Hitoshi Ozawa as Torada, in Bad City. Courtesy of WellGoUSA
The subtitled Japanese crime flick, Bad City, delivers the goods on two essential counts – an atypically complex plot with a handful of switches and double-crosses, building to an adrenaline-satisfying series of hard-nosed fight sequences. This is the second feature from director Kensuke Sonomora, after nearly 20 years of steady stunt work, including many gigs as stunt coordinator or action director. Experience shows, as this film seems more cohesive and focused than his first crime drama, Hydra, while still dishing out the mayhem that motivates most potential viewers.
Disgraced police captain Torada (Hitoshi Ozawa) is granted parole by an idealistic prosecutor to go after the city’s most powerful tycoon/criminal, Gojo (Lily Franky), who’d just been undeservedly acquitted on racketeering charges. Gojo’s tentacles reach high into every branch of government and law enforcement, making regular attempts to nail him futile.
The subtitled Japanese crime flick, Bad City, delivers the goods on two essential counts – an atypically complex plot with a handful of switches and double-crosses, building to an adrenaline-satisfying series of hard-nosed fight sequences. This is the second feature from director Kensuke Sonomora, after nearly 20 years of steady stunt work, including many gigs as stunt coordinator or action director. Experience shows, as this film seems more cohesive and focused than his first crime drama, Hydra, while still dishing out the mayhem that motivates most potential viewers.
Disgraced police captain Torada (Hitoshi Ozawa) is granted parole by an idealistic prosecutor to go after the city’s most powerful tycoon/criminal, Gojo (Lily Franky), who’d just been undeservedly acquitted on racketeering charges. Gojo’s tentacles reach high into every branch of government and law enforcement, making regular attempts to nail him futile.
- 8/1/2023
- by Mark Glass
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
"Beating up a good guy is violence, but beating up a bad guy is justice." Well Go has revealed a new official trailer for the Japanese action thriller film titled Bad City, from filmmaker Kensuke Sonomura. This looks Damn good!! It initially premiered at the 2022 Neuchâtel Fantastic Film Festival in Switzerland, and it also played at Fantastic Fest last year, arriving in the US this August to watch. Kaiko City is plagued with poverty and crime. When a corrupt businessman decides to run for mayor and starts eliminating opponents from the rival mafia, a former police captain serving time for murder is secretly released and put in charge of a task force to find & arrest him. Starring Hitoshi Ozawa, Akane Sakanoue, Katsuya, Masanori Mimoto, Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi, Yasukaze Motomiya, Tak Sakaguchi, Kazuki Namioka, Lily Franky, and Mitsu Dan. Bad City is an homage to V-Cinema. Reviews are god, saying "Ozawa just...
- 7/24/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
A taskforce of honest cops is assembled to tackle the gangsters menacing Kaiko City. Many punches are thrown in choreographed style
Director Kensuke Sonomura started off as a stunt performer and coordinator, so it’s no surprise that his second directorial effort contains lashings of hand-to-hand combat. Indeed, just as the climactic cops v gangsters showdown is about to kick off, elderly lawman Torada (Hitoshi Ozawa) urges everyone not to use silly, unsporting guns, and miraculously both sides agree and go to it with fists and knives. It’s just as well because, hitherto, almost every time someone has fired a gun in anger in this film they have missed the target. Does that mean all those movies where folks hit their target with one bullet are lying? Or is this one, where everyone is pants at shooting, the misrepresentation? Either way, it’s almost enough to make you question...
Director Kensuke Sonomura started off as a stunt performer and coordinator, so it’s no surprise that his second directorial effort contains lashings of hand-to-hand combat. Indeed, just as the climactic cops v gangsters showdown is about to kick off, elderly lawman Torada (Hitoshi Ozawa) urges everyone not to use silly, unsporting guns, and miraculously both sides agree and go to it with fists and knives. It’s just as well because, hitherto, almost every time someone has fired a gun in anger in this film they have missed the target. Does that mean all those movies where folks hit their target with one bullet are lying? Or is this one, where everyone is pants at shooting, the misrepresentation? Either way, it’s almost enough to make you question...
- 2/28/2023
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Guardian - Film News
Stars: Lily Franky, Tak Sakaguchi, Rino Katase, Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi, Mitsu Dan, Masaya Katō, Hitoshi Ozawa, Hideto Katsuya, Masanori Mimoto, Akane Sakanoue | Directed by Kensuke Sonomura
Wataru Gojō CEO of the Gojo Conglomerate is the most powerful man in Kaiko City, the Bad City of the title. He’s just been acquitted of corruption charges and declared his candidacy for mayor in order to go after those he says are really behind the corruption.
As he’s holding a press conference an assassin is hacking their way through members of the Sakurada Yakuza clan. Suspicion falls on the Korean mafia and their enigmatic leader Madam. It may not be a coincidence that their chief enforcer Kim Seung-gi, and Gojō are acquainted.
