DVD REVIEW: 1 ICHI

The Flick

I should state first that I reserve no particular love for Ichi The Killer. In actuality, I think it's a bad movie, albeit a bad movie that's made with incredible energy. It's memorable and inventive, which is a lot more than I can say for 1 Ichi.

This is exactly how I felt watching 1 Ichi.

Every prequel needs a hook. Here, the idea is that we see how Ichi developed his fighting prowess, and how he came into the hands of his controller, Jijii. No dice.

Much of the film revolves around high school badass Dai, played by Teah from Dead or Alive 2. Dai beats the hell out of everyone he meets, typically with a flurry of slow roundhouse punches which can be easily choreographed even by the slowest stunt actor. During one brawl, Dai notices Shiroishi (Nao Omori, reprising his role) watching the action. We're supposed to know that Shiroishi -- the future Ichi -- gets off on the violence, but Dai isn't privy to that info.

This is exactly NOT how I felt watching 1 Ichi.

The thin plot that unwinds sees Dai trying to track down Ichi, and eventually encountering an even bigger badass meant to fully 'awaken' Ichi's fighting spirit. In the meantime, we see Ichi's humiliation at the hands of others, and there's some bullshit psychobabble that implies that Dai and Ichi are somehow connected. Adding insult to injury, the film is padded with high school goofballs who wouldn't even make the cut on a Saved By The Bell reunion.

It's drivel, every second of it.

After Miike's movie, any audience would go into 1 Ichi expecting something, but director Masato Tanno has got an empty bag of tricks. All the disparate story elements meant to illustrate Ichi's background really tell us nothing, and are boring to boot. The fights aren't even up to amateur standards -- picture television actors whipping their heads back and forth to simulate being punched -- and Tanno didn't have the time, money or skill to show off in the two moments where Ichi is truly unleashed. You've been warned.

1 out of 10

Guest director for this shot: Peter Fonda

The Look

Some people shoot films on video and they come out looking like art. Hal Hartley's The Book of Life, for example, or The Best Brazailian Butts 6. Other people use video and it looks like they took a camera to school. I know Masato Tanno had no money and little time to make 1 Ichi, but with the exception of a few shots, there's not even any thinking in evidence, much less artistic inspiration. The transfer is clear and as sharp as cheap video can be, which makes it all the more obvious.

3 out of 10

Guest director for this shot: John Woo

The Noise

One of the highlights of Ichi The Killer was the weirdo score by Karera Musication, which was really the last stand of the Boredoms, minus eYe. That's tough to beat, and the imitative efforts of Battle Table just don’t cut it. I don't know which is worse: that the band is called 'Battle Table', which sounds like a dangerous ping pong match, or that actor Tadanobu Asano was supposedly involved. Anyway, the music and thudding punches sound fine.

8 out of 10

The Goodies

I made the mistake of watching the conversation between Miike and Tanno before the film. Miike comments that he doesn't know whether or not a film like this can be released, which got my hopes up. Little did I realize that he was referring to the quality, not the content. The rest of the interview is passable, if fairly superficial. In reality, the best extra is the trailer for Tadanobu Asano's Electric Dragon 80,000 Volts.

4 out of 10

"I'll be back in a minute. Just have to drop this off at Dave's suite."

The Artwork

The best thing about this package is the elegant artwork, with a super-saturated video of Ichi crouching almost hidden under the film's giant logo. It's almost enough to make you think the film is worth a look, until the stills on the back give it away as a dreary high school fight flick.

8 out of 10