Shinjuku autorô

Shinjuku Outlaw is a direct-to-video gangster movie directed by legendary Takashi Miike. This is only his eighth movie early in his career and the film doesn't have the content, effects and flow of later Yakuza masterpieces such as Shinjuku Triad Society one year later. However, it's obvious that some of the director's trademarks such as complex ties between gangster families, the feeling of alienation regarding immigrants and ultra-violent action sequences are already present in this film.

The movie revolves around the son of a dying Yakuza boss who decides to kill the boss of another family to prevent a possible attack on his own group. The young man brutally murders the man in front of his grand-daughter in a bowling alley but gets shot multiple times himself and falls into a coma. He awakes ten years later in a prison hospital and realizes that quite a few things have changed in his absence. Rejected by former colleagues and friends and controlled by a corrupt police officer, he is forced to work for two elderly gangster bosses and must defend himself against foreign mobsters as well. The protagonist plans on starting a new life with a prostitute from a foreign country but he must steal money and deal with those controlling his destiny to break free.

This gangster movie convinces on several levels. The story has a few interesting twists and turns that keep it interesting throughout its running time of ninety-four minutes. The film convinces with gloomy atmosphere and the feeling of alienation. The action scenes are brutal, emotional and visually stunning.

However, the film also has a few flaws. The story is quite complex and it's at times complicated to understand who is doing what and why. Lead actor Jun Jung-il, also known as Hakuryu, only seems to have one facial expression which some people might find cool but which seems rather limited to me. The chemistry between the male and the female protagonists is weak and their partnership and relation simply isn't believable.

Despite a few flaws, Shinjuku Outlaw is a typical V-cinema gangster film for genre fans. It's entertaining from start to finish but doesn't leave a deeper impression. In times of confinement and quarantine however, this movie is quite a treat.

The further you delve in to the Miike back catalogue, the more obvious it becomes that the guy had the art of dramatic pacing down to a tee from very early on. TV production involves fast shooting schedules and slick editing: both of which Miike excels at.

This bloody yakuza revenge flick arrived a year after the excellent Bodyguard Kiba/ Chiba remake, and a year before Black Triad Society. You can see the template being developed for that movie, and the succession of increasingly brutal yakuza movies like Agitator, Kikoku, and Deadly Outlaw Rekka in the wild intro, the disposable spaghetti style henchmen, and the close quarters kamikaze gunfights.

Inspiration isn't a crime, so the familiar elements from the early works of Fukasaku, Gosha, and Nakajima count as a big plus for me. Some action movies sag during the necessary lulls between the blam blam set pieces, but Miike easily fills those scenes with subplots that eventually implode around the finale. A finale which in this case bore a passing resemblance to both Machinegun Dragon and the awesome DOA.

Bunta Sugawara and Sonny Chiba probably inspired a whole generation of Japanese kids to make high octane action movies. A job well done in this case. If you like the straightforward bad boy rebel yakuza style, then don't hesitate to grab yourself a copy. The setup is offbeat, and it sets the tone perfectly for the duration.