HELL DOGS is a fantastic action movie.

 

Continuing on with my mission to find the best live-action adaptations of manga and novels, a certain action movie starring the always dependable Junichi Okada piqued my interest. After further researched turned up the fact that accomplished director Masato Harada would be teaming up with Okada once again, I knew that it was a must watch. HELL DOGS was based upon the novel of the same name written by author, Akio Fukamachi with Harada directing and also adapting to the big screen with his screenplay. 

Hell Dogs follows the story of a former police officer named Goro Idezuki. Idezuki was a young police officer that was into a girl that worked at a local convenience store. Before he was able to even hold her hand, the poor girl was murdered by a  gang of criminals that included foreign nationals. For the next decade, Goro systemically hunted the criminals down and killed them one by one in order to avenge the deceased girl. 

Following the death of the last criminal that belonged to that gang, Goro is captured by Chief Masaru Anai. Anai orders Goro to go deep undercover in a large Yakuza family known as the Toshokai and cripple it from the inside, an order which he likely couldn't refuse. In order to get into the group, Goro adopts an alias, Shogo Kanetaka, and picks a fight with Toshokai member, Murooka. Hideki Murooka was chosen as Goro's way in due to data that showed that the pair match 98%, meaning they'd get along rather well. A rather unorthodox person, Murooka has a rare physical condition which makes him always hungry and so he is constantly eating. He also can't control his emotions, making him very difficult to control. 

 

The undercover cop narrative has been done countless times throughout cinematic history and as such, it's extremely rare to see something new in that particular niche. Hell Dogs breathes fresh life into it by not pulling any punches or focusing on the concept of an undercover cop that won't kill in order to keep his cover ironclad. It makes sense that Goro/Tak would have to discard any notions of being against killing as it's a vital part of his work, allowing him to fully sink into his role. This makes the fact that Goro is caught between tow worlds that much more compelling.

Masato Harada is an extremely accomplished director. He's worked on several tremendous projects in the past such as Baragaki, Sekigahara, (both of which also starred Junichi Okada), Inugami and Return. That being the case, it should come as no surprise that he crafted a fantastic adaptation and a compelling narrative with a tight script that he wrote. Harada managed to pack in an impressive amount of story and character within the run-time. He managed to get the most out of an extremely talented cast which was full of talents that I admire. 

The cinematography was also on point. There's a dynamic array of both static and fluid, moving shots. Tracking shots are spread throughout the movie as the camera follows Goro/Tak's movements. There's also a neat use of colours such as orange and browns which give the movie a gritty, dark and yet somewhat warm and dirty look. Even the action is shot in a great way with every action being clear and easy to follow. There's some shaky cam used in order to enhance the impact of certain blows and shots, but thankfully it's not egregious. 

The action comes at you thick and fast. In fact, the very first action sequence takes place within the first 5 minutes of the movie. It's very intense and the action only gets more elaborate as the movie progresses. The choreography is brilliant as it keeps the idea of Junichi Okada being smaller than some of his adversaries in mind, making certain fights that much more creative. It is also rather brutal in certain ways with blades being wielded, melee weapons being swung and plenty of bullets flying. It's so good that it makes the climatic showdown seem anticlimactic. 

Junichi Okada is phenomenal in the role of Goro Idezuki/Shogo Kanetaka. He might not be the biggest in stature amongst the cast, but he's able to project a large, booming presence. He's soft spoken and when he speaks, everyone in the vicinity listens and he's also a badass with a cool look. Okada's beard really suited him. Okada is one of the best leading men in action roles and is very adept at fight scenes.

Kentaro Sakaguchi's performance as Murooka worked really well with Okada's Goro Idezuki. Sakaguchi brought an insane amount of energy and vigour in his performance that made him quite compelling and sympathetic when enhanced by his tragic backstory. It's almost enough to excuse his psychotic behaviour, but not quite. Sakaguchi and Okada had some excellent chemistry and their on-screen brotherhood was a joy to behold. 

The rest of the principal cast were delightful as well and I'd be remiss to not mention them. Miyavi was surprisingly splendid as the elusive and business-minded head of Toshokai, Yoshitaka Toake. He had very little in terms of action, but he did a fantastic job in those scenes and was a compelling character throughout his screentime. 

I'm a big fan of Kazuki Kitamura and he was astute as the boy toy Yakuza, Tsutomu "Pops" Toki. He was one of the big shots and was an intriguing character, especially as he raises suspicions about other members of the Yakuza. 

Yasumasa Oba did a solid job as Chuji Omaeda. Omaeda was a fascinating character with a unique design. The man wore a sharkskin mask in order to cover up his deformities caused by his nose being torn off. 

Mayu Matsuoka was beautiful as Emiri Kisa. She's a compelling character that makes you think twice about her motivations as she's very smart, gathering intel for Pops and Tak. She also is seemingly in a relationship with Pops before sleeping around with Tak. Although, things make sense with the reveal that happens in the latter half of the movie. 

Overall, I couldn't recommend Hell Dogs enough. It's a glorious Yakuza movie that isn't afraid to get down and dirty with tons of great action sequences, compelling performances and a talented director. Not to mention a cast that truly brings their A games.