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

Negotiator: Mashita Masayoshi (2005) [Film Review]

Negotiator: Mashita Masayoshi; or, The Taking of Shinkansen 123

     He's gone to all this trouble... but demands no money. He just wants to beat you?... So we're supposed to sit here while you two play “match wits”?

After the overwhelming success of Bayside Shakedown: The Movie 2, the production team decided to let the main series rest for a while and they approached the franchise from a different perspective. The result of this was the so-called Odoru Legend series, a set of movies focusing on the individual characters from the realm of Bayside Shakedown. The first such movie was released in May, 2005, and its title was Negotiator: Mashita Masayoshi (also known by the alternative title: Tokyo Subway Panic).

Release Info

Directed by: Katsuyuki Motohiro Starring: Yusuke Santamaria, Susumu Terajima, Jun Kunimura

Language: Japanese Original Title: Koshonin Mashita Masayoshi Runtime: 126 min

 

Synopsis

An unknown terrorist, calling himself “Dangan (Bullet) Liner,” is setting off bombs across Tokyo on Christmas Eve. What is more, he also remotely hijacked a high-tech train called Spider E4-600. Now, the train is speeding through a massive web of subway railways, causing the city’s trains to stop running during the busiest day of the year. As Tokyo Metro is struggling to regain control, the Metropolitan Police Department sends their “first negotiator,” Mashita Masayoshi (Yusuke Santamaria), to the scene. Much to the negotiator’s surprise, the hijacker requested for Mashita specifically, so they could “come out and play on the trains.”

 

Contrary to the two previous Bayside Shakedown movies, Negotiator is not lamenting about the issue of bureaucracy within the police department, but goes straightforwardly with its action plot, putting emphasis on the entertaining factor. In a lot of ways, it reminded me about such classics as TheTalking of Pelham 123 (1974) and The Bullet Train (1975). Similarly to these films, we have a hijacked train, a bomb, and race-against-time theme. Of course, the Odoru writers would not be themselves if they had not stirred the script up a bit. In Negotiator, there are no hostages on the train. In fact, the hijacker’s real motive is not revealed until the last 30 minutes of the picture. Thus, extra points for the suspense.

Nevertheless, the movie is not devoid of humour. Yusuke Santamaria is great at playing a clumsy but lovable goof who Mashita Masayoshi is. What is more, he really manages to carry the picture as the leading character, even in terms of the dramatic sense. The rest of the comedy relief comes from Susuma Terajima as Detective Kijima Jouichirou (he was later given a stand-alone TV movie). Detective Kijima rushes through crowded Tokyo to find the terrorist and, together with the SAT team, also provides some intense sequences. The two actors are the definite highlights of this movie.

 

From the rest of the original Odoru cast, Toshiro Yanagiba and Miki Mizuno appear in minor roles as Superintendent Muroi and Mashita’s beloved Yukino, respectively. Kotaro Koizumi appears as Koike, Mashita’s subordinate. He already played a small part in Bayside Shakedown 2 (2003), but his character will prove essential for the plot of Bayside Shakedown 4: The Final Movie (2012). In addition, a veteran actor Jun Kunimura plays Kataoka, the chief of Tokyo Metro, and has quite a substantial screen time.

 

Speaking about the disadvantages, there are not many. The only thing that really put me off were some hokey CGI shots of the Spider train (you can tell they were really saving the budget), but there are not many of these. Additionally, the character of the Metro PR guy was a bit annoying (Masanori Ishii), but again, not much of him either. Nevertheless, there’s a lot of good stuff in this movie, so I don’t want to complain.

Recommendations

A wonderful addition to the Bayside Shakedown franchise. It lives up to the term of a “spin-off” as it expands upon the side character from the original show and is in continuity with the rest of the series. Even if you don’t like Odoru Daisousasen at all, Negotiator can be easily viewed as a stand-alone movie. You won’t miss out much from the references and still be able to fully enjoy an exciting storyline. Go Mashita!

Overall score: 9/10