Hell Dogs (2022) - A Whimper, Not A Bark
Welcome to Sensei Sensibility! You are the hungry mind yearning to devour Asian crime cinema; I am the (questionably) knowledgeable Sensei, more than happy to satiate your cinematic appetite.
Brothers in Harm:
Time and time again, cinema has confronted the black and white morals and ideals of its audience. From Park Hoon-jung's underworld masterpiece New World (2013), to (yes, even) Point Break (1991) - we have been presented with the fact that the crime equation doesn't always follow as:
Cops = Good
Bad Guys = Bad.
The honour and unswerving solidarity amongst big screen murderers and thieves often results in some of the most unflinchingly emotional, beautiful pieces of cinema.
Think I'm wrong? Ask yourself:
How many times have you mysteriously gotten something in your eye whilst watching an Undercover Cop Posing As Gangster, on his knees in the rain, screaming at the sky, holding his slain comrade in crime, as said comrade bleeds out poetically in a back alley, while poignant classical music oversees the slow motion screaming, the slain clutching at UCPAG's snazzy lapel, making UCPAG swear to avenge his untimely death - even though that would mean UCPAG rebelling against the upstanding police force he's (secretly) sworn to serve?
If you watch as much Japanese and Korean gangster movies as I do, chances are, many a time.
It's a trope, but a welcome one.
What isn't welcome, however, is the lacklustre mess that is Masato Harada's Hell Dogs - in the House of Bamboo.
Here's the Skinny (Puppy):
Derived from Akio Fukamatsu's novel Hell Dogs (2017), the film centres around undercover cop Shogo Kanetaka (Jun'ichi Kanada). In a past life, Shogo was a police officer known as Goro, and witness to a tragic mass shooting.
Hell bent on avenging the victims of the shooting, Goro took matters into his own (bloody) hands, thus incurring the wrath of the police force, who are now forcing him to atone by going undercover with a troublesome criminal gang: The Hell Dogs.
Shogo lives on the edge of a tightrope. Navigating the intricate, volatile, (and often convoluted), hierarchies that make up the criminal world by day, reluctantly assisting a police force he loathes by night - it's surprising that he still finds time to sleep with his gang boss's mistress Mayu (Emiri Kisa) on the side.
A double agent with a risky love interest and a completely duped gang partner, (Muro, charmingly played by Kentaro Sakaguchi) should be the perfect recipe for a great Yakuza drama - so what have we done to deserve such a flat, flavourless Manhattan?
Roll Over, Play Dead:
While Hell Dogs is a visually slick and stylish epic, with breath-taking fight choreography and a veritable smorgasbord of a soundtrack - Italian, Spanish, Eastern and Western (the cowboy kind) influences abound, for the most part, it's bloody boring.
Right off the bat there's a huge range of characters and multitude of over-lapping storylines that bombard the viewer. The movie starts out as if it's a sequel to a pre-existing film, this is to provide context to Shogo's background, but it blurs by so fast the audience aren't really given a chance to care. Some plot arcs are left incomplete or feel tacked on out of the blue.
Speaking of not caring, Jun'ichi Kanada's portrayal of Shogo is devoid of passion or even basic interest. Considering his perilous circumstances, there is zero internal struggle or emotional conflict seen in his character.
He seems impassive to both the police and the underworld - where is the slow descent into becoming everything you swore to defeat? Where is the push-back against the cops forcing him to put his life on the line?
By contrast, side-characters around him such as Muro, Pops, Mr. Bear or masseuse-in-mourning Noriko exude a natural warmth and likability that makes them far more engaging, despite their brief screen time.
Basically, if the lead character doesn't care, why should we?
The monochrome colour palette should veer the movie towards painfully cool, however, coupled with the wide angle shots - it gives the impression of the film taking place within a cold, empty vacuum. The phrase "all style, no substance" springs to mind here.
That being said, the stunning set locations and design are top mark. Some gorgeous Japanese scenery and gritty urban decay here.
You're MIYAVI me on, right?
My interest throughout this over-long mess was mostly maintained by Visual Kei icon MIYAVI's performance as eccentric and flamboyantly besuited crime boss Yoshitaka Toake. Mostly a superficial interest, if I'm honest, *giggle*, but MIYAVI does execute the role well.
Thankfully, the musician's cameo in Hell Dogs was less awkwardly placed than Ed Sheeran's in Game of Thrones.
This Little Doggy Stayed At Home...
Considering the scope of the plot content, a Godfather-esque trilogy outing would have done Hell Dogs more justice. Overall, Hell Dogs is nice to look at, but ultimately there's too much wasted potential here to class this alongside other Yakuza greats. Personally, The Blood of Wolves is a better use of your viewing time.
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