User Review

I've seen a lot of negative reactions to this movie, and I can understand the reasoning. The narrative approach goes a usual route and it's not so inventive as a whole. Yet I couldn't help but enjoy the experience somehow. It's easy for me to get drawn into this mysterious crime world in Japan. There are intriguing elements for sure, but nothing too surprising. You won't get an action film which appears to be what many were thinking. Turns out its centered on atmosphere where you follow a vessel-like character. I can see why someone would be bored. Your main character isn't so open and there isn't a sense of urgency. Weirdly enough for me it feels like the slow burn helped me get more immersed into what was going on. At times I felt like I was next to the driver's seat as the car would enter into the dark underground world and its traditions. I can't say the entire movie was interesting. There are some halts were the drama didn't land. Still, for every dull moment you sometimes get an engaging one. The beautiful aesthetics are always stimulatingly great to look at, but they weren't utilized to the fullest. Jared Leto is subtle and grounded here which is refreshing since he has in recent memory most been known for playing weirdos. There is also this intensity in his eyes which makes him all the more believable as a violent gangster man. I've liked Tadanobu Asano in everything I've seen him in and here he delivers another great performance with many nuances. A shame that he was a little underused. It's weird because I really saw that the movie was mostly mediocre surface stuff, but I was hooked and enjoyed it nonetheless. I would usually not recommend a movie like this. In this case I'll actually say; Give it a chance. Be open and see what you think. I honestly expected worse.