TR1: Off to a good start!

I've been meaning to check out this 10 movie series for quite a while now. It starts Bunta Sugawara of Battles Without Honor and Humanity fame, but in a comedic role this time. I think the worldbuilding is where this film succeeds the most, as we're introduced to a large cast of characters and primarily focus in on a circle of truck drivers and their acquaintances.

I'll be honest, the movie felt like it should have been done after the first hour, as the ending felt a bit tacked on. What I learned afterwards, however (after doing some digging online), there is a reason for it. This was meant to follow the same formula as the Tora-san films, and in that way I kind of better understand what they were going for. That said, it did feel a bit unnecessary, and it's obvious they were hoping to do a bunch of sequels.

Most of the antics are amusing, and aside from a small sidequest that seemingly comes out of nowhere (and offers absolutely nothing to the plot, in my opinion), the movie does a good job of being entertaining. I also admit, I find it hilarious that the last few minutes go out of their way to prove our protagonist is a good and decent guy, all the while as we watch him mow down police cars without a second thought to their well being. I have no idea if this was intentional, or just completely overlooked by the writer(s?)., but it got a good laugh out of me.

Curious to see how the sequels go.

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SEoD4: Not quite the bounceback I'd hoped for

This was another sort of mid entry in the series. Although, I need to say it up front, the subtitles stopped working with 20 mins left in the film, so there is a chance that there was some sort of twist I was missing all along that was revealed during a particularly long conversation. And I want to be clear, it is in regards to his past, so it is entirely possible.

I think, on the whole, this one suffers from all the same issues as the previous movie. Nemuri is a hard guy to like a lot of the time. I'm also unsure why this was titled as it was, as there doesn't seem to be a whole lot in the way of seduction happening here. I think, even more so than the first movie (but probably only because it was the first one), this has been the most forgettable instalment so far. And not only that, it felt like the storyline was almost ripped right from the third one.

This one relies less on swordfights to draw you in, but the few that are here were actually pretty cool. I think the main actor is getting more used to Nemuri's style, as you can tell he's more confident in using a few small strokes to take down crowds. I'm still holding out hope we'll get another really great entry in the next one, as it has the same creators behind my favorite one.

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SEoD3 - Mixed bag.

I was pretty excited for this entry in the series after having really enjoyed the second movie. There are some really good things about this one as well, but a lot of not so great things as well.

Forgive me, it's been a couple weeks since I sat down to watch this and I must admit that it's a bit forgettable. I didn't like the new characters in this one and I felt that it hurt the overall story. As well, I think our main guy went through a bit of character digression, as he's more rakish (kinda like he was in the first movie). The way he treats women is pretty unforgivable, and here I thought he'd moved past that since the end of the first instalment.

I think that's the main issue we're running into here. Each movie is quite different, featuring new crew members behind the scenes, and none of them can seem to agree who this protagonist is supposed to be. It's jolting, and coupled with some convoluted plot twists, it can make for a pretty unsatisfactory output overall. On the plus side, this still feels like a full production, unlike the first entry.

Hoping the next one ups the ante again a bit.

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SEoD2 - Redeemed!

Now THIS is what I had been hoping for when I started watching this series. It took me a few weeks to finally delve back in, since I was not impressed with the first entry. This film does everything right where it's predecessor faltered, and my excitement for Sleepy Eyes of Death is once again quite high.

The direction is easily the most evident change here. It doesn't look for feel like a TV movie anymore, and it's not wonder, as the director has done a lot of really good movies (including a bunch of Zatoichis). The actors are better and more recongnizable, and the protagonist is much more likable now. Story pulled me in right away, and I expected to be bored going into it.

This isn't an amazing samurai film, but it is indeed a very good one, and stands up to many of the Zatoichi films. The fights are much better done, and captured pretty well too. I can't wait to start watching more of these!

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SEoD1 - Sleepy eyes indeed.

I was really excited for this one, but was quite let down. The entire production felt very cheap, and reminded me of old TV movies. The story wasn't anything special, and I think the actors agreed, because none of them seemed very enthusiastic about their roles. The worst offense, I think, is that the protagonist is pretty insufferable all throughout. He's basically everything you don't want your hero to be.

I could go into detail about all the things that went wrong with this movie, but there's not much point. It's just a very low budget and forgettable film overall. While it does have a few interesting pieces here and there, the only thing that really grabs you and keeps you watching is the hope that the series gets better as it goes along, because this is a 14 film long series and became quite popular for the time.

