25 reviews
Full Metal Yakuza (Full Metal Gokudô) 1997 Not Rated
This quaint little movie is one of the first by infamous Japanese director Takeshi Miike. A director known well in Japan for his work on Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) moviesbut well known worldwide for his bizarre and shocking "horror" films. This is one of his unusual combination films. It's a Yakuza story, with elements of horror, science fiction, Mafia pictures, and Robocop.
The story revolves around one of Japan's crappiest Yakuza underlings, who, of course, wishes he was more. The head of his, uh, "mafia gang" has taken a liking to him regardless of his grandiose incompetence. Eventually, both are killed, then rebuilt a la Robocop into: "Full Metal Yakuza!" That's right, they're rebuilt into one mostly robotic super-Yakuza warriorthat's primarily the mind and personality of the wimpy warrior. Complete with appetite for nuts-n-bolts dragging around his gigantic penis. Go ahead, reread that sentence. You read right. The new RoboYakuza eats hardware like nuts, bolts, screws, nails, what-have-you for energy. And, he has a huge wang. Well, anyway, he goes around fighting and killing people that were enemies to him and his Yakuza master before they were killed. So it's a revenge story, too. One with cheesy dialog, rampant violence, amusing characters, and laughably horrible special effects. Movies made for PBS don't often look this bad! But the film is decently fun to sit through, so long as you like cheesy Yakuza movies, constant violence, and Takeshi Miike. But keep in mind, this has exceedingly low production value, and is cheesier than Wisconsin. 5/10
www.ResidentHazard.com
This quaint little movie is one of the first by infamous Japanese director Takeshi Miike. A director known well in Japan for his work on Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) moviesbut well known worldwide for his bizarre and shocking "horror" films. This is one of his unusual combination films. It's a Yakuza story, with elements of horror, science fiction, Mafia pictures, and Robocop.
The story revolves around one of Japan's crappiest Yakuza underlings, who, of course, wishes he was more. The head of his, uh, "mafia gang" has taken a liking to him regardless of his grandiose incompetence. Eventually, both are killed, then rebuilt a la Robocop into: "Full Metal Yakuza!" That's right, they're rebuilt into one mostly robotic super-Yakuza warriorthat's primarily the mind and personality of the wimpy warrior. Complete with appetite for nuts-n-bolts dragging around his gigantic penis. Go ahead, reread that sentence. You read right. The new RoboYakuza eats hardware like nuts, bolts, screws, nails, what-have-you for energy. And, he has a huge wang. Well, anyway, he goes around fighting and killing people that were enemies to him and his Yakuza master before they were killed. So it's a revenge story, too. One with cheesy dialog, rampant violence, amusing characters, and laughably horrible special effects. Movies made for PBS don't often look this bad! But the film is decently fun to sit through, so long as you like cheesy Yakuza movies, constant violence, and Takeshi Miike. But keep in mind, this has exceedingly low production value, and is cheesier than Wisconsin. 5/10
www.ResidentHazard.com
- unakaczynski
- Jan 22, 2006
- Permalink
Even if this is not top notch Miike it is always going to be worth watching. The first ten minutes or so are a little confusing (as usual) with, here a yakuza, there a yakuza, one shoots one and another shoots another. Shot and sliced splendidly it has to be said with fountains of blood from headless necks and severed arms in the sidewalk! Soon enough all is clear and a fairly simple tale unfolds enlivened no end by the main character being formed of 'full metal'. There is humour throughout and also some gruelling scenes plus a little more sex than I recall seeing in other Miike films. Not as profound as some, although we probably miss the Japanese social nuances, but a fun ride with more than the odd gasp and wince.
- christopher-underwood
- Jan 10, 2007
- Permalink
Not all that entertaining, and very low budget, but flashes of Miike's wacky brilliance make this worth seeing for fans of his work. A wanna-be yakuza loser bumbles his way through the lower echelon unpleasantness of a gang, before a very unpleasant incident results in his being transformed into a deadly (if goofy-looking) cyborg fighting machine. Will he get revenge or will he just mope around like some whiner from a French movie and short-circuit in the rain?
People familiar with Ichi will see a lot of the same elements (though Ichi does come from different source material). The protagonist of FMG is a proto-Ichi in many ways, full of angst and completely dysfunctional, stalking around in a plated body-suit and not much of a hero. Any serious pathos or plot development is undercut by the wacky joke bits Miike throws in (like our hero learning stances to deflect bullets). The silliness is definitely fun, but the movie is so schizophrenic that most of the enjoyment is of the "Whoa! Did that just happen?" variety. Dig in if you're a Miike fan, otherwise don't start here.
People familiar with Ichi will see a lot of the same elements (though Ichi does come from different source material). The protagonist of FMG is a proto-Ichi in many ways, full of angst and completely dysfunctional, stalking around in a plated body-suit and not much of a hero. Any serious pathos or plot development is undercut by the wacky joke bits Miike throws in (like our hero learning stances to deflect bullets). The silliness is definitely fun, but the movie is so schizophrenic that most of the enjoyment is of the "Whoa! Did that just happen?" variety. Dig in if you're a Miike fan, otherwise don't start here.
It is tiresome enough when so-called "professional" critics drag a film over the coals for not being an exact match to other work by the same director. It is oh-so-much worse when the same is done by amateurs who don't even know the full output of the filmmaker under this type of dissection.
With splashy films like Ichi, the Dead or Alive series, and The Happiness of the Katokuris having reached these shores and found their audience, the smaller films have started to tag along. Visitor Q and Audition have been highly praised by many, but these low-budgeters were made after Miike had gotten his quirkiness shaped into a formula. A great formula, in my opinion, but a formula nonetheless.
There are many more early films by Miike headed this way, and many of these, I suspect, will be much like Full Metal Yakuza -- stories told in a straight-up style with a view for pleasing an audience, rather than a cult.
