Bayside Shakedown 4: The Final Movie (2012) [Film Review]

Bayside Shakedown: The Movie 4; or, A New Hope

     Don't mess with us cops...

Just in 2010, when the Odoru Daisousasen movie series was rebooted and two years later it was announced that it’s coming to an end! The Last TV special episode and Odoru Daisōsasen The Final: Arata Naru Kibō, filmed back-to-back, mark the very last entries in the 15-year-old franchise.

Release Info

Directed by: Katsuyuki Motohiro Starring: Yuji Oda, Eri Fukatsu, Toshiro Yanagiba, Yusuke Santamaria

Language: Japanese Original Title: 踊る大捜査線 THE FINAL 新たなる希望 Runtime: 126 min

 

Synopsis

A gun is stolen from the evidence archive in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Soon after, two people die from that gun in the jurisdiction of the Wangan Police Station. Aoshima’s team begins the investigation, but the HQ’s investigative unit led by Torigai (Shun Oguri) takes over. It turns out that a cop stole the gun so, to hush things up, Muroi (Toshiro Yanagiba) and Aoshima (Yuj Oda) are turned into scapegoats. In the meantime, Sumire (Eri Fukatsu) considers  quitting her job because of the inability to cope with pain from a gunshot wound. WPS police officers join their forces to discover an in-police conspiracy that has something to do with what Mashita (Yusuke Santamaria) did in his early days as the negotiator.

 

All the good things...

Well, to be honest, Bayside Shakedown 4: The Final is a decent, well-made conclusion to one of the most awesome franchises ever. However, I guess that my expectations for this movie were a bit too high. In a lot of ways, I enjoyed The Last TV special episode more, and it was only lead-in to this final film. The uneven pacing is probably the only issue of this movie as it starts right off the bat with the chase scene, crazy awesome intro (my favourite out of all movies) and then it slows down to present a lot of exposition intertwined with humor scenes.

 

Nevertheless, I also greatly enjoyed many things which this film had to offer. The development of the Aoshima/Sumire (only friends!) relationship was done way better than in the previous sequel. In addition, the running theme of the series: excessive police bureaucracy is quite interesting to watch as both Aoshima and Muroi become the victims of the corrupt system. In addition, the conspiracy involving Mashita was really gripping. At first, I thought that the creators were trying to be over-original with the plot, but eventually, I appreciated that the crime had a little bit of personal factor (with relation to the characters) conveyed in itself. All in all, this is the final movie.

 

Speaking about performances, as in the previous movies, the Odoru cast was remarkable. The highest praise goes to Eri Fukatsu as she did the best job with her character since Bayside Shakedown: The Movie 2. Yuji Oda is great as always as Aoshima and the same thing applies to Toshiro Yanagiba and his portrayal of Muroi. Though, I hoped to see a little bit more of Muroi Shinji in this movie. In addition, Ren Osugi reprises his cameo role from the first theatrical film as a cover-up expert, the man behind the scenes who brings down the top brass of the police force

 

Recommendations

If you liked the previous theatrical films of the series, then this movie will not let you down. It may be uneventful at times, but generally it manages to deliver the desired dosage of Bayside Shakedown glamour. There’s humour, action, entertainment, and Aoshima running to the pumped up "Rhythm and Police" theme song. What’s more important, the promise made by Muroi in the last episode of the show has finally been fulfilled.

 

Well, this is the end of my two-month adventure with Odoru Daisousasen. It was a wonderful and unforgettable ride. I can only hope that someday, just maybe, there will be a new movie released.

Overall score: 8/10

Bayside Shakedown 3: Set the Guys Loose (2010) [Film Review]

Bayside Shakedown: The Movie 3; or, Release the Prisoners!

     One thing I forgot to say... Your death won't be beautiful. You've got no pride, huh? No matter what, I'm going to arrest you. I take pride in that.

It’s been 7 years since the latest instalment of Bayside Shakedown until Yuji Oda proudly announced in 2010: "We’re back". Indeed, the Odoru Daisousasen team returned in this new and exciting reboot/sequel called Bayside Shakedown 3: Set the Guys Loose.