As open warfare breaks out on the city’s streets the head of public safety Koizumi and Chief Prosecutor Hirayama form an unofficial task force to take Gojō. Unfortunately, the...
Wataru Gojō CEO of the Gojo Conglomerate is the most powerful man in Kaiko City, the Bad City of the title. He’s just been acquitted of corruption charges and declared his candidacy for mayor in order to go after those he says are really behind the corruption.
As he’s holding a press conference an assassin is hacking their way through members of the Sakurada Yakuza clan. Suspicion falls on the Korean mafia and their enigmatic leader Madam. It may not be a coincidence that their chief enforcer Kim Seung-gi, and Gojō are acquainted.
As open warfare breaks out on the city’s streets the head of public safety Koizumi and Chief Prosecutor Hirayama form an unofficial task force to take Gojō. Unfortunately, the...
- 10/5/2022
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
Click here to read the full article.
Well Go USA has acquired all North American rights to Japanese director Kensuke Sonomura’s heavy-hitting crime thriller Bad City.
A follow-up to the genre director’s assassin thriller Hydra from last year, Bad City will screen at Austin’s Fantastic Fest on Friday, followed by an in-competition slot at Sitges in October.
Well Go will first release the film over its martial arts specialty streamer Hi-yah! as a Hi-yah! Original, followed by a theatrical outing and broader VOD release sometime later this year.
The film is set in Kaiko City, a place torn apart by rampant corruption and violence amongst a private conglomerate, the yakuza and even the authorities. But after a mafia-connected businessman runs for mayor and begins systematically eliminating his opponents, a former police captain imprisoned for murder is released in a desperate, last-ditch effort to take the corrupt tycoon down.
Well Go USA has acquired all North American rights to Japanese director Kensuke Sonomura’s heavy-hitting crime thriller Bad City.
A follow-up to the genre director’s assassin thriller Hydra from last year, Bad City will screen at Austin’s Fantastic Fest on Friday, followed by an in-competition slot at Sitges in October.
Well Go will first release the film over its martial arts specialty streamer Hi-yah! as a Hi-yah! Original, followed by a theatrical outing and broader VOD release sometime later this year.
The film is set in Kaiko City, a place torn apart by rampant corruption and violence amongst a private conglomerate, the yakuza and even the authorities. But after a mafia-connected businessman runs for mayor and begins systematically eliminating his opponents, a former police captain imprisoned for murder is released in a desperate, last-ditch effort to take the corrupt tycoon down.
- 9/23/2022
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Although Kensuke Sonomura has started his career doing stunt work for various productions, such as John Woo’s “Manhunt” and Yugo Sakamoto’s “Baby Assassins”, ever since his debut feature “Hydra” (2019) he has also made a name for himself as a director. Given the level of skill in the action and martial arts-scenes of “Hydra”, there are many indicators Sonomura has gained quite the knowledge about genre filmmaking, blending storytelling, character development and hard-hitting action. While his second project, “Bad City” also incorporates martial arts, the story goes in a somewhat different direction, blending thriller and yakuza drama, following a plot dealing with the connection of organized crime and politics.
Bad City is screening at Camera Japan
For many years, Kaiko City has been a place defined by crime, violence and corruption. The latest events, however, a massacre at a bath house and the acquittal of a local businessman named...
Bad City is screening at Camera Japan
For many years, Kaiko City has been a place defined by crime, violence and corruption. The latest events, however, a massacre at a bath house and the acquittal of a local businessman named...
- 9/22/2022
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
The 2022 edition of Fantastic Fest is set to be held at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, Texas from September 22nd through the 29th, and with the start date just over a month away the festival has revealed their lineup, which they are accurately describing as colossal. The seventeenth Fantastic Fest will feature 21 world premieres, 14 North American premieres, and 21 U.S. premieres. Festival Director Lisa Dreyer says,
It’s been far too long since we’ve all been able to gather together and celebrate film the Fantastic Fest way. We’ve really put our all into crafting an extraordinary week, from the exceptional programming that spans exciting discoveries to highly-anticipated features, to our signature events that will inject a much-needed dose of fun into 2022.”
The opening night film for Fantastic Fest 2022 will be the world premiere of the Paramount Pictures horror film Smile, which they say is an “intensely...
It’s been far too long since we’ve all been able to gather together and celebrate film the Fantastic Fest way. We’ve really put our all into crafting an extraordinary week, from the exceptional programming that spans exciting discoveries to highly-anticipated features, to our signature events that will inject a much-needed dose of fun into 2022.”
The opening night film for Fantastic Fest 2022 will be the world premiere of the Paramount Pictures horror film Smile, which they say is an “intensely...
