Korô no chi: Level 2

The title of my review says it all , fun and entertaining , good quality film making.

8/10.

The sequel to 2018's yakuza film The Blood of Wolves is a worthy follow-up that might not match it in qualitative terms but it sure does with its entertainment factor.

Whereas detective Hioka was more of a sidekick in the original, here he's the main character who seems to follow a similar path to Ogami (Koji Yakusho) from the original. His efforts to control the peace between rival yakuza clans are threatened by the arrival of Uebayashi, a sadistic murderer who purports himself to be a clan leader but only creates chaos wherever he goes. In you are for 2 and a quarter hours of a constantly fun, if gory and melodramatic, series of confrontations and showdowns. This is a well crafted crime thriller that doesn't complicate its plot with anything that might get in the way of the viewer's enjoyment. These characters aren't subtle in any way, nor do they show any deeper moral complexities. But they don't lack charisma (especially the swaggering villain) and the film's momentum won't let you ponder its problems until it's over. My biggest complaints would go towards some scenes that are seemingly fabricated only to lead towards a dramatic resolution but don't follow up logically, as well as the overall lack of depth. But as I said, entertainment is the prime factor here and it's not hurt much by the aforementioned flaws.

In short, if you're up for another gritty, brutal crime thriller, this is a good way to spend your evening, especially if you've liked the original. This is just more of the same and I, for one, hope we'll continue getting more.

I can't say much about the dialogues. I've only seen it in Japanese.

As for the plot and the actors, I have to say that I'm happy with it. Only the excess length bothers me again.

I gave the prequel a 9, but won't and couldn't even finish the sequel since it's just so stupidly scripted with lousy scenario. Hioka staked out in his well-known white Mercedes-Benz near the set up trap rainy alley to be ambushed by Uebayashi. The scene not only looked stupid but also ridiculously weak. He was gut shot by Chikada nearly dead, yet he could recover so fast is just absurd. Then when Uebayashi got the chance to ambush him without no one around, why he didn't finish the job killing him? A dirty reporter became the snitch to Uebayashi and provided him with intelligence not even the police knew? When Uebayashi forced Chkada to cut off his finger, he sat across the coffee table, and Chkada holding the knife so close to him, why he decided to cut his finger instead of stabbing Uebayashi? It's easier than cutting his finger off, just a quick thrust or stab.

But the worst letdown in this sequel is the Hioka character. Because after the prequel, he should have become more smart, more well-experienced, more mature, since he should have learned a lot of tricks from his late mentor and partner Ogami, yet he just turned careless, stupid and weak.

This sequel, unlike one of the reviewer said it's better than the prequel, to me, was just 10 steps behind the 2018 Korô no chi, simply became a pathetic and laughable one, even simply unnecessary. I've enjoyed the 2018 story, felt excited even sometimes moved a lot, but I couldn't even finish the 2021 crappy follow-up.

Storyline: New-release from prison yakuza made the movie interesting cause he viciously seeking for revenge.

The conflict is interesting, the agenda of a person not thrilling enough but entertaining to watch from beginning to end.