While it is no "American Cyborg," FMY is a rip-snortin' 100% straight-to-video exploitation venture by a skilled filmmaker who manages to more than meet the requirements of the genre. The story concerns a Yakuza who awakes from what had seemed to be certain death to find that he now has a body that is partially steel, partially his own, and partially made from the parts of his dead sempai...can you guess? Yes, we are going to have a revenge tale. And, as silly as it is, it's a lot less goofy (and will no doubt age better) than that overpraised pastiche of revenge tales, Kill Bill.
Grab a six-pack, pop some corn, and forget about meaning while Uncle Takashi spins what is without doubt the best scifi Yakuza tale of the 20th Century.
With splashy films like Ichi, the Dead or Alive series, and The Happiness of the Katokuris having reached these shores and found their audience, the smaller films have started to tag along. Visitor Q and Audition have been highly praised by many, but these low-budgeters were made after Miike had gotten his quirkiness shaped into a formula. A great formula, in my opinion, but a formula nonetheless.
There are many more early films by Miike headed this way, and many of these, I suspect, will be much like Full Metal Yakuza -- stories told in a straight-up style with a view for pleasing an audience, rather than a cult.
While it is no "American Cyborg," FMY is a rip-snortin' 100% straight-to-video exploitation venture by a skilled filmmaker who manages to more than meet the requirements of the genre. The story concerns a Yakuza who awakes from what had seemed to be certain death to find that he now has a body that is partially steel, partially his own, and partially made from the parts of his dead sempai...can you guess? Yes, we are going to have a revenge tale. And, as silly as it is, it's a lot less goofy (and will no doubt age better) than that overpraised pastiche of revenge tales, Kill Bill.
Grab a six-pack, pop some corn, and forget about meaning while Uncle Takashi spins what is without doubt the best scifi Yakuza tale of the 20th Century.
- UncleBobMartin
- Feb 1, 2004
- Permalink
Full Metal Yakuza is a blatantly corny direct-to-video action movie, but I am enthralled by its hero, an aspiring yakuza, made to clean on his hands and knees by the very guys he idolizes, unable to achieve an erection when he's lucky enough to bed down sexy gang molls, bullied by young street punks who would be pulverized by any other yakuza, and then killed as a result of a double-cross. One understands, as one does with similar movies like RoboCop, The Guyver and other movies about a superhuman rebirth, that the premise of the movie is that his body finds itself in the hands of a scientist who keeps him alive by replacing much of his body with robotic body parts. So he has colossal strength and robotic genitalia. He then seeks revenge.
I was excited for him the way one is always cheaply stimulated by movies like this. But Miike, freed by the exploitative invitations of the blood-and-guts shoot-em-up video market in which he is working here, gets the inclination to go crazy, but in the direction opposite the one in which he normally goes. We go from slam-bang gangster cyborg vendetta to hues of more elevated art-house elements characteristic of Japanese cinema elements, such as the scene at the beach after a refusal to kill a gang boss. Outside of this movie's genus, violence and revenge are never as aloof and zany as they are within it, and Miike has certainly done leagues better with the same subject matter, as with Izo and Ichi the Killer.
The movie leaves us with the sort of jarringly extreme material that Miike regales later in his career, but with more directly exploitative ends. It's not that the movie combats any real analysis. It simply shrugs at the idea of significance, not caring enough to be remembered. And perhaps I wouldn't feel so apathetic about that if I didn't begin with such investment in the underdog protagonist.
I was excited for him the way one is always cheaply stimulated by movies like this. But Miike, freed by the exploitative invitations of the blood-and-guts shoot-em-up video market in which he is working here, gets the inclination to go crazy, but in the direction opposite the one in which he normally goes. We go from slam-bang gangster cyborg vendetta to hues of more elevated art-house elements characteristic of Japanese cinema elements, such as the scene at the beach after a refusal to kill a gang boss. Outside of this movie's genus, violence and revenge are never as aloof and zany as they are within it, and Miike has certainly done leagues better with the same subject matter, as with Izo and Ichi the Killer.
The movie leaves us with the sort of jarringly extreme material that Miike regales later in his career, but with more directly exploitative ends. It's not that the movie combats any real analysis. It simply shrugs at the idea of significance, not caring enough to be remembered. And perhaps I wouldn't feel so apathetic about that if I didn't begin with such investment in the underdog protagonist.
It's fair to say that Miike Takashi has made a name for himself as a divisive filmmaker. Nevermind the wide range of quality - the extreme violence that routinely fills his works is one thing; he's also infamous for far-out ideas and imagery, and stylization that swiftly becomes altogether self-indulgent. Has he always been like this, though? What was the guy like earlier in his career? It takes a bit for us to find out as the plot doesn't pick up right away; the production values are notably unpolished, the budget is lower, and this does not yet reflect pure excess. But you know what, even as he hadn't really come into his own yet, there's no mistaking that 'Full metal yakuza' is pretty much just what we expect from Miike. And as this 1997 feature shows that he hadn't yet yielded to utmost profligacy, I rather wonder if it's not actually one of his more sure-footed works.
It's not as outright weird as some of his later endeavors, but I think that works in the title's favor, and so does the declination of rapidly aging computer-generated imagery in favor of reliable practical effects. Screenwriter Era Itaru also consistently shows a mind for more substance, however cheeky, than Miike or his collaborators have as his career progressed. So we still get the extremely violent genre mishmash that we've seen elsewhere in the filmmaker's oeuvre, only somehow less refined but also more proficient: the yakuza flick, the heavy blood and gore, the free-wheeling if not crude sensibilities of sexuality, the decidedly unserious humor; the sci-fi obsession with man and machine made famous by Tsukamoto Shinya but tempered with a measure of the narrative considerations of, say, 'RoboCop,' or also 'Darkman'; wild practical effects fitting somewhere on the spectrum between Tsukamoto, classic tokusatsu of past years, and Stuart Gordon; and so on. And the result is far stronger than I'd ever guessed sights unseen.
