Odoru daisosasen

Odoru Daisosasen (Bayside Shakedown) is a detective movie on the surface. It centers around the case of the kidnapping of a police commissioner of the Bayside precinct. However, digging deeping, it is really a movie about friendship, dark humor, social satire, with comic relief.

This movie can stand on its own without the TV series, as I have not seen the TV series yet before watching the movie. Don't let that be a let-down.

The movie perfectly combines humor with seriousness. One just can't stop laughing at the ludicrosy inside the local precinct and the seriousness of the HQ. At the same time, the plot is fluid and coherent - with a nice surprise at the end to relieve the tenseness.

Go see this movie if you feel watching a coherent detective story with some laughable moments.

What is this show trying to say? Action, Horror, Romance, Culture Clashes, Loyalty, the old and the new etc. I know it's wrong to pigeonhole something but really, this show suffers from a lack of focus. Done properly, it would have carried some merit. But what I saw was just slipshod film-making. The ending was so over sentimentalised that it was barf-inducing. Terrible.

One of the things that is most interesting about the whole odoru franchise is the contrasting characters: the young and eager Aoshima always looking out for the underdog, the beautiful yet scarred Sumire good at her job yet struggling to find her place, the salty old detective Waku, privileged Mashita who strives to prove his worth, and Yukino the lady cop who best understands what it is to have a loved one taken. Muroi presides over it all, the man in HQ who tries to clear the path for detectives on the front line among the more bossy and elitist higher ups.

The tv series did veer back and forth between tension and humour, but there was plenty of comedy relief. In this movie, the tone edges almost towards horror as one villain stalks, and harvests people's organs. There is also a crew of kidnappers on the loose snatching a police official and even a member of the core cast.

All in all though, it is nice to see all our favourite characters again, and see how their lives have evolved.

'Bayside Shakedown' is a movie that manages to be exciting, disturbing and funny all at the same time. The movie that starts out as crime drama and even seems to nod slightly in the direction of CSI also has plenty of humour-filled moments.

Though the film has three cases at the same time, the story doesn't get derailed, mainly because each of the plots only enhance the over-all feel of the film. The comedy prevents the serious parts from becoming tedious and the well-written surprise makes the film a fulfilling experience. Also a colourful cast undoubtedly helps.

The only criticism I can direct at the film is that the opening is rather slow, but things start to pick up at a nice pace.

Recommendable for people who like generally good films.

I am not a fan of police movies but this one won me over. I found it to have the perfect blend of humor and drama. The multiple plots of kidnapping, murder, and a thief within the police's very own station were all handled smoothly by an excellent group of actors. In a way it reminds me of the movie M*A*S*H in that there is humor, humor, humor, and then "Bang," edge-of-your-seat drama and tension. (This review is in regard to the dvd version with English subtitles.) I've watched this movie a dozen times now and each time I notice something extra, things that are funny or odd taking place in the background. The movie was easy to follow despite me having never seen the TV series. You will enjoy this film.