Outrage Coda: A satisfactory conclusion to a slick trilogy.

 

After re-watching and thoroughly enjoying the first two movies in Takeshi Kitano's Outrage Trilogy, it's only fitting that I took the time to also rewatch Coda, the final instalment. The first time that I saw the movie, I remember thinking about how unnecessary it was. Upon revisiting the movie, I still hold some belief that it wasn't truly required, but it still was a fun time and provided the series with a fitting conclusion. 

Following the events of Beyond in which Otomo managed to gain some form of revenge against the Sanno-kai, our would be protagonist has settled on Korea's Jeju Island working for Chang. After a fun opening which sees Otomo banter with his loyal sidekick Ichikawa, he is informed of a situation involving a holidaying Yakuza. The Yakuza, a middling member of the Hanabishi clan, rather unfortunately roughed up some of Chang's prostitutes. After lying that he'd pay Otomo 2 million yen in compensation for roughing up the women, Hamada instead has one of Chang and Otomo's men, Ko, killed. When the Hanabishi learn that Ko was one of Chang's men, they send Hamada and Nakata, one of the old guard, to apologise to Chang personally. Chang rejects the 30 million yen compensation and things only escalate from there. Nishino, the underboss of the Hanabishi, is in direct conflict with the new chairman, Nomura and the two attempt to get rid of each other in dubious ways. 

Once again, Takeshi Kitano's signature style is on full display in Coda. His minimalist style actually makes for pleasant viewing as the camera spends most of the run-time being static. Although, that isn't to state that the camera doesn't move at all, as there are some rather nice slow-moving pans with one early one in a dialogue between Nishino and Nomura that really adds flair to the conversation. I'm also a big fan of the minimal usage of music as it really helps keep me immersed in the setting presented within the confines of the movie. The overall pacing is rather measured, with things not quite kicking into high gear until over halfway through. 

Much like in Beyond, we get the inner conflict of a Yakuza clan. This time instead of the Sanno-kai being the focus (although they do have something of a presence), it's the Hanabishi's turn. The old guard consisting of underboss Nishino and just below him, Nakata, don't really respect nor have much loyalty to the new guard under the former stoke broker, Nomura. Nomura is seen as not a Yakuza, having no tattoos, served zero time in jail and never personally gotten his hands dirty. It's quite fascinating to see both parties plotting against one another whilst the threat of retaliation from Chang looms large. 

As for the overall violence of the movie, compared to the prior movies it's rather disappointing. There's two fun kills involving two major characters. Both are rather creative with one involving a major character being buried up to his neck on a dirt path before being run over. The other makes use of a gag and a fuse for a neat firework death. Apart from that, there's a large shooting that sees an entire gathering of people gunned down. That's really all there is of any note. 

Credit to Beat Takeshi, he has such an oddly compelling presence that makes Otomo the guy to root for. He's the heart of the movie, having some comedic moments and also marking the tonal shift of the thing when he lands back in Japan. Much like Nishino and Nakata, he is one of the last vestiges of the old way of Yakuza life and well, he is old-school through and through. 

Overall, I'm not sure if I'd place it above any of the previous two movies in the trilogy and sure it seems that the writing needed to come up with any excuse to get Otomo back into Japan, but it's still a competently made movie and a fun time. I would still recommend checking it out if you've seen the other two and enjoy the Yakuza genre.