Bad City is action cinema at it's finest.

 

When I heard that one of my absolute favourite fight scene choreographers and stunt co-ordinators, Kensuke Sonomura was directing a homage to the entertainingly violent V-cinema thrillers of the 1980s and 90s, and that veteran of the genre, Hitoshi Ozawa was starring in the lead role, I was very excited. Did Bad City live up to my expectations? Short answer: Yes! Let's dive into some details. 

Bad City revolves around Wataru Gojo, the head businessman turned crime lord who leads the Gojo conglomerate as he plots to become mayor and also in turn make millions from redeveloping run-down areas of the Kaiko City (the fictional city in which the movie is set) into casinos and the like. During his official announcement for his mayoral candidacy, a sauna full of the Sakurada Yakuza clan are slaughtered by a knife wielding killer. When other rivals of Gojo's start falling like flies, naturally, there is a response from the prosecutor's office. Prosecutor Hirayama creates a special unit consisting of members of the police's Violent Crimes Division. The members include the very capable and experienced Kumamoto and Nishizaki, as well as the cute rookie, Megumi Nohara. Leading the team on their assignment is former prosecutor and captain of the Violent Crimes Division, Torada, a man who was wrongfully jailed for murder thanks to Gojo and his connections. 

As I said at the start of the blog post, Kensuke Sonomura is one of my favourite action directors and when given the opportunity to direct a whole feature movie, he didn't disappoint. His direction was competent and on point with him looking like he's been in the director's chair his whole life. It helps that he used a wide array of quite dynamic and pretty to look at shot types and various low angles. He also subtly used colour to enhance the emotions and drama of certain scenes. There were some nice, badass slow-motion shots used for dramatic effect whenever characters walked away or towards the climatic melee of the movie which worked well. I particularly liked the slow-motion used when Torada walks away after a certain member of the team is killed. 

The fight scenes as expected from Kensuke Sonomura, were brilliant. For Bad City, there's a clear sense of differing skill levels and stamina shown by the various characters. When a character is levels above another, such as Tak Sakaguchi's assassin, Han, is matched up against pretty much anyone except Torada, he dominates. Han as well as Nishizaki and to an extent, Torada and Han Seung-Gi, give Sonomura the opportunity to incorporate martial arts into the scenes. The big brawls and frantic melees see a much more wild and less tactful approach with characters resorting to simply swinging fists and kicks. The fights also allow Sonomura a chance to showcase the believable dynamic and teamwork of the special team helmed by Torada, with Nishizaki and Nohara excelling when teaming up. There's a little shaky cam or handheld work, but it isn't an insufferable amount with the action clear and precisely framed on screen. My favourite fight scene in the movie is the climatic fight scene between Torada and Han Seung-Gi as it features a lot of cool techniques and is a thrilling watch! 

Hitoshi Ozawa proved that he still is very capable as a leading man. He oozed the masculine machismo and stoic charisma with his expert line delivery and sheer badassery. It's truly incredible how well he did with the movie's long fight scenes as he was 60 years old at the time of filming and whilst he's got grey hair now, his age didn't slow him down one bit as he showcased tremendous stamina. I like that he was smart enough to know when he alone couldn't do certain things and thus, worked with the others. My favourite line delivery of his had to be the badass "Are tears going to avenge his death?" The line was followed by a slow-motion shot of him coolly walking away.

Masanori Mimoto also proved that he is capable of much more than simply excelling at complex fight sequences. In Bad City, he was able to showcase a little range with him going from his calm demeanour to grieving his old friend and vengeful. 

Akane Sakanoue did a tremendous job in the role of rookie Megumi Nohara. Much like Akane from Psycho-Pass, she starts off as the least confident member of the team, even going as far as puking at the sight of Sakurada's severed hand. Her progression sees her become a fully confident and capable asset to the team with her working extremely well with Nishizaki. I enjoyed how she was a well written female character that didn't simply overpower the much bigger male adversaries and instead she used her weapons, her speed and her skill to overcome her biological disadvantages. 

It's always nice to see Tak Sakaguchi kicking ass. He showcased his skills as the silent, but deadly assassin, Han using only body language and facial expressions to convey his moods and emotions. He had a hand in a number of fight scenes and looked stylish in his slick wardrobe doing it. I am very happy that he faced off against both Hitoshi Ozawa and Masanori Mimoto in the movie. 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Bad City. It's a very well-crafted homage to the violent V-cinema thrillers o the 1980s whilst also being its' own thing. In my opinion, it's worth seeing for Hitoshi Ozawa's great performance and the pleasing fight sequences alone.