This film begins with a man by the name of "Mizuhara" (Koji Tsurita) being released from prison after serving five years for a crime he committed while being a member of a Yakuza clan known as the Komori. Unfortunately, rather than being warmly welcomed by his former clan, he is targeted for assassination instead. To that effect, although he is slightly wounded in the attempt, his curiosity compels him to visit his former boss and inquire about this sudden turn of events when he had previously been promised a promotion by him upon his release. What he soon discovers, however, is that things have changed while he was away and that an ambitious lieutenant by the name of "Namikawa" (Tetsuro Tanba) has restructured the Komori clan--to the point that they have now become heavily involved in illegal drugs and no longer need his services. It's during this meeting that tempers flare and Mizuhara deliberately shoots his former boss in the arm prior to escaping from the room. Recognizing an opportunity when he sees one, Namikawa then takes over the leadership of the clan by shooting two more bullets into the chest of his boss and then subsequently telling the newspapers that Mizuhara was responsible for all three gunshots. Meanwhile, Mizuhara soon discovers that another gang has a plan to bring down the Komori clan and that his services are now in great demand. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this crime-drama started out pretty well but the general lack of character development became quite noticeable along the way and impacted this film to some degree. Likewise, although the ending was quite surprising, I didn't quite care for it all that much and I have rated this movie accordingly. Average.