A bit of history, there were earlier films based on this character and the novels he originated from. From my knowledge, they aren't available to be seen in English yet. This is the series of films that everyone knows about, however. While I didn't love this entry, the ending is left pretty wide open and does give a case for the protagonist to at least (hopefully) become a better person moving forward.

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O:G 6 - Ending on a lower note

By the sixth entry in this series, they had definitely exhausted the formula. That's not to say that this is a bad film, but it is on the lower end of fun when compared to the others, and feels more by the numbers overall. The story is a bit forgettable, as are the characters involved, and we've seen this 5x over already. But... on its own merits, and not being compared to the others, it's still incredibly watchable, with some cool set pieces to detract from the poor choreographed fight sequences (something the others could have used more of).

A few things would have improved this final instalment for me. One would be giving us an actual ending, rather than the same one we've had every movie. And I know that this is something that was more rare back then, but BWH&H did it just a short time later with its fifth film and it was perfect. Another thing would have been to have this one set years and years after the others, as it seems to take place shortly after the fifth instead. And finally, maybe some callbacks to the previous films.

I've really enjoyed this series on the whole, but can understand why it ended with this one. Audiences were tired of the same old, and it really didn't have anything new to say. I wish they'd done another final chapter many years later, as it would have been cool to see where Goro ended up in his older age. It is what it is, however, and that's just fine.

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O:G 5 - Continuity returns!

So for the first time since part 2, we have direct continuity with the previous film intact. I'm a fan of that, however, again with the weird re-casting Chico in a new role, she actually plays 2 separate roles in this one. I guess we're just meant to understand he has a definite type.

I found the pacing to be in line with the 4th film, for the most part, and the plot was fun despite its over-familiarity at this point. I can see how audiences might have been losing interest and/or patience with the series by this point, however, so it's not a surprise that they ended the franchise at 6. Overall, I do tend to think the entries are stronger when they at least acknowledge past entries, so this one is amongst the strongest of them.

I do believe if they had linked all of these films more closely together it may have been possible to keep them going for a longer time. Fear of breaking what seemed to be working well is what probably did them in. Still, it's a very good series and I'm looking forward to watching the final instalment soon.

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O:G4 - Back on track

I enjoyed this instalment much more than the previous one. It follows the formula a little less so than the others, and it was a bit refreshing because of it. And I wasn't going back and forth in my head over where this one fit within the timeline of this series, thankfully. It takes place 5 years after the third instalment, so in my headcannon, the first and second movies happened in between the third and this one. Despite the fact that we aren't given any recaps or references to the previous movies, it feels like this one forges forwards in time, as Goro is a bit less hotheaded overall.

The story isn't anything super special, and it is a little contrived at times, but the performances and occasional twists more than make up for its issues. The only one glaring flaw I had with it was its ending battle. None of these fight sequences have been well done in the past, but this one was a little extra pitiful in its execution. One can only imagine what this series would have been with professional modern choreographers at the helm.

This movie was exactly what it needed to be as a fourth instalment, and I am not left feeling let down in the way I was with the last outing. Can't wait to keep going with the final two!

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O:G3 - Outlaw Gangster zero?

I've read a few reviews that back up how I feel about this third entry in the Outlaw series, which is that it is actually a prequel rather than a sequel. There is no mention of anything related to the other 2 films, and the girlfriend Goro talks about is not the one we knew from them either.

Speaking of which, something very weird here: Matsubara Chieko plays basically the same girl as in the other 2 movies but is somehow a different character named Keiko this time. It's jolting and distracting and unnecessary, so it boggles my mind why they chose to do this, but whatever.

While is somewhat sticks to the formula we've been given so far, it isn't as overdone as in the second film. That said, I did find this one dragging a bit from time to time. Even though the fight scenes improved a little, I can't help but feel this one is a step or two backwards in quality. I'm left with a feeling of indifference, overall. It's a must watch if you're going through all six films in the series, but it's best to look to it as a sort of prequel focused on a younger Goro.

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O:G2 - A worthy part 2!

Outlaw: Gangster VIP 2 takes place shortly after the first film ends, and is very closely tied to its story. I do feel as though it attempts to tie up loose ends from the first, however, the formula sort of ruins that a bit. And let me tell you, this thing is formulaic as it can be. Basically every story beat from the first film is repeated here, with only some slight differences. This includes the ending, which is pretty much exactly the same. It's not a bad thing, because the first one is amazing, but it does keep it from ever hoping to be better.

