First Love, le dernier Yakuza

... it does exactly what is says on the side of the Takashi Miike tin and some.

Good casting, great cinematography, fitting score and decent directing, but there were obvious plot and technical issues. The 108 run time felt much longer and some scenes were too long and/or unnecessary. The choreography and camera shots were terrible in the action scenes. A good film but could've easily been great.

A chance encounter between a young boxer and a prostitute causes an all out gang war and they are both caught right in the middle of it. Takashi Miike anyone?

When one goes to see a Takashi Miike film one expects certain things. It has to be grotesquely violent, slightly tongue in the cheek and an over the top story that that would never work with anyone else at the helm. FIRST LOVE delivers everything and more. In fact it is a surprisingly coherent, thought through and even touching film that works on many levels. It is drama, it is a comedy, it's an action film and it's a thriller, where all elements are a perfect fit.

This is classic Miike with Japanese yakuza and Chinese triad going at each other over nothing. It may be a bizarre and violent affair, but the cut off limbs and heads seem a bit Monty Pythonish, which makes the gore slightly less disturbing.

There's a lot of fun to be had here, this is a sort of film Tarantino would like (he did praise Miike as one of his favourites) and this film is Miike at his best.

With its jazzy upbeat soundtrack and out there action, this is an energised piece of work that has to be seen to be believed.

This is a crazy black comedy. Not seen a Miike movie before but will be on the lookout now! I can't wait for a crappy American remake to show just how good it was.

A fast, funny, zany escapade. Comic book fun. A delightful surprise.

Strongly recommend.

Leo is an up and coming boxer who is diagnosed with a fatal brain tumour after surprisingly losing a fight. Yuri is a young woman who has been forced into prostitution because her father is indebted to the Yakuza; she has become addicted to drugs and suffers from strange hallucinations of her father. One day she escapes and Leo steps in and knocks out the man chasing her... they are about to have one unforgettable night. A corrupt cop and a member of the Yakuza have hatched a plan to steal a large stash of drugs and pin the blame on Yuri. With the city on the brink of a gang war Leo and Yuri will need to be very lucky to survive the night.

If you are a fan of director Takashi Miike you should enjoy this; it might not be as crazed and disturbingly violent as 'Ichi the Killer' but it is still pretty violent. This violence is mixed in with some fairly incongruous humour. Most of the action takes place over the course of one night and the tension rarely lets up for long. The characters, even the obviously bad people, are fun to watch and often manage to be amusing even while committing acts of violence. The cast is impressive as they bring their over the top characters to life. Overall I really enjoyed this; definitely worth a watch if you are a fan of Miike's work or just enjoy Japanese gangster films.

These comments are based on watching the film in Japanese with English subtitles.