The first film was flush with wild, invigorating energy, giving us a unique, flavorful, and somewhat chaotic new vision of the yakuza flick. The first sequel was generally on par, though with more conventionally dramatic facets that smoothed over some of the intoxicating rough edges rather than fully embracing them. The third film I found to be sadly middling; though it bore a strong finish, also where it most closely resembled its forebears, mostly its tone and pacing were soft and bland, sorrily dulling plot development that relied extremely heavily on dialogue. What might all this mean for the fourth 'Battles without honor and humanity,' released just one year and two days after the progenitor? Key principals return among both the cast and crew, but I gather that screenwriter Kasahara Kazuo had even more difficulty developing this screenplay than he accordingly did with so-so immediate predecessor 'Proxy war'; what might that mean for 'Police tactics?' How would it compare? Thankfully, it seems as if filmmaker Fukasaku Kinji and his collaborators learned from the mistakes of a few months before, for it seems that where the second sequel was sorely lacking in the necessary vitality to make itself count, this third sequel sees a return of some of the strength that made the first two features so successful. It may not be perfect, but 'Police tactics' finds the series rejuvenated in some measure.
Mind you, the outright fervor of the progenitor is now a thing of the past; evidently there is no recapturing past glory - but there is also no attempt to. The ferocity of the violence, sharply executed with superb stunts, effects, and otherwise action sequences, is where this most echoes the progenitor, though such scenes now carry a sense of being carefully calculated in their construction, and carefully deployed in the runtime to feed into the overall narrative. And therein lies the crux of the fourth title: it's clear from the outset that this continues the saga that was begun one year before, imparting a saga spanning many years of escalating feuds, shifts in power and allegiances, and street warfare. The movie remains more about the broad vibes and broad perspective of yakuza life and activity than about the specific families and figures that it does center, meaning that the scene writing is more important than the overarching plot, but Kasahara, and in turn Fukasaku, seem to have endeavored to create a more balanced iteration of 'Battles without honor and humanity.' And I think they succeeded. While the pure zip (as in #1) of the direction, cinematography, and editing have been restrained (see #2 and still more so #3), this is marked with greater and more consistent vibrancy than 'Proxy war' and possibly more than 'Deadly fight in Hiroshima,' even in the quieter scenes. Just as much to the point, as the bursts of violence definitely continue to stand as the trusted trademark of the series, they are more frequent here in a fashion recalling the first and second pictures.
So this film is kind of a mix of its three antecedents, and at that adeptly bearing and utilizing a degree of buzzing electricity that allows it to rise above the middling drone of 'Proxy war.' Not to belabor the point, but this feels to me like the more polished product that was the second film, only while keeping the looser feel of the progenitor and without infusing more common dramatic overtones. With all this having been said, to one extent or another 'Police tactics' bears all the hallmarks that the series had established for itself, and arguably is the most finely honed rendition up to this point. Whatever our particular opinions on the abject quality and style, Fukasaku's direction is as solid as ever, and likewise the contributions of returning cinematographer Yoshida Sadaji and returning editor Miyamoto Shintaro; all feel more like their old selves again. The music of returning composer Tsushima Toshiaki is deft, delicious complement for the mounting violence of the series. From sets and filming locations to costume design, hair, and makeup, let alone the fundamental image and audio, everything looks and sounds fantastic. The cast, once more, is all around excellent, giving adept performances of range, nuance, and physicality. And just as the direction, cinematography, and editing feel refreshed compared to a few months before - despite whatever hardships Kasahara faced, I think his screenplay is decidedly robust and admirable this time around. I actually wonder if this isn't the most solid character writing that he had managed up to this point, as figures feel more fleshed out; the dialogue carries a little spark of its own (if not as much as in the original feature). And as indicated above, the narrative is more cohesive and sturdy, and the scene writing is as terrific as ever. What the series may have gradually sacrificed in terms of the stunning fever dream that was the first 'Battles without honor and humanity,' it now recoups in a different manner with a harsh, gritty, cogently written portrait of yakuza.
All things considered, I think I might put this on just about the same level as the first movie. There are little strokes of brilliance throughout, through to the end, that in their own way more closely approximate the ingenuity that made the progenitor so extraordinary. Similarly, just as the progenitor has sometimes been described as the Japanese answer to 'The godfather,' I see glimmers of that reflection enduring in 'Police tactics.' It is engaging, compelling, enjoyable, and satisfying with a low thrum of intensity that has been missed in the prior one or two installments. No, there's no recapturing the magic of what 'Battles without honor and humanity' was at the outset,' but one year on, maybe this was the best representation we could have hoped for. The original remains the best as far as I'm concerned, and my favorite, but I'd have no qualms in suggesting it alongside its one superior - and I think that's a high mark of quality indeed. Twelve months and three pictures later, this 'Battles without honor and humanity' is a bit of a return to form by way of both style and value, and I'm pleased to give it my high recommendation.
