Kurôzu Explode

I am a big fan of this series and in fact have treasured the copies of first two movies as If it is my personal goldmine. I had waited patiently for the third movie for years. The last movie came out in 2009 and now its 2014 so imagine how long has it taken for the movie franchise to come out with a sequel but was it worth waiting this long? Absolutely not

First of all we have to deal with the absence of its original star casts like Shun Oguri as Takiya Genji and Takayuki Yamada as Serizawa Tamao. They had immortalized their characters and the entire franchise with their power packed fists and acting. The new release on the other hand does not have an impressive star cast. The franchise which is known for its action is what is lacking in this movie primarily.

If I am watching a movie from the crows series, I need to see some action but sadly the only action in this movie is right about at the beginning and at the very end and that too for a very brief second and long gone before you can even feast your eyes.

Masahiro Higashide as Kaburagi Kazeo is good with acting but bad with action. He does not impress with his action skills but Yuya Yagira as Goura Toru was still impressive and so was the character black dynamite (only for action). Kento Nagayama as Fujiwara Hajime has a meaty role in the movie but that is what is bothering me. It felt as if the whole plot deviation just took out the essence of the basic movie. A recurring character Rinda man was totally wasted with barely there presence

The movie franchise which entirely sprouted from its action sequences forgot that basic element in its new movie and instead diverted with a somewhat lukewarm performances and plot, totally disappointing the fans who have been dying for the sequel for a really long time.

Everything went wrong. Is this even same universe where Genji and Serizawa lives? Seems like not, because something is missing - the SPARKLE - they just lost it.

Crows Explode departs from the flashy and energetic style of the previous Crows Zero films by being adopting a somber tone and giving a few of the characters real, fleshed out emotions and struggles. The problem is that this realism is mixed with the typical Crows action craziness of having various cartoonish thugs fighting for control of Suzuran, a high school that apparently has no classes or teachers. There's not enough time devoted to either and the film is unsatisfying as a result.

And to be honest, I came for the fighting, but I left wishing there was more time spent on the drama. The dramatic scenes are in that classic Asian macho drama mold of cool/tough guys suddenly bursting into emotion they can no longer contain, with anger, fear, honor, and respect all coming together at once. It's the kind of awesome stuff that Asian cinema does best, but there just isn't enough time spent on the drama here. Too bad, as the little that is here is pretty good.

Despite the absence of Miike, Oguri Shun, Yamada Takayuki and the rest of the amazing crew, I never actually held previous prejudices on Crows Explode. But after viewing it, I can clearly state that it falls behind compared to its prequels.

Being a fan of Miike's filmmaking, it was unavoidable to miss the highlighted foolish characterization, extreme violence and hilarious black humour inserted everywhere. That being said, I never expected Toyoda to do the same. After all, two different directors have entirely dissimilar ways of making their pictures. Crows Explode leaned to the realistic side way too much which was a bit wrong in my opinion; don't get the wrong idea, immersing the characters and fighting scenes in realism didn't sound like a bad treat but when it's over-done with this type of film then things are bound to become bothersome.

To make things clear, this film had too many similarities with its famed prequels. The fight to become Suzuran's top leader was still used as the main thread to drive the plot. However, the fighting sequences to reach that objective were surprisingly demure and repetitive in a worrisome way. Although Toyoda tried to focus on the human emotions between his characters, he didn't exploit his main leads' potential to the fullest. Thus, many feelings couldn't get pass the screen barrier to reach the watcher's heart.

Crows Explode narrative pattern was composed of several side stories that didn't serve any meaning at times. At the matter of fact, few of them were just used to fill the running time instead of building characters' back stories. To some extent, most of them were heavy to watch especially with the obvious lack of fighting scenes; they became utterly irrelevant to the film's development. Let's not forget the near-disappearance of black humour – which I clearly don't blame Toyoda for it. The last fighting sequence wasn't blowing but it delivered a nice punch after all.

The entirely different cast is worrisome, isn't it? I know that many people can't imagine the "Crows" without Oguri Shun and Yamada Takayuki on top of them. I am a big fan of those two actors myself but shockingly, their disappearance didn't make me feel bad. I did want them to be in here but the new faces weren't bad at all. Led by rising stars like Higashide and Yagira, the acting department did the trick for the lack of better words. Some actors didn't convince me much but I can't put all the blame on them, the way their characters' were written didn't allow them to show a wide range of emotions or action.

The cinematography was trying to be the same as the two Crows Zero but it didn't come out that way, I believe the yellowish atmosphere is the film's way of distinguishing itself from the others. The directing style and the setting of fighting sequences are debatable but Toyoda made sure to leave his mark which is more than enough to respect a director.

Crows Explode had its own touch of filmmaking but the serious realistic depiction that Toyoda decided to use didn't come out entirely right, just like it wasn't entirely wrong. Due to its entirely different pattern, this sequel should be viewed for its own merits, comparing it to Miike's Crows will only make it harder to watch and judge.

I am gonna come right out and say it: "Crows Explode" is my favorite entry in the Crows-franchise.

When I heard the news about a new Crows movie I was excited. Even more so when it was clear that Toshiaki Toyoda will be in the director's chair. I really enjoyed the previous Crows movies and Toyoda's "Blue Spring". They show a very unique, if stylized, filmic portrayal of the high school delinquent topic.

The combination of Toyoda and Crows works perfectly and results in a Crows movie that really feels like a fresh take the material. Compared to its predecessors "Crows Explode" sticks more to the manga source material and presents a wider array of characters. Admittedly none of them sticks out the way Genji Takiya did but they don't need to. The story works even if the characters aren't as defined as in the previous Crows movies. Aside from that the story follows the same formula as before - nothing special here. The way the characters and locations are designed & presented feels even more stylized and over the top than before. But here it really works to the films advantage. I always felt like "Crows Zero" and "Crows Zero II" never quite managed to find the right balance between realism and the highly stylized action, weird Asian humor and exaggerated drama. Unfortunately "Crows Explode" lacks the humor completely.

But what I liked best were all these homages (small & big ones) to the first two crows movies and even "Blue Spring". From the soundtrack to the set design this film is overflowing with elements reminiscent of the franchise's history. Although I gotta say that I would've liked the soundtrack to be more extensive. Especially from Toyoda I expected "Crows Explode" to be exploding (pun intended) with all the timelessly cool songs from "The Mods", "Thee Michelle Gun Elephant" and "The Birthday". I mean they did it before and it worked great why make it different this time?

It's kind of funny. I watched the first two movies while I was graduating from school myself so I basically grew with them. They taught me not to have any regrets for my youth and to stay loyal to the people that went on the journey of growing up together with me. It also taught me that we will all have to grow up eventually but should never forget where we once came from. I'd like to see this recent entry in the franchise teaching these principles to a new generation of young viewers who now stand where I stood before them. And I gotta say so far it does this fairly well.