Takeshi Miike as a filmmaker is known to jump around in genre but crime has always been his forte but the thematic resonance depends where his characters are going. With "Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo" [Special Presentations] and the Ferrara and Herzog versions that came before him, it is not about copying but making an exterior story that feels relevant to that journey but is also inherently Japan. In this case it is Shun Oguri playing the addicted cop. He simply loves to do bad things. He knows he is a scumbag. He is living his life the way he wants and doesn’t apologize. He is drowning in debt and lost his family and doesn’t give a crap. He goes to local hookers per se but they might not be that bad. They just live in the same world as him. Miike brings in the peripheral of the Yakuza in but not the way it operates. It is actually about the balance of two external forces that are working against it. One is a just released yakuza whose gang has been decimated. He supposedly descends into meth and bad results ensue. An American girl with high connections but her own proclivities is stirring the pot. What is great about the movie is that it doesn’t apologize for any of the characters. They do what they do. They have questionable morals but they don’t lie per se beyond to themselves. Lily James, in an interesting bit of casting, supposedly recommended by producer Jeremy Thomas who just passed, plays a would-be FBI agent who comes to Tokyo to find said American girl. But her FBI agent plays on the periphery as wwell.
James likes a little bit of danger and this part is a good step for her. She commits with certain reservation. You believe it for the most part but it still is a sell. I remember being at the Macao Film Festival when she was there (before the pandemic). I do think she finds this part of world fascinating (as do many Westerners). Her play with Oguri’s character makes sense and its eventual progression practical for two characters of this ilk. Miike does some good violence of course. The context of a revenge killing by the just released Yakuza is brutal but interestingly metaphorical though the vengeance that plays out with the character (and his relationship with another at the end) stretches believability. What keeps the movie on track is Oguri because his character gets the futility of it all. He is smart. He sees patterns. But he is too wrapped up in his own mess to care. But yet he is a great character. He is both a liability and an asset. His decision at the end is supposed to be empathetic but the question is why does he care at all. Where does the lesser evil lie? "Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo" is not perfect but it is a fun, dark and gory ride because it knows where it is and why it is. Oguri provides the throttle with James doing a nice job keeping up. A fight scene in a club --though not overly necessary in context of the plot -- is still a lot of fun which indicates Miike knows his audience. 90%/B+/A-
By Tim Wassberg