Era's story is surprisingly solid in telling of a hapless, low-level gangster who is gunned down, the mad scientist who brings him back, and the path of vengeance he walks in turn. The plot is engaging, compelling, and entertaining; the scene writing is full of invigorating flavor; and the characters, well, they serve their purpose. I'm so very pleased with the stunts, fight choreography, and practical effects that dominate these 100-odd minutes, and they all look fantastic; occasional instances of sped-up footage are inherently a tad gauche, but as the post-production visuals are employed only sparingly, they mostly hold up pretty well (a far cry from their proliferation in all the years since). As Miike is wont to do, the execution oscillates a little between unflinching and often tongue-in-cheek B-movie schlock and more earnest violent storytelling, but his direction is consistently firm and mindful, with scant sign of the immoderation that has hounded later pieces like 'Sukiyaki Western Django' or 'Yakuza apocalypse.' Even the acting is unexpectedly honest and admirable as the tendency for sheer bombast had not yet taken hold in Miike's style.
It's true that the pacing is a tad unsteady, for even as the runtime elapses fairly quickly there is noticeable lag where the energy diminishes with quieter, more plainly dramatic scenes. Some odds and ends are unquestionably, tiresomely juvenile, and unnecessary, and the notes of misogyny and sexual violence are altogether horrid; the tone varies, the writing in general does not bear the same uniform strength, and 'Full metal yakuza' is definitely not as tight as it could or ideally should be. Some acting is notably weaker; while Endo Koji's music is very enjoyable overall as it adds to the mood at any time, there is a disparity between some themes, with some sounding like bland MIDI tunes from second-rate PC videogames of the early to mid 90s. The most overt CGI has indeed not aged well. And still, for however much we might reasonably criticize some facets, by and large the picture holds up very well. Miike's extensive body of work range from great to awful, and though it is marked with various troubles it's more fun than not. After all, this knew exactly what it was, and if you want a preposterous genre romp, that's precisely what you'll get.
With excellent work from everyone else operating behind the scenes - terrific production design and art direction, costume design, hair and makeup, and so on - there is more lasting value in this film than it is not. It's hardly something one needs to go out of their way to see, and content warnings are very necessary, but if you're receptive to Miike's brand of cinematic storytelling, the sum total will not disappoint. I can really say that 'Full metal yakuza' is better than I anticipated, and while it might not be a must-see classic, it's surely good enough to check out for fans of these genres.
It's not as outright weird as some of his later endeavors, but I think that works in the title's favor, and so does the declination of rapidly aging computer-generated imagery in favor of reliable practical effects. Screenwriter Era Itaru also consistently shows a mind for more substance, however cheeky, than Miike or his collaborators have as his career progressed. So we still get the extremely violent genre mishmash that we've seen elsewhere in the filmmaker's oeuvre, only somehow less refined but also more proficient: the yakuza flick, the heavy blood and gore, the free-wheeling if not crude sensibilities of sexuality, the decidedly unserious humor; the sci-fi obsession with man and machine made famous by Tsukamoto Shinya but tempered with a measure of the narrative considerations of, say, 'RoboCop,' or also 'Darkman'; wild practical effects fitting somewhere on the spectrum between Tsukamoto, classic tokusatsu of past years, and Stuart Gordon; and so on. And the result is far stronger than I'd ever guessed sights unseen.
Era's story is surprisingly solid in telling of a hapless, low-level gangster who is gunned down, the mad scientist who brings him back, and the path of vengeance he walks in turn. The plot is engaging, compelling, and entertaining; the scene writing is full of invigorating flavor; and the characters, well, they serve their purpose. I'm so very pleased with the stunts, fight choreography, and practical effects that dominate these 100-odd minutes, and they all look fantastic; occasional instances of sped-up footage are inherently a tad gauche, but as the post-production visuals are employed only sparingly, they mostly hold up pretty well (a far cry from their proliferation in all the years since). As Miike is wont to do, the execution oscillates a little between unflinching and often tongue-in-cheek B-movie schlock and more earnest violent storytelling, but his direction is consistently firm and mindful, with scant sign of the immoderation that has hounded later pieces like 'Sukiyaki Western Django' or 'Yakuza apocalypse.' Even the acting is unexpectedly honest and admirable as the tendency for sheer bombast had not yet taken hold in Miike's style.
It's true that the pacing is a tad unsteady, for even as the runtime elapses fairly quickly there is noticeable lag where the energy diminishes with quieter, more plainly dramatic scenes. Some odds and ends are unquestionably, tiresomely juvenile, and unnecessary, and the notes of misogyny and sexual violence are altogether horrid; the tone varies, the writing in general does not bear the same uniform strength, and 'Full metal yakuza' is definitely not as tight as it could or ideally should be. Some acting is notably weaker; while Endo Koji's music is very enjoyable overall as it adds to the mood at any time, there is a disparity between some themes, with some sounding like bland MIDI tunes from second-rate PC videogames of the early to mid 90s. The most overt CGI has indeed not aged well. And still, for however much we might reasonably criticize some facets, by and large the picture holds up very well. Miike's extensive body of work range from great to awful, and though it is marked with various troubles it's more fun than not. After all, this knew exactly what it was, and if you want a preposterous genre romp, that's precisely what you'll get.
With excellent work from everyone else operating behind the scenes - terrific production design and art direction, costume design, hair and makeup, and so on - there is more lasting value in this film than it is not. It's hardly something one needs to go out of their way to see, and content warnings are very necessary, but if you're receptive to Miike's brand of cinematic storytelling, the sum total will not disappoint. I can really say that 'Full metal yakuza' is better than I anticipated, and while it might not be a must-see classic, it's surely good enough to check out for fans of these genres.
- I_Ailurophile
- Aug 23, 2024
- Permalink
Guess that in potential this could had been a truly awesome and insane revenge flick but the movie instead goes for a more over-the-top and comedy like approach. It doesn't really has the desired effect, since it more often makes the movie just silly instead of entertaining or funny.
Normally I either really love or truly dislike a Takashi Miike movie but in this case I'm stuck in the middle somewhere. I really didn't hated the movie but at the same time was also never impressed- or entertained enough by it.
