Black Angel 2

Beauty, emptiness, sorrow, absence - there is no way to describe this wonderful film. Just look and you will see. I have always liked films which images get into consciousness without need of thinking. Pure meditation. This film is all that I expected and will always expect from Japanese cinema. And there is always rain in my heart too.

This sequel to the first "Black Angel" can be watched without any prior knowledge to the first as the only connection they share is different hit-women who take the moniker of the Black Angel. Mayo, the Black Angel in this film, has orders from cross-dressing Mama (Shingo Tsurumi from "Freeze Me") to kill a powerful Yakuza syndicate leader, but doesn't get the job done because one of his bodyguards is the same man who saved her from a rape years prior, whom she has feelings for. This exceeds Black Angel 1 by leaps and bounds, with great characterization and an intriguing captivating plot.

My Grade: B

DVD Extras: Trailers for "Zero Woman", "Wild Criminal", "Score", and "Gonin 2"

Takashi Ishii's Black Angel 2 follows a beautiful hit-woman on her descent into alcoholism and self-loathing. The first act is an unsurprising retread of numerous assassin/gangster flicks. When Ishii changes gears some will find themselves engaged; others will find it a deeply uncomfortable watch. The depiction of rape is potentially troubling but Ishii's women are ultimately shown to be more powerful than their aggressors. It's an uneven film but occasionally it borders on truly bravura film-making, with a handful of masterful scenes. Challenging, little seen and sharing only it's title with the inferior original. 8/10

When the first black angel movie got released it was so strong we needed a sequel to see happens next for Ikko but instead we got a prequel that no one asked for, although it's not that bad but it couldn't live up to the first movie.

The story take place when Mayo became the black angel, her job is to eliminate yakuza clan, then one day she recognize one of the yakuza men who saved her life before when she was very young.

It has the action just like the first movie, but instead of the brilliant noir and mysterious and terrible gangster movie as the first one this one is more of a buddy action in same level as 48 hours but no humor. 5/10 because it has it moments but mostly disappointed that they didn't follow the previous, oh well too late to ask now .

I first came across Takashi Ishii through the masterpiece "Gonin," and it was a film that totally changed my perspective of action cinema. I was pleased with the sequel to Gonin, yet Black Angel Vol 1 never really impressed me. The story and direction were both excellently executed, but a lack of characterisation made it rather tedious at times. What made Gonin so brilliant were the different motivations and emotions of the main characters. Thankfully, with Black Angel 2, Ishii returns to creating good, solid characters. The main three protagonists in this film are each well designed characters that make this an superior film to its predecessor. What starts out as a rather simple film builds up to an excellent finish that will definitely satisfy fans of Yakuza thrillers. As with most of his films, Ishii is not afraid to include graphic scenes of rape and violence, but he is able to counter these with scenes featuring touching displays of love and humanity. While Ishii has a way to go before equaling the brilliant Takeshi Kitano or Miike Takashi, with this film he is returning to the form of Gonin, that could open him up to being amongst the best directors in Japan.