Miike is well known for making live-action manga, but "Osaka Tough Guys" is more like live action Looney Tunes. Two kids, Makoto and Eiji, are dropped out of school for a long list of bad behavior, so after robbing the school and having the time of their life for precisely a single night, it's time for them to get themselves together and get a job. They answer an ad in the newspaper that promises easy cash with no experience, only to find out that they've allowed themselves to be conscripted into the Yakuza. Actually, that sounds kinda cool, except that they're conscripted into a lame family of the Yakuza, and a fellow conscription is an idiot, and they basically do nothing but petty chores and follow Saku or Daimon (two terribly bogus Yakuza members) around on unproductive schemes and hedonism. Meanwhile, Makoto is falling for an aspiring actress he keeps running into.
I haven't seen a Miike film I've really disliked until now. Even when his movies are ridiculous, they are an inspired piece of absurdity; and when they're not ridiculous, they're really good. This movie, however, I really just couldn't get into. Most of the movie is rather directionless, and its silliness begins to wear out its welcome rather quickly. The ending is definitely pure Miike, where the narrative takes a hard right turn before ending abruptly, but this time, what can I say, it only seemed ridiculous. The video effects are actually kind of cool just because he was willing to do them for the fun of it, so I can get behind that, but some of the music is stolen from Terminator and The Godfather, while the rest of it sucks, and everything is just so darned silly its really hard to enjoy beyond a few giggles. I'm rather disappointed.
This is another early one for Miike, but it's the only movie of his I've seen that strikes me like he was just starting to get a hold of the craft. At the most, it's a peculiarity, worth a rental for Miike fans and people who love b-movie cult classics. At worst, it's a mostly limp attempt at humour featuring overbearing clownishness and a lack of direction. At least Miike's the type to quickly move on and do something different--I do admit that, whatever the case may be, this movie is still different. It's just that he's done much better, and even his movies less famous than the likes of "Gozu", "Ichi the Killer", and "Audition" are highly entertaining pieces of exploitation. This movie just... isn't.
--PolarisDiB
I haven't seen a Miike film I've really disliked until now. Even when his movies are ridiculous, they are an inspired piece of absurdity; and when they're not ridiculous, they're really good. This movie, however, I really just couldn't get into. Most of the movie is rather directionless, and its silliness begins to wear out its welcome rather quickly. The ending is definitely pure Miike, where the narrative takes a hard right turn before ending abruptly, but this time, what can I say, it only seemed ridiculous. The video effects are actually kind of cool just because he was willing to do them for the fun of it, so I can get behind that, but some of the music is stolen from Terminator and The Godfather, while the rest of it sucks, and everything is just so darned silly its really hard to enjoy beyond a few giggles. I'm rather disappointed.
This is another early one for Miike, but it's the only movie of his I've seen that strikes me like he was just starting to get a hold of the craft. At the most, it's a peculiarity, worth a rental for Miike fans and people who love b-movie cult classics. At worst, it's a mostly limp attempt at humour featuring overbearing clownishness and a lack of direction. At least Miike's the type to quickly move on and do something different--I do admit that, whatever the case may be, this movie is still different. It's just that he's done much better, and even his movies less famous than the likes of "Gozu", "Ichi the Killer", and "Audition" are highly entertaining pieces of exploitation. This movie just... isn't.
--PolarisDiB