Because the movie takes a more comedic approach, it's also being a more simplistic one to watch. It's very straight-forward, without any good depth or underlying emotions to the movie its story and themes. It's why the movie feels like a bit of a bland one, as well as redundant, even for the fans of Takashi Miike movies.
For a Takashi Miike movie it also certainly isn't edgy enough. It sounds weird, with all of the violence and gore in this movie but the movie feels quite tame and like it's holding back with its graphic violence. This is something Takashi Miike normally really never ever does! But it's a movie from before the days he became an established name really, so it perhaps isn't so surprising that this movie doesn't feel as edgy and daring as most of his later work.
Another problem I really had with this movie was its story. To say it bluntly; this movie really seems to be a Japanese remake of "RoboCop". It uses a very similar concept and even some of the characters and sequences seem alike. So originality was also a big problem with this movie. And as a matter of fact, it makes the movie even weaker, considering that it isn't even halve as good or half as edgy and daring as Paul Verhoeven's "RoboCop". It makes this movie feel like a bit of a lame rip-off attempt.
But despite all criticism, this is still a movie you could have some fun with. It's definitely entertaining to watch in parts and with a Takashi Miike movie you are always getting something unique and unusual. The movie is still filled with plenty of moments like that. So despite not being to original with its story, it still is at least being original with some of its scene's.
6/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
Normally I either really love or truly dislike a Takashi Miike movie but in this case I'm stuck in the middle somewhere. I really didn't hated the movie but at the same time was also never impressed- or entertained enough by it.
Because the movie takes a more comedic approach, it's also being a more simplistic one to watch. It's very straight-forward, without any good depth or underlying emotions to the movie its story and themes. It's why the movie feels like a bit of a bland one, as well as redundant, even for the fans of Takashi Miike movies.
For a Takashi Miike movie it also certainly isn't edgy enough. It sounds weird, with all of the violence and gore in this movie but the movie feels quite tame and like it's holding back with its graphic violence. This is something Takashi Miike normally really never ever does! But it's a movie from before the days he became an established name really, so it perhaps isn't so surprising that this movie doesn't feel as edgy and daring as most of his later work.
Another problem I really had with this movie was its story. To say it bluntly; this movie really seems to be a Japanese remake of "RoboCop". It uses a very similar concept and even some of the characters and sequences seem alike. So originality was also a big problem with this movie. And as a matter of fact, it makes the movie even weaker, considering that it isn't even halve as good or half as edgy and daring as Paul Verhoeven's "RoboCop". It makes this movie feel like a bit of a lame rip-off attempt.
But despite all criticism, this is still a movie you could have some fun with. It's definitely entertaining to watch in parts and with a Takashi Miike movie you are always getting something unique and unusual. The movie is still filled with plenty of moments like that. So despite not being to original with its story, it still is at least being original with some of its scene's.
6/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
- Boba_Fett1138
- Aug 30, 2011
- Permalink
I thought of a couple of director Takashi Miike's movies while watching Full Metal Yakuza- Ichi the Killer and Izo- because of what they have sort of in line with it. Both of those films have a protagonist who, more or less, is on a hell-bent path of murderous destruction. But even Izo, in comparison with this (and I consider Izo a flawed film), is more worthwhile than this minor claptrap. Maybe it's also a sign of what Miike had with better things to come, as it was just a short on-assignment gig to fill up his V-Cinema requirements. Not that you can't tell he might've had a hand in some scenes, notably the most violent and abrasive ones where the hero of the title gets his revenge (albeit with the head of one yakuza and the heart & body of another, ho-ho). There's not much story to it at all, except that a lowly gangster gets gunned down when his mentor, a yakuza previously in jail for 7 years, gets out and gets killed too. A mad scientist dubbed the "nutty professor" (double ho-ho) puts them back together, and this time totally in metal. Not that there aren't any other "special" modifications too, like in the groin area to be precise (not just quick blue electrical flashes go through when he gets charged up).
Then the exploitation-fun continues, as the bare plot wheels away until I couldn't really care less about whatever really happened with most of the characters, and just wondered when the next big huge violent gush of blood would occur. The special effects, even for something as quick and ultra low-budget (and yes, even for a Robocop spin-off it's very low-budget, even with an invention or two in Miike's arsenal), are cheesy, and sometimes the film/video speed reminded me of seeing kids movies from the 80s or something. The only side development in any of the characters, however shallow, is with a woman (a prostitute I believe) who is with another man after a previous ill-timed engagement. Sure to be OK enough for most just looking for a splatteriffic time, but I think to really get a lot more laughs out of it I'd have to be pretty wasted. It's not devoid of punch, but it's got nothing in the way of a sharpness of wit or wild visual panache of Miike's other works. It's just what to expect- a V-Cinema gimmick made long into a feature with so-so acting and a yakuza story that's nothing new; I don't even think it'll get too much better if on a repeat viewing either.
Then the exploitation-fun continues, as the bare plot wheels away until I couldn't really care less about whatever really happened with most of the characters, and just wondered when the next big huge violent gush of blood would occur. The special effects, even for something as quick and ultra low-budget (and yes, even for a Robocop spin-off it's very low-budget, even with an invention or two in Miike's arsenal), are cheesy, and sometimes the film/video speed reminded me of seeing kids movies from the 80s or something. The only side development in any of the characters, however shallow, is with a woman (a prostitute I believe) who is with another man after a previous ill-timed engagement. Sure to be OK enough for most just looking for a splatteriffic time, but I think to really get a lot more laughs out of it I'd have to be pretty wasted. It's not devoid of punch, but it's got nothing in the way of a sharpness of wit or wild visual panache of Miike's other works. It's just what to expect- a V-Cinema gimmick made long into a feature with so-so acting and a yakuza story that's nothing new; I don't even think it'll get too much better if on a repeat viewing either.
