Yakuza Weapon (Gokudô heiki) Review

Movie: Yakuza Weapon (Gokudô heiki)
By: Maniac E
Date: October 1, 2012

Guns, Explosions, and more weirdness

Nipponese filmmakers Tak Sakaguchi and Yudai Yamaguchi co-wrote and co-directed the outlandish, larger-than-life, Asian actioneer "Yakuza Weapon" about honor and vengeance in contemporary Japan. They used Ken Ishikawa's manga as the basis for their screenplay. This audacious crime thriller resembles "Robocop" in part because the protagonist turns into half-man and half-weapon after a radical surgical procedure. Furthermore, this epic boasts a high body count with cartoonish action sequences. Indeed, blood, guts, and gore splatter this swiftly-paced but wholly improbable contemporary shoot'em up with a double-digit body count.

Working as a hard-to-kill mercenary in South America, ex-yakuza Shozo Iwaki (Tak Sakaguchi) is informed of the death of his gang boss father, Kenzo (Akaji Maro). Returning home after four years, Shozo discovers that his father's number-one man, Kurawaki (Shingo Tsurumi), has double-crossed and assassinated Kenzo, leaving Shozo not only in charge of what little remains of the Iwaki Family, but also burning with the desire for vengeance. After a titanic battle in which an entire building is levelled, both Shozo and Kurawaki are left barely alive, Shozo missing an arm and a leg. Despite his wounds, the nearly superhuman Shozo clings to life, and wakes up in a mysterious medical facility with an M61 Vulcan cannon in place of his right arm, and a rocket launcher where his left leg used to be! Although confused by his new body and tormented by the pain it brings him, Shozo quickly learns to love his weaponized frame, and makes himself ready for a rematch with Kurawaki, who also has some mechanical improvements of his own...

From Japanese cinema''s action wildboy, Tak Sakaguchi (Versus, Shinobi), Yakuza Weapon is a crazy, over-the-top action epic/gorefest with plenty of entertainment for those who possess a taste for this style of moviemaking. If you enjoyed cult DVD hits like Machine Girl and Tokyo Gore Police, you'll know what's in store. Mixing tongue-in-cheek violence and some genuinely innovative, ballsy action (including a single take, multiple-opponent fight scene during which the star broke his neck!) this is worth seeking out. As always the CGI is as realistic as ever… The poor quality of the CGI still adds to the movie but it really is bad. One thing you can expect with this movie are EXPLOSIONS.

Yakuza Weapon was evidently shot on a modest budget in a little over a week, and that slapdash quality actually works surprisingly well for the film. Sakaguchi's manic energy spills over into his directorial tasks as well as his performance, and the entire film is just a lunatic assemblage of off the wall moments interspersed with crazy-funny fight sequences. The film builds to an expectedly over the top climax, which sees Shozu's "dead" father brought back as a housing element for a nuclear warhead (if you're expecting any of this to make sense, boy have you come to the wrong movie). That leads to a wonderfully bizarre ending redolent of Dr. Strangelove. Does nuclear holocaust mean there can't be a sequel? Thankfully, anything seems to be possible in the wild and wacky world of Yakuza Weapon.

But one should notice the fact this isn't the best one out there the story drags and it's a bit too much dialog instead of the bloody gory action you want to see. Is Yakuza Weapon a bad movie? I have to say not entirely but I do stress the fact that you need to be into the Japanese flow of these type of movies. I think otherwise you will be turning off this flick within 15minutes. I liked the goofy style and over the top action and this combination is rare to find. A recommended watch if you have seen other Gonzo movies.