Movie review - Bad City

Bad City ***1/2 (out of 5) (Unrated) This subtitled Japanese crime flick delivers the goods on two essential counts – an atypically complex plot with a handful of switches and double-crosses, building to an adrenaline-satisfying series of hard-nosed fight sequences. This is the second feature from director Kensuke Sonomora, after nearly 20 years of steady stunt work, including many gigs as stunt coordinator or action director. Experience shows, as this film seems more cohesive and focused than his first crime drama, Hydra, while still dishing out the mayhem that motivates most potential viewers.

Disgraced police captain Torada (Hitoshi Ozawa) is granted parole by an idealistic prosecutor to go after the city’s most powerful tycoon/criminal, Gojo (Lily Franky), who’d just been undeservedly acquitted on racketeering charges. Gojo’s tentacles reach high into every branch of government and law enforcement, rendering standard attempts to nail him futile. So Torada is put in charge of an off-the-books force of a few trusted detectives to finish the job. The plot centers around a major construction project Goro is pushing that will displace many citizens in favor of a sprawling resort casino. That investment is backed by one or more Yakuza families and the local branch of the Korean Mafia.

It takes some concentration to follow the story, as many players turn out differently than they begin, or seem. There are several fights scattered through the first 80 minutes, with much greater time allotted to character and plot development. Ozawa anchors the proceedings with the world-weary gravitas of a Takeshi Kitano; or more familiarly for most U.S. audiences, an unsmiling 60-ish Gene Hackman or Brian Dennehy. His landing in jail for what some believe was a frameup also landed him afoul of the Koreans, since he supposedly killed the son of the dragon lady running that organization.

But all of that is prelude to Sonomora’s payoff purpose. The last 25 minutes are filled with gritty, fast-paced battles among the various factions in the tangle of conflicts. As in Hydra, there are few guns. The damage is inflicted mostly with fists, baseball bats and occasional blades. Stunt performances are stunning in the mass encounters, as well as in a bunch of exciting one-on-ones. No wirework or CGI enhancements. Minimizing the background music highlights the audio of every strike and all the times people are hurled against a floor or wall. That element is comparable to the impressive stunt fighting I’ve relished in many recent Korean action flicks.

When you’re looking for relatively realistic action (nobody could really take that many punches and keep going), with a bit more of a mental component than average, this one’s a solid choice.

(Bad City, in Japanese with subtitles, opened on digital formats since 8/1/23, before release on DVD and Blu-ray 9/19/23 )