- Quinoa1984
- Jan 25, 2007
- Permalink
Japanese film maker talent and inventive genius Takashi Miike (born 1960) has done incredible amount of films in his not-even-so-long career so far. He has done made-for-video cheapies and big screen films that vary from unconventional and wonderful Yakuza tales to insane comic book adaptations to mind blowing satires, and the greater the themes in these films are, the more serious he is and uses his ideas and crazy creativity with restraint inside the otherwise serious world he's created: a bazooka torn from a guy's back isn't any funny moment in Dead or Alive (1999) but has its important meaning for the theme telling so much about the character(s) and their values in the violent world Miike depicts.
His Full Metal Yakuza aka Full Metal Gokudo (1997) belongs to the cheap and fastly made video films and it is easy to tell it is a very exploitation oriented market that wants simple, violent and graphic films without much more merits in them. Full Metal Yakuza tells the Robocop-like (1987, Paul Verhoeven) story of a killed Yakuza who gets back to life as he is turned into a robot/human by one crazy scientist. He wants to avenge the death of his friend as well as try to save his former love from the sadistic hands of the rival Yakuza. Ultra violence and gore ensues and all the potential that was used to wonderful perfection in Fudoh (1996), for example, is not there in this film.
There are some nice Japanese cinema elements like the silence that tells more than words. The scene in the beach after a refusal to kill one Yakuza boss is especially memorable and also close to the work of Takeshi Kitano. Still the revenge theme is not handled here as it was in Dead or Alive or Fudoh. In Full Metal Yakuza, violence and acts of revenge don't have any other meaning than to satisfy the gore audience and that is pretty sad for those who'd like to see Miike making more serious cinema all the time. In real world, violence and revenge is never as harmless and fun as in this film and Miike for sure would have talents to make real films from the subject matter, as he's done. Also the ending, showing how desperate the characters are for personal revenge and payback would be as wonderful as in those other films, but now it all is just mostly comical trash as Miike definitely wasn't doing this for anything else than money and to satisfy his huge need to work. It is hard to make any interpretations on single images and scenes while everything before and after them fights against any serious analyzes.
Also the way how females are treated and depicted is pretty unpleasant. I don't think there's even one normal, calm and balanced female character here, all are just screaming and sudden bitches that just need to be killed off by the more or less restrained men. The ending involves a very nasty abusion scene of a female character and that is definitely too strong in a trashy film like this. But fortunately it ends in a way that at least that female had someone who cared for her and loved her so at least females are not completely worthless in the film. Miike has depicted females in various ways and at least films like Fudoh and Rainy Dog show them equally significant, if not always strong, with the men.
The film has also very few of the wonderful cinematic elements and ideas of Miike like the kinetic storytelling and speed of City of Lost Souls aka The Hazard City (2000), the brilliant and surreal imagery of one of his masterpieces Dead or Alive, the claustrophobic, creepy and disturbing brilliance of Audition (1999) or the manic elements in the soundtrack, editing and camerawork of Koroshiya Ichi aka Ichi the Killer (2001). Of course the budget in Full Metal Yakuza was much smaller than in those mentioned films, but still the film doesn't offer any significant achievements of its director, other than the typical ultra violence and silliness. At least the always so great criticism towards the Japanese censors who like to censor all the pubic hair off the films is there and again very delightfully so. Another examples of these opinions can be found in his films like Visitor Q (2001) and Rainy Dog (1997). I'm sure the Japanese producers and censors have a lot of fun when they see what has Takashi done now!
The film is high on its gore level and so reminds pretty much of Ichi the Killer, a film that is filled with cartoonish violence and blood plus sadism towards both females and males. Full Metal Yakuza has plenty of swordfights (!) and other bloody carnage that gives the makers an opportunity to throw in plenty of blood geysirs and splatter that satisfies some viewers but is not enough when the film is by talented director like Miike. Neither this or Ichi the Killer are to be taken seriously (hardly anyone takes, at least Full Metal Yakuza), and especially Ichi, despite its flaws and negative sides, tells something about the audience, that laughs looking like a bunch of monkeys and as sorry characters as those inside the film, when someone's being tortured and brutally murdered. Ichi the Killer has also some interesting elements in the form of Ichi himself, who is a traumatized boy with violent environment and society around him. This important theme is handled more carefully in Rainy Dog and also in Fudoh.
Full Metal Yakuza is filled with desperate and weak human beings that have only few civilized characteristics that make it able to call them men, not only beasts, which they very often are inside in Miike's cinema. Full Metal Yakuza is far from his greatest achievements and ambitions and thus is not at all among his most noteworthy films, but that is understandable considered the film's speedy low budget exploitation money maker status. 4/10 but only as a lover of Japanese cinema. Anyone with not interest in this great cinema and its elements won't likely to be able to sit through the manic and insane (and also the most uninspired) examples of it, like Full Metal Yakuza.
His Full Metal Yakuza aka Full Metal Gokudo (1997) belongs to the cheap and fastly made video films and it is easy to tell it is a very exploitation oriented market that wants simple, violent and graphic films without much more merits in them. Full Metal Yakuza tells the Robocop-like (1987, Paul Verhoeven) story of a killed Yakuza who gets back to life as he is turned into a robot/human by one crazy scientist. He wants to avenge the death of his friend as well as try to save his former love from the sadistic hands of the rival Yakuza. Ultra violence and gore ensues and all the potential that was used to wonderful perfection in Fudoh (1996), for example, is not there in this film.
There are some nice Japanese cinema elements like the silence that tells more than words. The scene in the beach after a refusal to kill one Yakuza boss is especially memorable and also close to the work of Takeshi Kitano. Still the revenge theme is not handled here as it was in Dead or Alive or Fudoh. In Full Metal Yakuza, violence and acts of revenge don't have any other meaning than to satisfy the gore audience and that is pretty sad for those who'd like to see Miike making more serious cinema all the time. In real world, violence and revenge is never as harmless and fun as in this film and Miike for sure would have talents to make real films from the subject matter, as he's done. Also the ending, showing how desperate the characters are for personal revenge and payback would be as wonderful as in those other films, but now it all is just mostly comical trash as Miike definitely wasn't doing this for anything else than money and to satisfy his huge need to work. It is hard to make any interpretations on single images and scenes while everything before and after them fights against any serious analyzes.
