Yakuza : L'Ordre du dragon

Having played 0-6 just since the pandemic, they are all fresh in my mind. I also have a great affection for characters, appreciate the convoluted plots, and love wild insanity that make Yakuza games like a Japanese Monty Python at times.

It is one the best game adaptations I have played. It is not condescending or trying too hard to wedge in game mechanics. Even when it does, it has that Kung Fu Hustle kind of wink about it. Everything from beating people with crates and traffic cones, to Poppo and Don Quixote brawls, to seeing Kamurocho as a backdrop and actually recognizing buildings and streets.

That said, it's like they just wrote a story set in the Yakuza 1 game, and in the last 20min remembered they needed to make a movie based on the source material. There are at least 2-3 subplots with unrelated characters that suck all the time and oxygen out of the story, who are not even in the game. If you hadn't played the games, you may have had fun instead in the first 3/4 of the movie, and then wondered who the hell these titular people were at the end and what was going on.

Other than getting to hang out with Kiryu one more time, it was a total waste of fun material and decent story that would have had no problem translating to the screen.

Ryû ga gotoku: Gekijô-ban, internationally known as Like a Dragon, is an excellent action thriller inspired by the first entry in the internationally acclaimed video game franchise Yakuza. It's quite surprising that this excellent movie hasn't been received more favourably and that there are even plans to remake it entirely. As it is, this movie isn't only a pleasure to watch for fans of the franchise with its numerous hidden gems but also a blockbuster for regular fans of gangster movies.

This movie has been directed by prolific filmmaker Miike Takashi, responsible for genre masterpieces like Shinjuku Triad Society in 1995, Dead or Alive in 1999 and Ichi the Killer in 2001. His direct, fast and graphic approach suits this movie wonderfully and resumes an epic video game of roughly thirty hours in one hour and fifty minutes. Some iconic scenes from the video game might have been left out but one simply doesn't miss them in this brutal, energetic and quirky final product. Miike Takashi is the perfect director for this wonderful movie.

The acting performances are also surprisingly solid. Kitamura Kazuki is one of Japan's most prolific actors and has collaborated with Miike Takashi time and again. He incarnates charismatic protagonist Kiryu Kazuma splendidly. Kishitani Goro has also been starring in several excellent gangster films and he might deliver the best performance of his career while portraying crazy antagonist Majima Goro as he finds the perfect balance between this character's stylish antics and his psychopathic obsessions. Even the child actress who plays Sawamura Haruka who represents hope, innocence and purity in the video game series is absolutely credible here.

Another strength of this film are its locations. The video game series have been inspired by Shinjuku entertainment district Kabukicho and Miike Takashi's movie was actually shot on location. From this perspective, this movie feels even more realistic than the associated video game. Numerous locations from shiny skyscrapers over sinister back alleys to chaotic basement shops have been perfectly integrated into this film.

As for the story, this movie follows the first video game very closely. Objective observers might claim that this isn't very creative. However, those who are unfamiliar with the video game are in for a wild rise with several stunning twists and turns. As for those who are actually familiar with the video game, your anticipation will keep growing throughout the film as its finale comes around with one iconic scene after another. There are no unnecessary lengths to be found and once this turbulent ride is over, you simply want to take a deep breath, sip a tasty drink and start all over again.

At the end of the day, anyone who appreciates gangster movie should definitely watch Like a Dragon. If you are intrigued by this film, make sure to either discover the wonderful video game franchise from start to finish in chronological order or to watch some of Miike Takashi's greatest movies throughout his impressive career that has lasted for more than three decades now. Actually, combining both elements might be the best option for you as it will give you hours and hours of outstanding entertainment. Here's hope that this wonderful movie will finally be served justice and see an international re-release by a company like Arrow Media or Well Go USA.

