Retaliation (1968)
** (out of 4)
Jiro Sagae (Akira Kobayashi) is released from prison after serving eight years for murdering a man. That man's brother, Hino (Jo Shishido) is there at the gates waiting for his release and promises to kill him. Before long there are many double crossings and Jiro and Hino find themselves on the same side battling some gang members.
I watched RETALIATION as a double feature with MASSACRE GUN. It's funny but I complained that MASSACRE GUN didn't have enough of a story and yet here I am complaining that RETALITATION had way too much story. This here is one of the most confusing films I've ever seen, which is saying quite a bit considering how many movies I've watched over the years. The film has some very memorable moments but sadly they're lost in a rather boring Yajuza story.
There's no question that the screenplay is the biggest issue with this picture because it seems each scene is just adding something new to the story and after a while you're losing memory of who certain characters are and what exactly is going on. There are enough stories here for at least three different films and it's really too bad that so much of the picture gets bogged down.
I say that because there are some memorable and sleazy moments here. Several women are attacked in a variety of scenes and there's even some brief nudity on hand. The most memorable moments are certainly the violence and especially a sequence at the end where a man's throat is cut and blood goes flying all over a wall. This scene really reminded me of the arm sequence in Dario Argento's TENEBRE. I'd also add that the two lead performances were quite good.
All of that is pretty much lost in the story itself but fans of the genre will probably still want to check this out.