Also the way how females are treated and depicted is pretty unpleasant. I don't think there's even one normal, calm and balanced female character here, all are just screaming and sudden bitches that just need to be killed off by the more or less restrained men. The ending involves a very nasty abusion scene of a female character and that is definitely too strong in a trashy film like this. But fortunately it ends in a way that at least that female had someone who cared for her and loved her so at least females are not completely worthless in the film. Miike has depicted females in various ways and at least films like Fudoh and Rainy Dog show them equally significant, if not always strong, with the men.
The film has also very few of the wonderful cinematic elements and ideas of Miike like the kinetic storytelling and speed of City of Lost Souls aka The Hazard City (2000), the brilliant and surreal imagery of one of his masterpieces Dead or Alive, the claustrophobic, creepy and disturbing brilliance of Audition (1999) or the manic elements in the soundtrack, editing and camerawork of Koroshiya Ichi aka Ichi the Killer (2001). Of course the budget in Full Metal Yakuza was much smaller than in those mentioned films, but still the film doesn't offer any significant achievements of its director, other than the typical ultra violence and silliness. At least the always so great criticism towards the Japanese censors who like to censor all the pubic hair off the films is there and again very delightfully so. Another examples of these opinions can be found in his films like Visitor Q (2001) and Rainy Dog (1997). I'm sure the Japanese producers and censors have a lot of fun when they see what has Takashi done now!
The film is high on its gore level and so reminds pretty much of Ichi the Killer, a film that is filled with cartoonish violence and blood plus sadism towards both females and males. Full Metal Yakuza has plenty of swordfights (!) and other bloody carnage that gives the makers an opportunity to throw in plenty of blood geysirs and splatter that satisfies some viewers but is not enough when the film is by talented director like Miike. Neither this or Ichi the Killer are to be taken seriously (hardly anyone takes, at least Full Metal Yakuza), and especially Ichi, despite its flaws and negative sides, tells something about the audience, that laughs looking like a bunch of monkeys and as sorry characters as those inside the film, when someone's being tortured and brutally murdered. Ichi the Killer has also some interesting elements in the form of Ichi himself, who is a traumatized boy with violent environment and society around him. This important theme is handled more carefully in Rainy Dog and also in Fudoh.
Full Metal Yakuza is filled with desperate and weak human beings that have only few civilized characteristics that make it able to call them men, not only beasts, which they very often are inside in Miike's cinema. Full Metal Yakuza is far from his greatest achievements and ambitions and thus is not at all among his most noteworthy films, but that is understandable considered the film's speedy low budget exploitation money maker status. 4/10 but only as a lover of Japanese cinema. Anyone with not interest in this great cinema and its elements won't likely to be able to sit through the manic and insane (and also the most uninspired) examples of it, like Full Metal Yakuza.
Japanese film maker talent and inventive genius Takashi Miike (born 1960) has done incredible amount of films in his not-even-so-long career so far. He has done made-for-video cheapies and big screen films that vary from unconventional and wonderful Yakuza tales to insane comic book adaptations to mind blowing satires, and the greater the themes in these films are, the more serious he is and uses his ideas and crazy creativity with restraint inside the otherwise serious world he's created: a bazooka torn from a guy's back isn't any funny moment in Dead or Alive (1999) but has its important meaning for the theme telling so much about the character(s) and their values in the violent world Miike depicts.
His Full Metal Yakuza aka Full Metal Gokudo (1997) belongs to the cheap and fastly made video films and it is easy to tell it is a very exploitation oriented market that wants simple, violent and graphic films without much more merits in them. Full Metal Yakuza tells the Robocop-like (1987, Paul Verhoeven) story of a killed Yakuza who gets back to life as he is turned into a robot/human by one crazy scientist. He wants to avenge the death of his friend as well as try to save his former love from the sadistic hands of the rival Yakuza. Ultra violence and gore ensues and all the potential that was used to wonderful perfection in Fudoh (1996), for example, is not there in this film.
There are some nice Japanese cinema elements like the silence that tells more than words. The scene in the beach after a refusal to kill one Yakuza boss is especially memorable and also close to the work of Takeshi Kitano. Still the revenge theme is not handled here as it was in Dead or Alive or Fudoh. In Full Metal Yakuza, violence and acts of revenge don't have any other meaning than to satisfy the gore audience and that is pretty sad for those who'd like to see Miike making more serious cinema all the time. In real world, violence and revenge is never as harmless and fun as in this film and Miike for sure would have talents to make real films from the subject matter, as he's done. Also the ending, showing how desperate the characters are for personal revenge and payback would be as wonderful as in those other films, but now it all is just mostly comical trash as Miike definitely wasn't doing this for anything else than money and to satisfy his huge need to work. It is hard to make any interpretations on single images and scenes while everything before and after them fights against any serious analyzes.
The film is high on its gore level and so reminds pretty much of Ichi the Killer, a film that is filled with cartoonish violence and blood plus sadism towards both females and males. Full Metal Yakuza has plenty of swordfights (!) and other bloody carnage that gives the makers an opportunity to throw in plenty of blood geysirs and splatter that satisfies some viewers but is not enough when the film is by talented director like Miike. Neither this or Ichi the Killer are to be taken seriously (hardly anyone takes, at least Full Metal Yakuza), and especially Ichi, despite its flaws and negative sides, tells something about the audience, that laughs looking like a bunch of monkeys and as sorry characters as those inside the film, when someone's being tortured and brutally murdered. Ichi the Killer has also some interesting elements in the form of Ichi himself, who is a traumatized boy with violent environment and society around him. This important theme is handled more carefully in Rainy Dog and also in Fudoh.
His Full Metal Yakuza aka Full Metal Gokudo (1997) belongs to the cheap and fastly made video films and it is easy to tell it is a very exploitation oriented market that wants simple, violent and graphic films without much more merits in them. Full Metal Yakuza tells the Robocop-like (1987, Paul Verhoeven) story of a killed Yakuza who gets back to life as he is turned into a robot/human by one crazy scientist. He wants to avenge the death of his friend as well as try to save his former love from the sadistic hands of the rival Yakuza. Ultra violence and gore ensues and all the potential that was used to wonderful perfection in Fudoh (1996), for example, is not there in this film.
