Outrage Beyond

I'm refering to the international title of the movie "Beyond Outrage". I do think that the movie is a real good continuation of the first one. Back when I watched it, I didn't know a trilogy would emerge. I don't know what was planned, though I guess certain things might have been set up on purpose. But it's really great how this continues.

Beat Takeshi back again but not really with a vengeance. At least not at first, because he realized he was being used. The first one was quite frantic. I did revisit it, just to remember what had happened. It was a good idea, seeing characters and having them on your radar. A lot of violence and a lot dead people - so not for the faint of hearted ...

i'll try to be as short as possible. essentially, this is a good yakuza film, that picks up different angles from where the prequel left off. eg., in the first 'outrage', the focus is on the yakuza discipline, or a romanticized yakuza clan struggling with modern times. on this film though, the focus is on the "macro-level", the interactions with police, politics, other clans and business.

unfortunately, although this seems very promising, it's not as brainy as other flicks, like 'the godfather' perhaps, and doesn't have the psychological depth or intricate plot of, say, the 1st 'infernal affairs'; it's a rather superficial action/yakuza film, but a very enjoyable one.

if you're a kitano fan: it's not avant-garde like 'sonatine', or kind of experimental like 'hanabi' or 'violent cop', or even a different take on the hollywoodian style like 'brother' - it's more a regular kind of movie. but if you liked the 1st 'outrage', like i did, you'll definitely like this one.

"Beyond Outrage" is the sequel to star and auteur Takeshi Kitano's epic of rival yakuza gangs "Outrage." This film is thrillingly lensed in the way that erstwhile widescreen masters such as Kurosawa and Nyquist used the full frame, and done so with a quintessentially oligochromatic Japanese patina. The story has grandeur of conception, keeps you rapt, and slickly amps up the badness of some very bad guys. The violence has larger quantum numbers than the comic book idioms of Tarantino, but is deployed with panache and grace. Among the film's climaxes is vanguard violence that will permanently prefigure how you regard baseball! Here's hoping "Outrage" becomes a trilogy.

"Beyond Outrage" is possible more sober and cynical than the first film, exploring further into the bureaucratic side of the struggle between clans. There seems to be no difference in the ways police, yakuza, and politics work in nowadays Japan: honor is for the weak and any chance is good to betray your partner for a promotion. Character development is again minimal, but at least we have a more charismatic cast this time.

Takeshi Kitano's OUTRAGE was one of the best films I saw this year, a top-tier Japanese yakuza flick with all of the hard-hitting violence and dense plotting that you could wish for in a film. This follow-up carries on the same story thus was a welcome addition for me, even though it's not up there with the quality of the first.

The main issue I have with BEYOND OUTRAGE is that the pacing is a lot slower than in the first film so that you're sitting around waiting for the proper plot to kick in, especially during the first half. Plus, a lot of the plot twists and turns are rather unsatisfying, whereas the satisfying material is rushed over quite quickly. Kitano goes out of his way to avoid copying the sort of scenes we had in the first film but as those were my favourite bits I can't help but be a little disappointed.

Still, this is nevertheless compelling filmmaking with top direction and acting. Kitano is a more than welcome return as actor although his acting is more subdued here and he's keen to give the other returning stars more screen time and meat to get their teeth into. There are some fine set-pieces again, the most memorable involving baseball, and as a whole the movie has an air of quality and authenticity that makes it work. BEYOND OUTRAGE feels very much like a classic samurai movie, albeit one in a modern setting.