With Outrage, Takeshi Kitano returned to his filmmaking roots and he did not disappoint, bringing to the audience one of his signature yakuza movies. Its follow-up, Outrage Beyond offers more of the same as it focuses on a larger scale conflict this time, a conflict that is the direct result of the events in the first film.
The action here revolves around Takeshi Kitano's Otomo and the way his actions lead to a war between two rival yakuza gangs. We find out that Otomo is alive and well, but still in prison after surviving the aftermath of the bloodbath in the first film. His premature release from prison leads to tensions between the two organizations and the apparent peace between them is disrupted. Thus the fight for power begins and the conflict is spiced up by the involvement of a police detective who has interests of his own, all leading to an explosive finale.
The film does not fail to deliver, although it is not in the same class as some of Takeshi's other yakuza efforts. It represents an improvement on Outrage in terms of storytelling, there is less focus on old school action and more emphasis is put on the conflict between the characters, which is a good thing since it adds more dimension to the story. The characters themselves are well developed and the acting is what you would expect. On the other hand, the film lacks some creativity and some artistic touch in order to be truly great. All the elements of a Kitano film are here, but they do not stand out as much as they should, even his trademark deadpan humor is served in smaller doses. All things aside, the film is good in its own right and the only reason for it not being on par with Takeshi's best efforts is because those films have set such a high standard.
While it does not break any new ground, Outrage Beyond is an entertaining film to watch whether you are a fan of the genre or not and it represents a good addition to Takeshi Kitano's filmography.