There are some nice Japanese cinema elements like the silence that tells more than words. The scene in the beach after a refusal to kill one Yakuza boss is especially memorable and also close to the work of Takeshi Kitano. Still the revenge theme is not handled here as it was in Dead or Alive or Fudoh. In Full Metal Yakuza, violence and acts of revenge don't have any other meaning than to satisfy the gore audience and that is pretty sad for those who'd like to see Miike making more serious cinema all the time. In real world, violence and revenge is never as harmless and fun as in this film and Miike for sure would have talents to make real films from the subject matter, as he's done. Also the ending, showing how desperate the characters are for personal revenge and payback would be as wonderful as in those other films, but now it all is just mostly comical trash as Miike definitely wasn't doing this for anything else than money and to satisfy his huge need to work. It is hard to make any interpretations on single images and scenes while everything before and after them fights against any serious analyzes.
The film is high on its gore level and so reminds pretty much of Ichi the Killer, a film that is filled with cartoonish violence and blood plus sadism towards both females and males. Full Metal Yakuza has plenty of swordfights (!) and other bloody carnage that gives the makers an opportunity to throw in plenty of blood geysirs and splatter that satisfies some viewers but is not enough when the film is by talented director like Miike. Neither this or Ichi the Killer are to be taken seriously (hardly anyone takes, at least Full Metal Yakuza), and especially Ichi, despite its flaws and negative sides, tells something about the audience, that laughs looking like a bunch of monkeys and as sorry characters as those inside the film, when someone's being tortured and brutally murdered. Ichi the Killer has also some interesting elements in the form of Ichi himself, who is a traumatized boy with violent environment and society around him. This important theme is handled more carefully in Rainy Dog and also in Fudoh.
This would appear to be one of them. If you're a Miike completist, and you simply must see this, try the DVD. That way you can learn to love the blessed ff button. It's cheap and cheesy gore, and I have no complaints about that, but the script appears to have been written by a drunk zombie. Truly it sucks. The interview with Miike on the Arts Magic DVD pretty much explains how and why gonzo trash like this got made, but it doesn't really redeem the 75% of this movie which is just ham awful. It would make a great manga, but the translation to live action only serves to emphasise the lameness of the Franken-san "plot". It clunks, but as a contrast to the beautifully scripted and acted films he's made since, it just about bears watching. Try to borrow or steal a copy of the DVD. That way you won't feel ripped off.
I've already seen Takashi Miike's 'Fudoh: The New Generation', 'Visitor Q' and 'Ichi The Killer' so I'm prepared for just about anything from this amazingly prolific and eclectic director. But as 'Full Metal Yakuza' is an early Miike movie, made with a small budget for the direct to video market, I expected it to be a throwaway action comedy with little evidence of Miike's future brilliance. However, much to my delight, it actually still managed to surprise me, and despite being a cheap riff on 'RoboCop' (one of my all time favourite movies) Miike doesn't play it safe, and you can see bits of 'Ichi the Killer' in there waiting to burst out. This was Miike's twentieth(!) movie give or take, and despite having already released his breakthrough film 'Fudoh' it was still a long way before he was to be discovered by Western movie buffs in a big way. Miike was mainly working in the direct to video market which at the time gave film makers a lot of creative freedom if they made low budget genre movies that were able to sell a few thousand copies. He certainly took advantage of that freedom as the movie mixes silly comedy, bloody fight scenes, tacky special effects and costumes with a brutal gang rape sequence which Hollywood action directors just couldn't have gotten away with. Miike says he wanted the audience to be confused in how they were supposed to react and I think he succeeds big time! There are a few familiar faces in the cast from other Miike movies and those by Beat Takeshi and Shinya Tsukamoto, but the star Tsuyoshi Ujiki was unfamiliar to me. In Japan he is best known as a rock star with Kodomo Band. Uliki plays Hagane a bumbling low level yakuza who is killed when he gets caught in an assassination attempt on his boss whom he worships. But in fact Hagane doesn't die, he is resurrected by an eccentric scientist who has created a new body for him made out of a combination of metal and spare parts supplied from his dead boss! The rest you just have to see to believe. Hagane is far from your typical Yazuza tough guy, and in many ways you can see his character as being a dummy run for Ichi. 'Full Metal Yakuza' isn't quite as amazing as 'Fudoh' or 'Ichi' but it's still pretty out there and highly recommended to fans of extreme Asian action.
This film begins with a man a respected Yakuza hitman named "Tosa" (Takeshi Caesar) being introduced to an apprentice by the name of "Kensuke Hagane" (Tsuyoshi Ujike) who absolutely idolizes him. Not long afterward, Tosa kills several members of a rival clan but is subsequently captured by the authorities and sent to prison. Seven years later, Tosa is released from prison and Kensuke is one of the people sent to greet him and then escort him back to his clan. The problem, however, is that the driver of the vehicle and another accomplice take him to a location where several gunmen are lurking nearby, which results in both Tosa and Kensuke being killed in the deadly ambush. But it doesn't simply end there as Kensuke is brought back to life by a scientist who combines body parts from both Tosa and Kensuke along with highly advanced electronics to create a cybernetic superman--and this new Kensuke is filled with a terrible need for revenge. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was a strange film which combined a standard Yakuza outline with both comedy and science-fiction. In my opinion, however, these three components didn't mesh well together, and the end result wasn't very entertaining. But that's just my opinion. That being said, I don't recommend this film to anybody other than hard-core viewers of Japanese science-fiction, and I have rated it accordingly. Below average.
