Kuro no tenshi Vol. 2 (1999)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Takashi Ishii

Writer:

Takashi Ishii (writer)

Release Date:

13 November 1999 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Crime | Thriller

Plot Keywords:

Girls With Guns | Japan | Rape Attempt | Hospital | Alcoholic

Cast

Yuki Amami	...	Mayo
Takeshi Yamato	...	Yamabe
Reiko Kataoka	...	Suzu
Yôzaburô Itô
Shingo Tsurumi	...	Mama
Susumu Terajima	...	Itakura
Eugene Nomura
Noriko Hayami
Daisuke Iijima	...	Osawa

Also Known As:

Black Angel Vol. 2

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

UK:18 (video version) (uncut)

Movie Connections:

Follows Kuro no tenshi Vol. 1 (1997)

Ishii returns to form

I first came across Takashi Ishii through the masterpiece "Gonin," and it was a film that totally changed my perspective of action cinema. I was pleased with the sequel to Gonin, yet Black Angel Vol 1 never really impressed me. The story and direction were both excellently executed, but a lack of characterisation made it rather tedious at times. What made Gonin so brilliant were the different motivations and emotions of the main characters. Thankfully, with Black Angel 2, Ishii returns to creating good, solid characters. The main three protagonists in this film are each well designed characters that make this an superior film to its predecessor. What starts out as a rather simple film builds up to an excellent finish that will definitely satisfy fans of Yakuza thrillers. As with most of his films, Ishii is not afraid to include graphic scenes of rape and violence, but he is able to counter these with scenes featuring touching displays of love and humanity. While Ishii has a way to go before equaling the brilliant Takeshi Kitano or Miike Takashi, with this film he is returning to the form of Gonin, that could open him up to being amongst the best directors in Japan.