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'Battle Royale'. This is a rarity for a Japanese film in the UK - it actually got a UK cinematic release and it is not hard to see why. It is quirky, exciting, well made and may even provide some social comment on the direction of voyeuristic TV. As well as this it also manages to avoid the excesses of many Japanese thriller/action films though it is still fair to say the film does not avoid depicting violence and the fake blood is splattered liberally throughout.
The story is deceptively simple. In the near future the Japanese government has given up the notion of controlling it's youth and instead a game (Battle Royale) is created to satisfy the Japanese public that the government is doing something about violent youth culture. So, at regular intervals, busloads of Japanese schoolchildren are kidnapped and told they have to participate in a fight to the death with their fellow pupils and there can be only one winner.
At an induction talk the pupils are told the rules of the game and supplied with a weapon of some kind to help them win the game and opting out is certainly not an option. What follows is a timetable of death as the pupils participate in the game with various degrees of enthusiasm and motivation. The whole thing takes on a ersatz 'Lord of the Flies' slant as alliances evolve and dissolve and the descent of high school pupils into ruthless killers is documented. The film is not without it's faults some of which I am sure are due to the film making styles and narrative employed in Japan as opposed to Hollywood. However the pluses of the film more than compensate for it's deficiencies and as you can see from the vidcaps the girls are as deadly as the boys. Film Rating 7/10 and Gun Moll Rating 6/10.
'24 Hours to Die'. It's another cheapo action movie but I have to say the characterisation is better than is normal for this type of film.The story is fairly standard for the genre .Louis Mandylor plays a bodyguard who actually kidnaps the daughter of a wealthy but unscrupulous Japanese businessman when a double of the girl (Maria) is kidnapped previously by mistake. As things turn out the girl (Rie Kikukawa) is no shrinking violet and helps the bodyguard in his quest to free the other girl once he explains why he has kidnapped her. A few shoot outs and double crosses later and the film concludes rather unexpectedly (well it was unexpected as far as I was concerned) but not before we've had some substance placed into some of the characters
The main problem I had with this film was the girl in the film and probably the actress who played her. Don't get me wrong, she looks great and looks comfortable in the action scenes. However the writer and director seem a little unsure whether she should be a victim or an antagonist and, unfortunately, the dialogue she is given doesn't ring true especially with the Japanese accent (for example, everytime she says Maria it sounds like Mawia and whilst it raises a smile such things detract from the scene and from what they are talking about). Still a brave try at putting some meat into a well worn genre. Film Rating 6/10 and Gun Moll Rating 4/10 (she'd have got more if she'd have been a villainess rather than a good girl)
'Black Angel'. Japanese films don't normally make it to DVD in the UK but this one made it. Going on hearsay, I've heard that Japanese films are pretty hard to watch, both culturally and cinematically. In many ways this film confirmed my preconceptions and in some cases my worst fears about Japanese action film making. Having said all that however it is still an absolute must for aficionados of the action gun girl genre.
Despite the subtitles, the fine detail of the plot eluded me especially who was related to who and how and why everybody was doing the things they were doing, but here goes anyway. The film starts off recounting how Ikko became an orphan when her family is killed by two gun toting girl killers on the orders of a Yakuza family rival. However the girl is handed over to 'The Black Angel' who in the words of one of the surviving bodyguards is 'another girl with a gun'. Anyway 'The Black Angel' saves the girl from another murder attempt and promptly ships her off to Los Angeles.
Years later and Ikko returns from the USA with ideas of retribution against those who were responsible for her family's murder. Obviously her education in the US taught her more than the 3 R's and she is now a very skilled angel of vengeance who promptly goes about the task of taking apart the local mobsters on her way to the men at the top whilst still remembering the woman who saved her life. She crosses paths with the original 'Black Angel' again who is now an alcoholic and is unwittingly used to capture Ikko. Of course 'Black Angel' realises her mistake and comes to the rescue but soon old rivalries and secrets are revealed and the inevitable consequences follow.
As I've said this really is a very good gun girl film but at the same time it illustrates all the faults I've heard about this genre made in Japan. The misogyny throughout the film is quite appalling and the graphic scenes where Ikko is captured are quite unnecessary and nasty. Even with the subtitles the plot is confusing and the pace of the film is uneven but on the plus side the girls are gorgeous to look at and don't seem at all out of place in the action roles they so capably play. Film Rating 5/10 and Girls With Guns Rating 9/10.