After getting gunned down when his boss is 'hit', an unprepossessing yakusa recruit is rebuilt into a nearly unstoppable cybernetic killer who, needless-to-say, goes after the gangsters who whacked him. The plot is predictable, and the characters are primarily 2D strawmen, but there are some odd visual flourishes, and Tsuyoshi Ujiki is quite good as Hagane, the cyborg-gangster who is unsure about his new status as part-machine. The film has a strong misogynistic vibe, most notably in the gratuitous and unpleasant torture-rape-suicide scene. The film apparently has accrued a cult following as part of the oeuvre of controversial director Takashi Miike.
- jamesrupert2014
- Mar 4, 2025
- Permalink
Takashi Miike may well be the savior of modern cinema - more than any other film maker I'm aware of, Miike keeps pushing the boundaries of the art form. He's also got a deliciously sick sense of humour.
Full Metal Gokudo is an early Miike movie (with the rate he produces movies, even 5 years ago is a long way back in his career). It's a made for video ultra-cheapy, probably made in a couple of weeks for a few thousand yen. The basic premise is Robocop meets a Yakuza movie... producing the Full Metal Gokudo himself, a low ranking Yakuza gangster whose body is reanimated by a self-proclaimed genius scientist, to be a crime fighting superhero. Though things don't quite go according to his plans.
Despite the very very low budget and terrible special effects, FMG contains buckets of that Miike imagination and intellect. Subtle, dark humour occasionally gives way to comic absurdity - and occasionally to something much darker and more disturbing. Nothing as sick as you will find in Ichi The Killer or Fudoh, but enough to trouble the more squeamish viewers no doubt. There's a little bit of a heart in the movie too though, for the viewer who can look past the gore and idiocy.
Mostly though, FMG is just a silly comedy. It takes a bunch of mostly loathsome characters and puts them in a ridiculous situation, then has fun seeing how everybody reacts. It's a movie that could only have come from Japan, and probably only from Takashi Miike himself. The ultra low budget means its never going to get mainstream popularity, but it's the perfect material to become a lightweight cult classic.
Full Metal Gokudo is an early Miike movie (with the rate he produces movies, even 5 years ago is a long way back in his career). It's a made for video ultra-cheapy, probably made in a couple of weeks for a few thousand yen. The basic premise is Robocop meets a Yakuza movie... producing the Full Metal Gokudo himself, a low ranking Yakuza gangster whose body is reanimated by a self-proclaimed genius scientist, to be a crime fighting superhero. Though things don't quite go according to his plans.
Despite the very very low budget and terrible special effects, FMG contains buckets of that Miike imagination and intellect. Subtle, dark humour occasionally gives way to comic absurdity - and occasionally to something much darker and more disturbing. Nothing as sick as you will find in Ichi The Killer or Fudoh, but enough to trouble the more squeamish viewers no doubt. There's a little bit of a heart in the movie too though, for the viewer who can look past the gore and idiocy.
Mostly though, FMG is just a silly comedy. It takes a bunch of mostly loathsome characters and puts them in a ridiculous situation, then has fun seeing how everybody reacts. It's a movie that could only have come from Japan, and probably only from Takashi Miike himself. The ultra low budget means its never going to get mainstream popularity, but it's the perfect material to become a lightweight cult classic.
- simon_booth
- Dec 2, 2002
- Permalink
- oneguyrambling
- Nov 7, 2010
- Permalink
- yateshatesyou
- Jan 31, 2007
- Permalink
Seriously, its worthy of a Something Awful or iMockery skewering. I can only assume that this movie was supposed to be a black comedy, made to seem cheesy on purpose ala Troma. However this just ended up being bad. Not like a 'so bad its good' kind of bad. More like a 'Please God, make this movie stop' kind of bad. I mean I 'got' what Miike was trying to do. This was supposed to be some unholy combination of a yakuza film and the imagery of a kitschy Japanese 70's beat-em-up serial. Complete with bad costumes, writing and sound effects. This train wreck of a movie finally hits rock bottom in the final moment, which MAKES NO SENSE WHATSOEVER. I mean as horrible as the rest of the movie is you can understand what is going on. Then they drop that one on you and the film ends with you wanting to kill someone.
- Polaris_DiB
- Aug 31, 2008
- Permalink
- ThreeSadTigers
- Feb 25, 2008
- Permalink
I bought Full Metal Gokudo before seeing it, and felt a little ripped off. I've seen many Miike films, and this is the weakest, by far. Still, it's way better than most movies. It starts out fairly strong, but it gets really quite boring. Worth checking out though.
- suttercane
- May 19, 2003
- Permalink
This is one of the best movies I've ever seen, miike is a genius and this movie proves it. I won't describe the plot I will just say that here you can feel every bit of weirdness and life's futility at the same time of pure bad passion. The bloodied scenes are incredible, the irony is poignant and absolving, the violence is disgusting and true as it should be showing how the characters get through it, victims, evil carnefici, and pointless vengeance. the light comes forth, the knees start shivering, the eyes die the wind cries. frenetic failure.
"Say a prayer for my death"
"Say a prayer for my death"
well, i do like Japanese movies at all and i am not very often disturbed by the unique style of Japanese movies, but what is delivered here shocked me. i can't really explain, why exactly this movie p***ed me like that, but somehow nothing fits in full metal yakuza. well, the story is OK, but i cannot stand how it was brought on screen. perhaps an English language version of the movie is better, but unfortunately here in Germany only the uncut German version is available. so correct me if i am wrong, but i seen much better Japanese movies than this one.
I'll admit that this work isn't some of the director's best. However, this movie was one of those 'made for video and late nite TV' type movies. And even though my Japanese is very rusty (okay so it's rusted through), I still enjoyed the movie. The gore level is on par with Kill Bill (Quentin Tarantino) and has just about the same amount of plot. If it had a huge soundtrack budget it would be indistinguishable from a Japanese version of Kill Bill. Some of the gore effects are... quite unique. Along with some typical Japanese phallic humor, the movie does manage to hold your attention. Enjoy the movie for what it is, a quick and dirty gore flick with some 'interesting' bloody special effects that would make Quentin Tarantino become nauseous.
- plasticass2000
- Jul 4, 2004
- Permalink