Release Info

Directed by: Katsuyuki Motohiro Starring: Yuji Oda, Eri Fukatsu, Toshiro Yanagiba, Yusuke Santamaria

Language: Japanese Original Title: 踊る大捜査線　THE MOVIE3 Runtime: 141 min

 

Synopsis

Aoshima (Yuji Oda) was promoted to Section Chief and he is currently handling a difficult logistic operation of moving the Wangan Police Station to its new headquarters. In the meantime, strange crimes take place. A bus hijack without any hijackers on board or a bank robbery without any money being stolen. What is more, the WPS chiefs find out that three pistols were stolen from the station’s arsenal. An unknown group of high-tech terrorists send in the ultimatum: Release specific prisoners arrested by Detective Aoshima or people will be shot from the stolen guns, and the Wangan staff will be gassed by toxins. In the course of his investigation, Aoshima discovers that the terrorists are connected with one of the prisoners.

 

Running Scared

Well, Bayside Shakedown 3, what can I say? After The Suspect: Muroi Shinji (2005) and the long break between the second and the third movie, I gather that the series began to run out of steam. Thus, it needed a proper injection of novelty as well as referencing to the previous films. As a result, this sequel feels very much like a reboot. We have a change of location and some new characters like Waku’s nephew, Shinjiro Waku (Atsushi Ito), Chinese police officer Wang (Kenichi Takito), and Natsumi Shinohara (Yuki Uchida), returning from the 1998 special episode: Wangan Police Station Female Officers’ Story. Even the picture’s colour palette seems more lively and vivid in comparison to the other movies, which had more greyish overlay.

 

With regard to the story, thankfully the usual Odoru theme of bureaucracy is not brought into the spotlight. Instead, the drama is delivered with the subplot of Aoshima being misdiagnosed with cancer... (I did not make that up). This sounds so far-fetched outright that it becomes the main disadvantage of this movie. I realise that the makers wanted some emotional scenes between Aoshima and Sumire (Eri Fukatsu) as well as some big catharsis towards the end (that Aoshima is actually healthy and the x-ray was faulty), but it is really uninspiring to watch. Especially when the script tried to turn Aoshima into Dabney Coleman’s character from Short Time (1990), as he is unafraid of anything, because he knows that he is going to die. The movie could easily got away without this subplot, and thus, decrease its lengthy runtime (140 minutes).

 

When all was said about the downsides, some positives have to be mentioned. Well, Kyoko Koizumi returns as Manami Hyuga from the first movie and she is revealed to be the main villainess of this story. However, contrary to her performance in Movie 1, Koizumi gives a very distanced and frigid portrayal of a crazy psychopath, so do not expect to hear her hysterical laughter or see her running amok with a loaded gun.

 

When the action is there, it is entertaining, especially with Akihiko Matsumoto’s main theme. New characters serve as a good addition to Aoshima’s team, though they are not given much time in the movie. Oh! Susumu Terajima has a small cameo in one of the scenes as Detective Kijima. Also, Shun Oguri plays Torigai, a Harvey Dent-like character who appears to start off as a good guy but gradually transforms into a baddie by the fourth movie.

 

About the performances, the original cast shines as brightly as ever with Yuji Oda and Eri Fukatsu in the leading roles. Toshiro Yanagiba’s appearance as Muroi Shinji is slightly limited in this sequel, but it’s always great to see him. Yusuke Santamaria and Kotaro Koizumi also return from Negotiator: Mashita Masayoshi (2005) and the WPS chiefs (Soichiro Kitmura, Satoru Saito, Takehiko Ono) are funny as always, though one can tell that the passage of time has taken a toll on them.

