måndag 2 maj 2011

Outrage (2010)


Beat Takeshi goes back to his roots, eh? Outrage is truly a "classic" Yakuzatale, featuring several groups of gangsters being played out against each other by the top dog, and sadly, that is about it. The first 30-40 minutes of this movie arent exactly what I would describe as entertaining, it is just a collection of scenes featuring Yakuza screaming, beating each other up and so forth. Not that heavy violence is a bad thing, but when Outrage has no characters whatsoever it gets kind of... dull actually. They can shout how much they want but, beat up innocent people just for the fun of it but when there really isnt anything separating the characters other than the fact that one of them is played by Takeshi Kitano and the others arent, it doesnt make great viewing. The actors are all good, except for the fact that Kitano himself does one of those roles that he can sleepwalk through, good or bad you decide. I was even considering turning it off and "watching the rest of it another day". You know the drill.

But then the movie started to get a bit more interesting. All hell breaks loose. Our "heroes" all of a sudden are persona non grata (not that you didnt see it coming). Everyone gets killed in messy, bloody ways and you feel strangely drawn to the inevitable events as everyone dies, one by one. You dont really care about the people dying but it still fascinates you. Takeshi Kitano might have failed while writing the characters but he sure as hell knows how do get the feeling of doom.

And that is what the movie is all about. Outrage is a good looking, stylish crimemovie with a script that feels more like a Discovery channel reenactment of a crime, only with huge amounts of violence. The final massacre is strangely hypnotic and makes the movie worth watching, but it somehow feels like a missed opportunity. Worth watching, but somewhat flawed.

Inga kommentarer:

Skicka en kommentar