- 8/16/2022
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Fantastic Fest will be making its long-awaited return to in-person festival events in Austin this September, and per usual, the lineup is heavy on delightfully bizarre horror films from around the world.
In addition to the impeccable selection of genre fare the festival has come to be known for, the lineup also features several Cannes favorites that are sure to be players throughout the fall festival season. Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winning “Triangle of Sadness” will make its U.S. premiere, closing out the festival. The U.S. premiere of Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave” is also headed to Fantastic Fest, and the director will be in attendance to accept a lifetime achievement award for his mind-bending body of work, which includes films like “Oldboy” and “The Handmaiden.”
Elsewhere at the festival, the U.S. premieres of Mark Mylod’s culinary satire “The Menu” and Martin McDonagh...
In addition to the impeccable selection of genre fare the festival has come to be known for, the lineup also features several Cannes favorites that are sure to be players throughout the fall festival season. Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winning “Triangle of Sadness” will make its U.S. premiere, closing out the festival. The U.S. premiere of Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave” is also headed to Fantastic Fest, and the director will be in attendance to accept a lifetime achievement award for his mind-bending body of work, which includes films like “Oldboy” and “The Handmaiden.”
Elsewhere at the festival, the U.S. premieres of Mark Mylod’s culinary satire “The Menu” and Martin McDonagh...
- 8/16/2022
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
For years, Fantastic Fest, the annual genre film festival in Austin, Texas, has been one of the best kept secrets on the festival circuit. Taking place at one theater (the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar), it’s an endlessly delightful cornucopia of exploding heads, talking animals and deviant sex (sometimes all in the same movie). This year’s festival features 21 world premieres, 14 North American premieres and 21 U.S. premieres, with a mixture of mainstream fare (Paramount’s new horror movie “Smile” will have its premiere at the festival) and the endearingly esoteric.
The festival will once again take over the Alamo Drafthouse from Sept. 22-29 and on the web via a virtual Ff@Home experience from Sept. 29-Oct. 4.
Among the many delights of this year’s festival include the opening night premiere of “Smile,” the U.S. premiere of Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave,” with the closing night film being “Triangle of Sadness,...
The festival will once again take over the Alamo Drafthouse from Sept. 22-29 and on the web via a virtual Ff@Home experience from Sept. 29-Oct. 4.
Among the many delights of this year’s festival include the opening night premiere of “Smile,” the U.S. premiere of Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave,” with the closing night film being “Triangle of Sadness,...
- 8/16/2022
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Yoshihiro Nishimura continues to bring his absurdly grotesque imagination on the big screen with “Tokyo Dragon Chef”, although this time, in a fashion much tamer than “Helldriver” or “Kodoku Meatball Machine” but equally fun and nonsensical.
Ex yakuza members Ryu and Tatsu reconnect after the latter is released from prison, following the dismemberment of their and a number of other gangs by a group wearing masks of eye bulbs, led by a mysterious young man named Gizumo. Ryo convinces Tatsu to open up a ramen restaurant and the two embark in their paths as host and cook respectively. Their shop quickly becomes a success, after a young girl helps them with marketing, in the most illogical way. However, Jin and Kazu, two brothers who also happen to be their rivals from yakuza days, open a ramen canteen nearby and after hiring a rather unusual girl influencer to promote their shop,...
Ex yakuza members Ryu and Tatsu reconnect after the latter is released from prison, following the dismemberment of their and a number of other gangs by a group wearing masks of eye bulbs, led by a mysterious young man named Gizumo. Ryo convinces Tatsu to open up a ramen restaurant and the two embark in their paths as host and cook respectively. Their shop quickly becomes a success, after a young girl helps them with marketing, in the most illogical way. However, Jin and Kazu, two brothers who also happen to be their rivals from yakuza days, open a ramen canteen nearby and after hiring a rather unusual girl influencer to promote their shop,...
- 12/17/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
At the moment, the Yakuza film does not hold the place it used to in the Japanese cinema industry. However, occasionally some films in the genre do appear, with Kitano’s “Outrage” trilogy and Shiraishi’s “Blood of Wolves” being the most renowned of the latest years. It was a surprise to me though, to discover that an almost unknown 2016 film by Kenichi Fujiwara, was the best Yakuza film I have seen in years, to the point that I got really frustrated I had not heard anything about it before. It is also worth mentioning that the 163-minute film was produced to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the direct-to-video production company All In Entertainment.
Conflict is screening at Japan Film Fest Hamburg
Due to the anti-Yakuza Laws, the traditional organized crime is experiencing bad times, and the Tendo clan seems to be in a lot of trouble. One of the central members,...
Conflict is screening at Japan Film Fest Hamburg
Due to the anti-Yakuza Laws, the traditional organized crime is experiencing bad times, and the Tendo clan seems to be in a lot of trouble. One of the central members,...
- 5/25/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
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