A few things have improved. The direction is better overall, with music placement and action scenes being markedly improved. We see a few familiar actors from this genre pop up too, which is nice. There's a potential love triangle that doesn't overstay its welcome, further holding up mirrors to the previous instalment.

If you like the first one you're going to like this, but the formula is very persistent, and I've read that much of it carries over though all six movies.

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O:G1 - Exactly what I hoped for

I've had my eye on this series for a few years now, but the boxset has been hard to come by (for a decent price). I had high hopes going into it, probably higher than they should have been too. However, I am so happy this film lived up to everything I wished for.

The movie moves at a breakneck pace, much like other Yakuza films from this period. What sets this one apart, however, is that we're given characters we can actually like and feel for, which is a bit of a rarity with this genre. While I found the twists to be a tad on the predictable side, it was still a pretty satisfying venture despite that. The only "real" criticism I have for this movie is, as is usual for these Japanese oldies, the fight scenes were pretty awful. This would have been a solid 10 if they had managed to fix that up. However, you know what you're getting into with these.

Can't recommend this enough if you're lucky to stumble across this set for a decent price.

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BWH&H 9: Unexpected Redemption

You don't hear much about this one, which is both surprising and not. For one, it's the only movie in the series (not including the 2000s duology) that wasn't officially brought over for English audiences, so it's not like a lot of people have seen it. However, it's a lot better than what I've read.

We only have 2 old cast members this time (and for the first time, no Bunta either), and all new characters. It follows 3 friends with different loyalties, and spins out of control as it gets going. At over 2 hrs, this is the longest one yet, and the first 40 mins are pretty slow. It gets pretty good from there though, if a tad predictable at times. It has a very different feel from the previous 8 films, having different crews and music for the tone, so don't expect it to feel like the same series. That said, I feel that's exactly what it needed that the New Battles trilogy was lacking.

It's kind of sad that this hasn't been given the love it deserves, and I hope Arrow eventually brings it over to us. I'd love to have it in my collection, especially as it washes away the bad taste left in my mouth from the previous film. All in all, not a bad way to finish off the series, even if it is almost entirely unrelated.

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BWH&H 8: A Disappointing End

I don't know where to begin with this one. It might just be the culmination of this trilogy altogether that soured my views towards it, as it really just feels too similar to the previous two New Battles movies. But I do have to admit, there were some very odd choices with regards to story direction with this one that I can't shake days after watching. The whole weird brother/sister thing that wasn't necessary, for instance (if you know, you know). On the whole, this just seemed like it existed for the sake of it being a trilogy.

We're once again given a completely new cast of characters with many of the returning actors, and again I'm left scratching my head as to why. It almost feels as though this is a remake of the Boss' Head, as it covers most of the same beats. I also found it more difficult to follow who was who, and it just felt kind of exhausting to figure out. None of the characters stick out, and we're meant to loathe them all equally.

This weird trilogy goes out with a whimper, even though we're treated to an ending unlike we've seen before, the open-endedness of it feels like a copout. If you're going to watch all 8 films, I would say watch the first 5 back-to-back, and then space this trilogy out a bit.

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BWH&H 7: Shifting Away

Finally, we shift away from Hiroshima and the clans we have been familiar with. In fact, there are no crossover characters at all in this one, and Hiroshima and one of it's factions are only mentioned very briefly (blink and you'll miss it). The results, unfortunately, aren't great though.

The film felt like it was initially building to something more, but by the time we get to the main drama, it just devolves into the main character's many attempts at assassinating someone he holds a grudge against. There's an unimpressive car chase late in the game, and that's the only thing that really stands out. I think the motivations are kinda dumb for pretty much everyone involved, and just like with the previous film, I was bored by the end.

As an aside, this one does take place after the 5 main films in the original series, so it's technically an unrelated sequel rather than a sidequel (like New Battles 1 was).

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BWH&H 6: Bit of a weird one...

The first of the spin off sequels, although it's really more of a sidequel. I believe it takes place around the same time as the 2nd film, and though it features a lot of the same cast members, most of them play new roles. All except Yamamori... which is an odd choice. Even his right hand man is played by the same guy as in the previous films, but goes by a different name. It's weird.

The biggest drawback of this movie is that it often feels like a rehash of the first film of the original series. We follow the same main cast member playing a new character, but who is very similar to his other role. It almost begs the question as to why they even bothered to go this route when they could have set it in the future with all the characters we already know.

I was a little bored by the time I got to the final Act of this entry. Definitely nothing new or exciting going on, and it's pretty forgettable overall.

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