The Violence Action

The Violence Action is not Baby Assassins but still fun. The film's title, perhaps, does not translate well. Not sure what it means. The film, like the former one, which was one of the best of 2022, is a Japanese martial arts action film about a young female assassin. The plot is more complicated than that, and involves multi layers of betrayal in the Yakuza. It is a crazy thrill ride of silliness, violence, action, and martial arts. The characters are all larger than life with many comic book like qualities. The cinematography and direction are fast moving and fun. There is underlying heart throughout. The fight choreography is too quirky, fast, and unrealistic for my taste, but there are some good ones. All in all it was a fun time and worth watching.

The film is well-choreographed and features some impressive fight scenes, but the story is somewhat predictable, and the characters are underdeveloped. Overall, this movie is an entertaining action film for fans of the genre, but viewers should be warned that the film is violent and may not be suitable for everyone. Moreover, despite the action sequences being slightly excessive and featuring a considerable amount of overacting from the entire cast, what truly captivates this movie is the endearing simplicity emanating from the main character, making it a genuinely compelling viewing experience.

In the 1970s "mix" films, films that could not decide if they were serious or satire, were very popular. (Check out for example the Matt Helm series with Dean Martin). This film, oddly, seems to retrieve that vibe, presenting the story of a high school girl who is also a professional killer in a style closer to anime or a comic strip, than to than real life. Even the action sequences are speeded up, constantly reminding the viewer that nothing on the screen is real. To be honest, that was a tough sell in the 70s, and an even tougher sell today. The only redeeming quality is Kanna Hashimoto, playing the lead, who thankfully has a natural sweetness that comes across. On the bright side, your six year old will find this film absolutely fascinating. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

A swing and a miss...

Granted, I had never heard about this 2022 movie before stumbling upon it on Netflix. And with it being a Japanese movie that I hadn't already seen, then of course I had to watch it. Plus, the movie's cover/poster definitely had that unique Japanese thing going on, where you know you'll probably be in for a crazy ride.

First of all, let's just look at the questionable and stupid title of the movie, "The Violence Action", which makes zero sense in any way, aside from detailing what the movie has to offer.

So, yeah, even without ever having heard of this movie from writers Itaru Era and Tôichirô Rutô, then I had some expectations.

They were short-lived though, because the storyline utterly fell short of entertaining me. And running at nearly two hours, the prospects of making it through in one piece were bleak. This movie was difficult to sit through, especially since it was lacking proper entertainment value.

I am sure that the acting was fine, however, I just couldn't abhor from the chaotic storyline that was all over the place and yet nowhere altogether. I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble, and that is usually something I enjoy in movies, but it was just not working out here, because of a lousy script and storyline.

The character gallery in the movie was not well-written, so it was difficult to find anything worthwhile in the characters on the screen. In fact, I have to admit that I didn't care an ounce about whom they were or what happened to the as the chaotic narrative unfolded.

Visually then "The Violence Action" was quite good. Over the top, sure, but enjoyable and counted for something. But it just wasn't enough to make up for the shortcomings of director Tôichirô Rutô's movie.

"The Violence Action" was a swing and a miss, and it is not a movie that I would recommend to fans of the Japanese action cinema.

My rating of "The Violence Action" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.

Overly edited and stylized, this movie offers cut-aplenty nonsense-Action, cheap CGI and lots of editing jumps that only distract.

Sure it is quite energetic and pretend to have emotional tones and quirky characters, but it comes off as clumsy and awkward.. like someone's debut high-school 90s project (with music usage to match). The story and dialogue is nothing to write about, either. Ultimately confusing story-lines and boring developments. It's not appealing or memorable.. not even the charming and weird Kanna Hashimoto could save this.

Hard to recommend, and I would like my 2 hours back.