Miike has proved to be one of the most versatile and reliably inventive directors of the last decade. He is no longer merely Japanese; his movies reach an ever-growing audience in Europe, America and elsewhere. Capably of churning out several films a year (owing to his background in the B-cinema of straight-to-video yakuza action variety), even the best of Miike's films have a sense of fleetingness - not to say hurriedness - to them. That is because, for Miike, more is more. Frugality be damned. The film under review is NOT one of his most polished works, but it is smooth and shiny, and thoroughly entertaining from start to finish. And a faithful adaptation to boot.

You see, with "Like A Dragon", the celebrated but wacky director enters the world of video game screen adaptations, translating Sega's Playstation 2 hit game "Yakuza" into cinematic terms. But Tomb Raider or Doom this is not. For one, "Yakuza" (which I've played and enjoyed) had a much superior storyline to most other games out there. Thrilling and dark, the story of the game gets adapted, with seeming ease, into Miike-speak. How did they condense a 15-hour storyline into a 100-minute movie? Not perfectly, but satisfactorily. A few jumps and omissions bespeak the origins of the story, but overall the story holds.

The reason for this easy transition is clear: The world of the yakuza, petty criminals, cops and street urchins is right in well-tested Miike territory. After dozens of films that deal with the underworld of Japan, the veteran director knows his stuff. A yakuza game + a yakuza director is a marriage made in (some perverted) heaven. Visually, too, this film captures the atmosphere and locale of the game. The colour spectrum of both the outdoors shots and the indoor sets is pleasing to the eye, and almost every shot is beautiful to look at. Especially in a few indoors shots there is poetry to violence.

Mixing humour (as Miike does) with violence and tragedy, the film never loses its edge. Miike captures both the serious and comic side of the thugs and social rejects in the film. Many of the characters in the game, especially the young girl, Haruka, and the delinquent teenage lovers are really likable and you really feel for their fates.

The storyline may leave those who haven't played the game hanging (just who-what-where?), but it isn't necessary to play the game to appreciate the movie. They both stand on their own.

Lucky for Miike to have such good source material, and lucky for Sega to be able to attach one of the great directors of today in a project that otherwise would have been doomed to mediocrity. Salvaged by style and visual richness, "Like A Dragon" is an above-average Miike film with enough twists and turns to make you feel like game-to-movie adaptations ARE possible after all. Uwe Boll and Paul W.S. Anderson - take notes and learn!

I actually think I may be the only one who enjoyed this film, being a big fan of the Yakuza games I had a feeling despite the bad reviews on this I was going to enjoy it. I think you need to be one of those who have played the games to get why certain aspects of the movie hold a special place in your heart, I spent so many hours playing as Kiryu Kazuma that I grew an attachment to the character so from that there i knew it was going to be a good watch.

I have to admit some parts aren't needed but all the same kts a good watch that I thoroughly enjoyed, I feel like we could of delved into the story more with this movie, it went as good as you could have gone when it comes to reliving a gaming experience through a movie. It can't be exactly the same or it'd be boring as we'd just see what we've already seen so I get why things need changing.

Great movie to watch if you're a big fan, if you're not id recommend checking the games out as they are great, if you're not a gamer I'd say go for it you might even like it.

If you haven't played any of the Yakuza games then you will likely have no clue what is going on as this is definitely made for fans. Characters come and go and things happen with little explanation, if you're not a fan then you will get lost very quickly. The Yakuza games average about 30-40 hours worth of heavy story in each game so cramming that in to a 2 hour movie was always going to be a challenge.

The actor who plays Majima was perfect and Kiryu actually drinks a Stamina X to make himself stronger, i was laughing so hard at how awesome it was.

I think Shô Aikawa should have played detective Date instead of the small part he played, he's a great actor.

You can tell this is Takashi Miike straight away, it isn't as out there or extreme as some of his more well know films but it has his trademark offbeat style and there are many actors you'll recognise from his other movies.

It isn't deep and it is a mess but if you like the Yakuza games and want to see your favourite character brought to life then this is a fun time.