Director – Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer, Audition)
Starring – Masataka Kubota (13 Assassins, Tokyo Ghoul), Sakurako Konishi (Fancy, Mio on the Shore), and Takahiro Miura (Attack on Titan, Ghost Master)
Release Date – 2019
Rating – 3/5
Very few filmmakers can say they’ve had a career like Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike. He has created numerous horror characters over the years and his film are still revered to this day for their originality, rawness, and in some cases, their brutality. I’ve collected his films for sometime now which has turned into a task considering how many films he has helmed in his career.
A few weeks ago I was sent the press release for his newest romantic crime film First Love and was presented with the chance to review. I was skeptical at first considering it was not a horror film but after discovering how bloody it was I decided to give it a go. Thank you Well Go USA for sending this one my way!
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows an aspiring boxer that takes a punch the wrong way but thinks something else is wrong. A visit to the doctor unveils that he has a brain tumor which is inoperable. He thinks his life cannot sink any lower but that changes when he meets a working girl who is running away from a strange man screaming for help. He knocks the man out to save the woman only to find himself thrust into the underground world of organized crime. **Spoiler Alert**
I’ve seen multiple Miike films and most are extremely fun and hyper-violent while a few others were extremely underwhelming when compared to his releases. Ichi the Killer is a movie of his that I almost always reference because it is story rich and violent. However, as violent as First Love is I still found myself rather bored through many of the scenes.
The acting in this one is pretty fucking solid. The characters are generic but still rather fun. I enjoyed them for the most part but there was several scenes where some of the characters show how little detail was given to them. They become extremely expendable while others are very entertaining.
The story for this one is simple and at times it feels like it was stretched too thin. A man and woman falling in love while getting involved with a drug ring is fun on paper but the overall story is stretch to fit the feature length running time. This made several of the scenes feel way too lengthy which does try the viewer’s patience. However, I did like the humor tossed in at random times. It was unpredictable but not over done.
Finally, if you are looking for blood you will find plenty of it here. The film is not gory but the blood runs red. We get several gun shots, squibs, and even a few amputated appendages. Overall, First Love is not the most memorable Miike flick but it is a solid outing from the veteran filmmaker. It has it’s moments and is not a waste of time. Check it out.
