The Yakuza Way

Seriously . . . why would you really watch this movie? If you aren't a fan of Riki Takeuchi, this movie will make your head spin with it's apparent suckitude. However, as a Riki Takeuchi movie that features him speaking English and shooting up Los Angeles, it's a seriously awesome flick. Basically, it's a terrible 80s-style action movie. The production values, over-the-top action, and ridiculous plot would have been de rigeur in 1986. But being a late-90s movie, it's even sillier. The cheese is laid on thick, but not unintentionally. It's very tongue-in-cheek in a way. Takeuchi's performance is strong, as usual, even given the crappy trappings. He sneers, shows off his coiffed doo, and impales people on katanas - all bases covered. And there's a Chevy Nova SS for no reason! And it's pee-yellow - where else are you going to see that?

Honestly from the cover you could guess that this wasn't going to be something special. But still I had some small glamors of hope that it could prove better than it looks. Glamors that were soon diminished by countless problems regarding both plot and direction.

The "Yakuza Way" is a low budget action/crime flick starring the ever cool Riki Takeuchi as a yakuza member who has traveled to the U.S. for a drug deal. Hoping, after that he can start a new life. Suffice to say, events don't go his way and Takeuchi's character is forced to fight corrupt cops, and gangsters for revenge.

Director Shundo Ohkawa's attempt to make a Heroic Bloodshed film, backfires. This is neither heroic nor bloody. Yes the budget was small and it is understandable if some parts of the film looked a bit weak but the problem is that practically everything here is in fact, weak. Aside from Takeuchi who is his usual cool self, the acting from the support cast is bad and over the top. The cinematography is no good either, with a lot of unneeded overlong shots of cars driving by. They actually take a good portion of the film while not offering anything else in return. Choreography is another part that is poorly done. Several scenes come in mind where character movements are awkward and unrealistic to the films's supposed genre and overall feel.

There is really no reason to see "Yakuza Way" if you're not a Takeuchi fan. But even if you are, if you take besides the large amounts of unintential gags, you'll have trouble grasping any other form of entertainment from this poorly done crime flick.

The best example of cliche ridden "rules of action cinema" catch all coverage with more cliches thrown in to boot. For example, the Japanese speak English when no one is around to overhear. The token strip joint. The filler footage that doesn't support mood, story or entertainment value. The back story of dead loves lost and revenge owed to pretty much everyone anyone seems to encounter anywhere. This film is so wonderfully god awful, like Dukes of Hazard with Yakuza in LA, I'm lead to believe that York Entertainment may transcend even the likes of Full Moon and Troma for attaining levels of sheer cheese. Too bad York Entertainment didn't see fit to include gore or booty to make up for the deep hurting their product otherwise supplies.

From the opening to the ending, bad acting, bad directing, bad story. The star of this picture was pretty good, but so much of the cast were acting on the level of school play.

There is a lot of action, but much of it suffers believability, well, as does much of the movie too! My favorite cheap stunt is the man being hit by the car. It starts with a bad guy pulling out his gun, the lead actor hearing it and spinning around while pulling his gun out, somehow a Geo Metro approaching from out of frame at 5 miles per hour 'crashes' in to the bad guy, which of course shatters the windshield.

Nothing says action done wrong more than this film. This film's best use is an example of what not to do for anyone who wants to make their own action movie. I did appreciate the directors leg and foot focus which appears at the establishing shots of any scene with a female in it.

Let me tell you something, I liked this piece of crap. Why? I don't know. The acting is utterly trying and embarrassingly failing (expect Riki), the story is ultimately lacking in originality and the action is bad ass but in the most retarded way. They would try to make these action sequences stylish and appealing and they end up looking stupid. So why do I like this fat and hairy zit covered ass? Riki Takuichi, b!+(#. He is my Japanese Charles Bronson. Without him this film would be a -100. In all seriousness, it's a horrible movie with horrible everything but the presence of Riki somehow, miraculously, kept this from sheer abysmal herpe infested idiosy. For Riki fans only at best.