Bullet Points: Yakuza Princess
I have gone on record multiple times insisting that the Yakuza make some of the best villains that you can gather for an action film. They have such a cool but extremely deadly vibe to them. It isn’t hard to imagine scenes of their wild tattooed bodies in a public bath or them chopping off their own appendages in disgrace. Chances are that if your movie includes the Yakuza then I am game to watch it.
Synopsis: The heiress to half of the Yakuza crime syndicate forges an uneasy alliance with an amnesiac stranger who believes an ancient sword binds their two fates. She must unleash war against the other half of the syndicate who wants her dead.
- A cool poster: Sometimes all you need to go on is a cool poster and the word “Yakuza” in your title. That was all I had before I decided to watch this one and it certainly helped. If you’re a lover of action cinema you know that it is often the unexpected early scenes that can grab your attention and hold you through something that isn’t exactly a masterpiece. That is how Yakuza Princess starts. It’s gets out of the gates hot with a party massacre where they only survivor is a little girl.
- Yakuza in Brazil: I had no idea that there were so many Japanese folk living in Brazil. I especially didn’t know that there was such a criminal presence in the city of Sao Paulo. This movie finds a young 21 year old Akemi (MASUMI) working a meaningless job in the city and trying to find a way or a reason to head back to Japan.
- Training for the real thing: Another thing that is very important for Akemi’s character is that fact that we see her training in the dojo. She ain’t no slouch with the sword and I’m absolutely certain that the skills she trains on early will come into play later on in the film. They always do. It’s also good to see that our heroic princess won’t be the type to sit back and watch or turn into some “Mary Sue”.
- Drama in the Yakuza: The mob back in Japan are finding out about the existence and whereabouts of Akemi and different factions appear to have their own agendas. Tsuyoshi Ihara (from the amazing 13 Assassins) plays Takeshi, a Yakuza boss who has spent years working his way up and seems to have a bit of history with Akemi’s family.
- Hideaway: Akemi gets some help from Jonathon Rhys Meyers’ character who we only know by name at the end of the film. Is it another “white savior” situation? I didn’t really think so, but the character is some sort of hitman who we’re told had something to do with the killing of her grandfather before his unfortunate accident that caused him to lose his memory. All he is familiar with is the sword that Akemi has and he genuinely seems to want to help her. They both go on the the run from different local punks and the Yakuza alike. Eventually they end up in some hideaway retreat where the movie starts….to….drag.
- Give them war: By the time that the film drops some action on us at the retreat you’ll be begging for something. JRM and Akemi handle their business pretty well against the attacking Japanese and we learn that Takeshi isn’t all that we thought he was. Later, a pretty awesome throwdown in a club would give us our best look at Akemi and Takeshi’s fighting abilities.
- Helipad finale: There are a whole lot of movies that include helicopters in the action but Yakuza Princess stops a little short of that by having the finale on a helipad. Is it as impressive as an exploding or crashing chopper going up in an excellent fireball? No way! But it does give Akemi a chance to face off against the man who was partially responsible for her family’s death.
The Verdict: When the film ended I had mixed thoughts on Yakuza Princess. I felt like it could have worked much better as a 6-part series as there were some interesting things happening at times but very few of them got their needed payoffs or even the time to dig into. MASUMI was fine as the lead but Jonathon Rhys Meyers and Ihara were definitely more interesting to me. The movie had the Yakuza to lean on as villains but no one who was the “big bad”. I would have’ liked to have seen something like that for JRM to use his skills against in the end. Still, a middle of the road actioner with elements that I enjoyed. Not terrible for a Tuesday night.