   

Recommendations

To sum up, Odoru Daisōsasen The Movie 3: Yatsura o Kaihō Seyo! is a fun and refreshing entry in the series. Though uneven at times, it’s a safe pick for Friday night. Unfortunately, it may not be suited for repetitive viewing. Probably that is the reason why it did well in the box office (over 7 billion yen), but not as good as the two previous films. However, it has the cast, it has the music, and it has the entertaining factor. This is a fully fledged Bayside Shakedown sequel.

Overall score: 8/10

Odoru Daisousasen TV Specials [Bayside Shakedown] (1997-2012) [Drama Review]

     In order to never lose sight of myself... I fervently adhered to rules. I thought that was the right thing to do. But... I guess there are many ways of doing things. After all, we're different, you and me.

     No. You're wrong. We're both police officers.

If you have no idea what Odoru Daisousasen is, then please head over to my drama review here.

 

Following the success of eleven kickass episodes, Odoru’s creative team, consisting of Katsuyuki Motohiro (director), Ryoichi Kimizuka (screenwriter), and Chihiro Kameyama (producer) decided to carry on with the show and devised in 1997/1998 three TV specials following the adventures of our favourite Wangan Station officers. Nevertheless, due to Bayside Shakedown becoming such a smash hit in Japan, more (big and small) specials were made after 1998. Below, I have made an attempt to create a chronological list of all the special episodes with broadcast dates, original and English titles, as well as descriptions along with my short comments.

• 1997 December: Year-End Special Alert (Saimatsu Tokubetsu Keikai SP 踊る大捜査線　歳末特別警戒スペシャル)- Aoshima’s back... or so it would seem as he is still an ordinary street officer. Muroi notices that and arranges for an immediate transfer of Aoshima back to Wangan. The chiefs are not all too happy to see Aoshima so they assign him to the Traffic Section. There, driven by his reluctance, he ends up helping a school teacher find a vandal who destroyed a school project. Aoshima is unaware that the vandal is actually a drug-addicted killer. By complete coincidence, the killer gets hold of a gun and takes everybody hostage at the Criminal Section. Thrilling and entertaining episode with a big reference to Die Hard.

• 1998 June: Wangan Police Station Female Police Officers' Story (Shoka no Koutsuu Anzen SP 踊る大捜査線番外編　湾岸署婦警物語)- Contrary to the previous one, this special episode features main Odoru characters only in cameos, whereas the real heroine of the story is a newcomer Natsumi (Yuki Uchida) who is beginning her career at WPS as the traffic officer. Under close supervision of officer Kuwano (great Eri Watanabe from Shall We Dance? movie), we see Natsuki trying to learn the police job. Yet, her defiance of Kuwano’s strict conduct leads to a conflict between them. Some at the station even compare her to Aoshima. Still, Natsuki gets an opportunity to show her true value as she attempts to apprehend a dangerous criminal. Very entertaining episode and my personal favourite.

• 1998 October: Autumn Campaign for Crime Eradication (Aki no Hanzai Bokumetsu SP 踊る大捜査線　秋の犯罪撲滅スペシャル)- Aoshima, Sumire, and Mashita are ordered to escort a woman who paid to kill her boyfriend. However, the woman manages to escape and Sumire is suspected of harbouring her. A sick game of suspicion begins as Muroi orders Mashita and Yukino to follow Aoshima who follows Sumire. How will Aoshima prove Sumire’s innocence? More importantly, who is the fugitive: a criminal or a victim? Engaging story with a twist towards the end. It perfectly develops the Aoshima/Sumire relationship and builds upon Muroi’s ambiguity.

• 1998 October: Late Night at Bayside: The Worst Three Police Officers* (Shinya mo Odoru Daisousasen SP 深夜も踊る大捜査線 湾岸署史上最悪の3人!)- This is basically a mini-series of five 10-minute episodes about the follies of the WPS chiefs. These were aired for five nights before the premiere of Bayside Shakedown: The Movie. They are available at PandoraTV but without any subtitles.

