Quick Review #104: Demon City Onigoroshi (movie)

Title: Demon City Onigoroshi / Demon City 鬼ゴロシ

Rating: 2 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who like action flicks featuring close contact combat and don't mind the lack of a robust storyline

* Disclaimer: I have not read the original manga

Liked:

- For those who like action films which focus more on close contact combat rather than gun action, you would probably enjoy this movie. There were quite a lot of such action sequences which allowed the lead Ikuta Toma to shine in this aspect.

- Just when the story hinted at a possible sequel with some remnants of evil, I was glad to see that there was a proper and complete ending. It would have been quite annoying to see signs of this story possibly continuing given the lackluster plot. And considering how the bulk of the action scenes were close contact combat, the way it ended was a good contrast with the general direction thus far.

Disliked: 

- While I cannot comment on whether the real life adaptation did justice to the original manga, the lack of a proper storyline in this movie version was hugely disappointing. The focus was entirely on taking revenge but there were some loopholes and things which were not properly explained. First of all, from a state of being paralyzed to killing tons of people with the logic-defying movements - there was no justification for the lead character being "resurrected" in this manner other than the possible reason of the mysterious substance injected into his drip while at the hospital. Even so, that substance should have been meant to kill, not make him "mutate" into someone who could use his body at will. 

In addition, given that there were so many people he killed along the way, it was odd that he resorted to a method which was not "effort-effective" because it required so much strength and movements yet exposed himself to the risk of sustaining injuries as well. And not to mention, he had to kill out in the open, not in a sly and undetectable manner. Not so smart if you are considering the setting that he was supposed to be a top-notch assassin. Keeping gun action and explosives to a minimum may be good from an action movie point of view but it just didn't make much sense.

Last but not least, while the concept of using Japanese demon masks was probably meant to conceal the identity of the baddies, I thought that it might be better to attach some meaning to why these particular masks were used and to explain how these people fitted into the grand scheme of things. And the lack of a strong ideology banding these people together other than for financial gains wasn't convincing. As such, all the characters came across as largely flat and their motivations difficult to understand. Even for the lead character, due to the lack of lines and minimal facial expressions, he also became someone who the audience would have difficulty empathizing with despite the great wrong he had suffered. 

- Much as I thought that this movie allowed Ikuta to show off his skills as an action actor, it certainly doesn't showcase him as one who's capable of more delicate and emotional acting because his character was largely emotionless except when faced with his wife and daughter. As such, I think this will be quite disappointing even for big fans of Ikuta.