct To DVD action films go, this is a good one. Its budget was probably lower than the catering costs for a mainstream production and shooting on digital lets even the best production design look like crap, but this is certainly a more ambitious film than many of its kind.

Most characters get a few nice psychological flourishes, the plot is very traditional, but does make sense. Even direction and acting have moments of quality. I suspect quite a bit of respect for and knowledge of the yakuza films of the 70s in director Toru Ichikawa's background; the film's problems are of a budgetary nature, and that's the sort of problem I am always more than willing to ignore.

 

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