Fudoh: The New Generation review

Fudoh presents us with Takashi Miike's unparalleled skill in entertainment through perversity, gratuitous violence, and over-the-top storylines where probability takes a backseat to insanity. What can you say about a film that makes effective use of a schoolgirl shooting projectile from down under as her skill? Or a young yazuka generation using 5-7 year olds for assassinations? Miike has an uncanny ability to create these eccentric characters completely straight-faced and attach them to the exciting premise and theme of youth versus the elders. Tying all this together for a direct to video release is remarkable when most theatrically released filmmakers can't achieve this kind of originality. Yakuza/Crime films have reached a threshold, so these twists and the genre bending are welcome changes. Not to say it doesn’t falter in plot structure and the script department, but it’s difficult to find any concrete negatives about the film because everything, including the bits of corniness fits in for a “feel-good” time with Miike.






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