“Outrage” marks Takeshi Kitano’s return to yakuza films after a bunch of failed experiments in new genres. Unfortunately, the result is pretty mediocre. It has a slightly tighter pace and a slicker visual style than his old classics, but unfortunately misses all the introspective and poetic moments that made Kitano's gangster flicks recognizable. Japanese viewers might find themselves more involved emotionally as they are familiar with the stellar cast, but the script says nothing about any of the characters. Pretty much as if Kitano was a child playing war with an expensive Bucket o' Soldiers. Fairly entertaining but nothing more.
Pretty by-the-numbers gangster film. Lots of the ol' ultra-violence. Very disjointed at times, but ultimately satisfying.
One of the things that always shock people when I tell it to them is the fact that I really don't like the Godfather-Trilogy. To me it was really long and boring, not much happening, and I simply cannot get all the fuzz people are making around these movies.
Outrage - in the original アウトレイジ , which should rather be translated into the phonetically correct "Autoreiji", as Japanese people would translate this title to, is probably best described as the Japanese version of the Godfather-Trilogy. And surprisingly I really enjoyed the movie.
First of, we get a more interesting movie that is not too hard to follow, still in the beginning you don't really get what this movie is going to unfold into:
We start of with a great meeting of the Sano-kai clan, the Yakuza family that is reigning over the greater Tokyo region. The grand Yakuza leader Sekiuchi is displeased with one of his Yakuza leaders, Ikemoto, who in prison befriended an unassociated and rivaling Yakuza leader named Murase. Ikemoto is ordered to get Murase in line, however to do so would mean to break the holy pact he swore, which in turn would be dishonorable. So he orders his subordinate Otomo to steer up some trouble that would so that would make Murase to be in debt to the Sano-kai clan which in turn would have to make him swear his legion to the Sano-kai. However, what non of the bosses are expecting: This actually is clever power-play and a plot to shift a number of power relationships.
This movie is interesting in may ways. First we get into a Yakuza movie that is more modern than typical other movies. And this modernes is a topic that is picked up even in the movie. We have younger Yakuza bosses who do not follow the customs of the older Yakuza, e.g. things such as cutting off a finger to plea for forgiveness. It is also a clever plot at which end a chain of events have been released to find a really unexpected end.
Besides this, the movie has some really ruthless graphical violence that will make you clench your teeth. In the end, every one of these guys is a ruthless criminal, there are a lot of events you will simply not see coming such as the cutting of the face.
It is also interestingly filmed - there where a few very interesting angles, but all in all the camerawork is really slow and steady, and the transitions rather untypically: They simply fade to black and then start at the next scene. And as strange as this is, it doesn't feel bad. It somehow fits the overall style, both of the movie as it is made as well as it fits the content of the movie, i.e. the plot.
I was intrigued and it got my interest right from the beginning to the end. Something you probably haven't seen yet, if you are - like me - more into western movie productions.
Not the best Kitano film out there but a solid one. The violence is still there, but the innocence that might exist in earlier work is missing. To be watched if you are to view outrage beyond.
i wasn't expecting that among of blood!!! it's a good concept but i strongly believe that they could make it better.
Shout by juliosoftBlockedParent2019-03-23T22:04:23Z
Takeshi Kitano writes, directs and edits this movie about Yakuzas, power struggles, if you like this theme, the way Kitano does, you'll be in your sauce