• [Chronology] 1998 October: Bayside Shakedown: The Movie

• 2001 September: Big Dance in Seoul* (踊る大ソウル線)- I stumbled upon this one by complete accident. Any English site about Odoru does not mention it at all! Only at odoru.org I found a short description that it’s a quasi-special episode, but in reality, it is an advertisement of Seoul for prospective tourists. We follow Sumire, Mashita, Waku, and the chiefs on their journey around the capital of South Korea. No English translation exists. Treat this only as a trivia.

• 2003 July: Late Night at Bayside 2* (Shinya mo Odoru Daisousasen 2 SP 深夜も踊る大捜査線2)- The same thing as the previous Shinya, but made for the promotion of Bayside Shakedown: The Movie 2. I couldn’t track down these episodes at all.

• [Chronology] 2003 July: Bayside Shakedown: The Movie 2

• 2003 August: Thats! Three Amigos: A Stage Play* (舞台も踊る大捜査線 ザッツ!!スリーアミーゴス)- As the title says, Odoru franchise even hit the theatre. It was played from August 15th to August 17th, 2003 with five performances in total. In terms of the storyline, it is a follow-up to the events from the second movie as the WPS chiefs have their salaries reduced. After the performance-segment, there was a small talk-show section with a different guest each time. Ultimately, live recording of the play was released on dvd. No English translation available online.

• 2005 December: Odoru Legend – The Fugitive, Kijima Jouichirou (Odoru Legend ~ Toubousha Kijima Jouichirou 踊るレジェンドドラマスペシャル逃亡者 木島丈一郎)- A TV movie focusing on the character of Detective Kijima Jouichirou from the spin-off film Negotiator: Mashita Masayoshi (2005). In The Fugitive, Kijima rescues a boy from a kidnapper. However, the boy is reluctant to be returned to his parents, thus Kijima escapes with him. No English fan-subs are available. Nevertheless, it is always awesome to see the great Susumu Terajima in action.

• 2006 October: The Lawyer, Haijima Hideki (Bengoshi Haijima Hideki 踊るレジェンドドラマスペシャル弁護士 灰島秀樹)- Another TV movie, this time made about the character from the spin-off film The Suspect: Muroi Shinji (2005). To me, there was nothing absolutely interesting about it. We get 95 minutes about some prick lawyer without even cameos from the Odoru cast. It might as well have not been part of the franchise.

• 2010 June: Late Night at Bayside 3* (Shinya mo Odoru Daisousasen 3 SP 深夜も踊る大捜査線3)- Another mini-series with the chiefs, made to promote Bayside Shakedown: The Movie 3. I managed to find only two episodes. No English subs, but the episodes look interesting as they are limited to the office space only.

• [Chronology] 2010 July: Bayside Shakedown 3: Set the Guys Loose

• 2012 September: Midnight Odoru Daisousasen: The Final (深夜も踊る大捜査線 THE FINAL)- For the promotion of the fourth and final theatrical movie, Shinya mini-series was not made. Instead, four episodes following Detective Kijima Jouichirou were aired each midnight. Again, no English translation, yet still, it’s quite intense to watch as Kijima and his team defuse a bomb hidden in a huge teddy bear.

• 2012 September: The Last TV (踊る大捜査線 THE LAST TV サラリーマン刑事と最後の難事件)- It is best to watch this episode after seeing the third movie as lot of things have changed at the Wangan Station. Aoshima is now a Section Chief, whereas Mashita, Uozumi and Hakamada head the station. Aoshima. along with his investigative team. is on the lead of a Korean woman who cheats men out of their money. Little do detectives know that the woman is allegedly engaged to officer Wang (a member of Aoshima’s team). In collaboration with HQ, a huge set up is organised in the form of a lavish wedding ceremony. Great stuff to watch and the original cast is at their best.

• [Chronology] 2012 September: Bayside Shakedown 4: The FINAL

All things considered, one can see from the list above how much has Odoru gone through the years. Even though it came to an end back in 2012, it is still a wonderful experience to sit through and watch the drama along with all of these specials. I don’t regret a single minute spent with these brilliant characters. Is there a possibility for a new special or a new movie? Probably not, but still, great franchises are known for comebacks.