Entertaining Japanese action thriller by choreographer-turned-director Kensuke Sonomura. This is a bold step up from his lean, mean Hydra (2019), even if its bigger ambitions don't necessarily translate to a better film.
To explain more clearly, I believe this film is both bloated (partly because of its slightly convoluted plot) and sometimes dragged out even if just seen primarily as an action thriller (as in, it feels like it's missing Hydra's no-fat runtime). However, we don't see many yakuza films packed with this much fistfighting, and so Bad City kinda resembles Korean gangster films like The Outlaws. We have a tough police captain with his capable little crew kicking yakuza and Korean mafia asses alike. Which also means it is more fun than average genre fare.
As mentioned, I feel like the plot is complicated, rather needlessly so if I might add. In a way it reminded me of Hell Dogs, another recent yakuza thriller which fell flat trying to immerse you in its storyline. Thankfully, Bad City is more effective plot-wise, spinning a tale about gang wars getting out of control in a safer, yet more easily digestible manner. But it's still more confusing than it should be, and feels both awkward and unoriginal regarding certain plot points.
The main draw here is the action, and it is never less than entertaining. It's not quite as well choreographed or punishing as we usually see in Korean, HK and Indonesian action cinema, but that still doesn't detract from the fact it is really well done. Japanese action films (of the more grounded variety) are pretty rare, so it's refreshing to see one that isn't afraid to include more than a throwdown or two. Hitoshi Ozawa as the tough former captain and Tak Sakaguchi (impressively agile as usual) as a mute knife-wielding killer are standouts.
Overall, this was a pretty fun experience that should be recommended to Asian action fans, provided they don't mind some narrative bloat or certain inconsistencies (like some rather cheap sounding audio effects).
