DocJD

I was impressed by the film making. The plot is thick and pulls your attention into this horrid psychological journey. However it's depravity becomes so intense that if you reach that ego dystonic rejection of the whole situation, you can see the dark comedy of it all. The acting is impeccable, some of the scenes are shot close up and long, but the whole cast's performance is perfect!

This isn't my kind of movie genre, but it was well worth watching. I highly recommend the movie if you're willing to let the horrible be so bizarre, that the comedy shines through.

Kudos to the author of the screenplay. The Director is gifted!

Sandler is brilliant. He adds another great performance to other recent roles in film to show us his capacity as a versatile and talented actor. Everything is slick, well edited, directed, and flows well, and I guess it took me along for a ride. There's no surprises for me, and I didn't care what happened to anyone. It was a bit underwhelming for me. Not because of what the storyteller tells us, but what he doesn't. I know it's a feature film but I'm selfish.

A story like this compared to the same in a limited-series television production of the same quality would have been more satisfying. We're used to this now through consuming such great productions streamed via the likes of Netflix. So I wanted this because I don't want plot holes.

This is a story about deals and rip-offs and that's how I felt in the end, ripped off. And maybe that's good enough. I wouldn't discourage people from watching this, but don't expect everything to be answered in the end, because there's just not enough time, and perhaps a lot of material was left on cutting room floor. I must admit I'm a Safdie virgin, so Safdie fans needs to be gentle with my review so I don't feel ripped off twice...

It's because having spent most of my life either living in Japan or connected with Japan through work, that I may get a lot more out of the game because, I think, speak, and know what's very familiar and satisfying about Japanese gokudo stories told well. I didn't expect this in a PS4 game, until a close family member recommended I play. It took me 6 days over two weeks and got caught up in Kiryu Kasuma's world.

There are several references to, and that draw directly from real events, although the names are changed to masked direct association. I was quite moved at times especially at the finale scenes and post credits prologue. I was surprised at how much I became very attached to the main characters. And I welcomed the faces and voice overs from well known actors like Kitano Takeshi to name just one. All this may also may have influenced why I enjoyed the story and the game play as well. Perhaps the avid gamer will find some weakness in the game play and mini-games. I remember playing many of the 80s mini-games from when I was a University undergrad in Nagoya, Japan.

I highly recommend the game if you have had similar life experiences to my self, and are bilingual like my family is, but there's plenty to enjoy for those who know little about Japan as well. The games 18+ rating is justified. My (grown) kids who could hear me shouting at the screen in Japanese, knew what I was saying which was awkward the following day sometimes, no matter what a ride it was !