Japanese pulp-meister Kinji Fukasaku has a lot of visual fun with this featherweight story about a young, hip gang of blackmail specialists (3 guys & a gal) who get in over their heads tackling a well organized drug outfit. Too much easy success has gone to their heads and speed & wits won’t cut it against these big boys. It sounds a lot better than it plays as Fukasaku tends to repeat all his visual tropes & tricks (New Wave trappings, B&W still shots & over-saturated color stuff) in every sequence. Tiresome. And the leads aren’t nearly as winning as he thinks they are. Oddly, the last third of the film, when the larking about turns dark & dangerous, brings out everyone’s best even though the plot machinations remain largely opaque. See SYMPATHY FOR THE UNDERDOG (below) for a better outing.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment