Odoru daisosasen the movie 2: Rainbow Bridge wo fuusa seyo!

I'm Japanese, and I really enjoyed this film. This is set in Tokyo, and the system works totally differently compared to all others around the world, so I wouldn't expect for any foreign countries to understand the concept of the film. Besides, it's originally in Japanese. What do you expect if the lines sound cheesy? The sense of humor between laguages are impossible to be translated directly and understood at the sametime, so you can't really tell if it's funny or not unless you watch it with real Japanese viewers. So if you're going to watch this film, don't think too much of the lines. Just go with the flow and enjoy what you see! That's how international films should be watched.

Bayside Shakedown 2: Save the Rainbow Bridge

This is the second feature-length spin-off from the Japanese TV series and, like the first, it feels over long - as if there's a really good 60 minute TV show trapped inside a 2 hour movie.

There's precious little in the way of back-story, so if you're not up to speed on the relationships, particularly between Aoshima and Muroi, and the internal politics, you'll probably end up a little confused because (I'd guess) this film really doesn't stand up very well out of context.

On the plus side, if you like the series and / or the first film, you'll enjoy this one too because the formula and cast survive intact - the only real difference being a larger budget which the producers decided to spend on bigger set pieces and more location shoots. Oh - one other change between this film and the previous efforts is that the bumbling local police chief's role has been virtually eliminated - which is a good thing.

I saw this because Zatoichi was standing room only, and I was influenced by the many trailers I'd seen for this where Oda Yuuji (who plays Aoshima) appears. He's rather good-looking, I think! Additionally, the setting is Odaiba, the man-made island in Tokyo connected by the Rainbow Bridge (hence the title), which I'd visited mere days ago.

Some people may have problems with this film due to it's refusal to stick to one genre - really, that's their problem. It covers drama, police mystery, comedy, and holds my attention doing so.

For those worried about following the plot, it's worth knowing that it's not too difficult at all as many of the jokes are visual. However, you may need to be able to switch between formal/informal Japanese to get the whole story. In any case, my monolingual (English language) father had few problems. If he can understand and enjoy it, anyone can! :)

The writer of most of the Bayside/Odoru movies and shows, Kimizuka loves to poke fun at the bumbling police chiefs as they scrape, and bow trying to please their superiors as they jockey for position in their desire to get ahead. In this movie, he goes even further pitting our heroes against a group of embittered men who were fired, and refuse to choose a leader, each acting independently as they carry out their crimes. This leads to Mashita questioning whether this approach gives the gang an advantage over the police's own military style hierarchy where everyone is supposed to follow orders.

Muroi, Aoshima's ally at HQ, makes an early mistake, and is replaced by a woman Okita as the new head of the investigation. In the heat of the moment, Okita implies that the Bayside petty crimes work are not important leaving Aoshima and Sumire outraged. Yukino gets kidnapped, leading our hero/heroine to ignore orders, and swing into action in an effort to save Yukino and the innocent bystanders.

Kimizuka has opened up a can of worms with all these different threads, and so his conclusion might not sit well with many viewers, but this movie probably has the most social commentary of any in the franchise.

'Bayside Shakedown 2' is something of an opposite to its predecessor. Its opening is action-packed and fun, but the meat of the film doesn't hold up quite as well. Once again the film is a successful blend of serious cop drama and comedy with the less serious parts evening out the more serious ones.

Over-all the film just isn't as intriguing as its predecessor. The plot-twist comes a tad too early at which point the viewers stop caring about the badguys who weren't all that interesting. Of the side-plots, the vampire one is my favorite but otherwise the setting of the film didn't impress me as much as the predecessor.

The film is not bad by any measure, however, and is ultimately recommendable. It simply didn't give the same feeling of fulfillment as the first one did.