Full Metal Yakuza (1997)

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Guess that in potential this could had been a truly awesome and insane revenge flick but the movie instead goes for a more over-the-top and comedy like approach. It doesn't really has the desired effect, since it more often makes the movie just silly instead of entertaining or funny.Normally I either really love or truly dislike a Takashi Miike movie but in this case I'm stuck in the middle somewhere. I really didn't hated the movie but at the same time was also never impressed- or entertained enough by it.Because the movie takes a more comedic approach, it's also being a more simplistic one to watch. It's very straight-forward, without any good depth or underlying emotions to the movie its story and themes. It's why the movie feels like a bit of a bland one, as well as redundant, even for the fans of Takashi Miike movies.For a Takashi Miike movie it also certainly isn't edgy enough. It sounds weird, with all of the violence and gore in this movie but the movie feels quite tame and like it's holding back with its graphic violence. This is something Takashi Miike normally really never ever does! But it's a movie from before the days he became an established name really, so it perhaps isn't so surprising that this movie doesn't feel as edgy and daring as most of his later work.Another problem I really had with this movie was its story. To say it bluntly; this movie really seems to be a Japanese remake of "RoboCop". It uses a very similar concept and even some of the characters and sequences seem alike. So originality was also a big problem with this movie. And as a matter of fact, it makes the movie even weaker, considering that it isn't even halve as good or half as edgy and daring as Paul Verhoeven's "RoboCop". It makes this movie feel like a bit of a lame rip-off attempt.But despite all criticism, this is still a movie you could have some fun with. It's definitely entertaining to watch in parts and with a Takashi Miike movie you are always getting something unique and unusual. The movie is still filled with plenty of moments like that. So despite not being to original with its story, it still is at least being original with some of its scene's.6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Okay, so it's basically a Japanese rip-off of Robocop with gore and weird Asian Extreme sentiments. It has a scene highly reminiscent of The Brain that Wouldn't Die and a plot line that can be seen in anything from Killing Machine to Machine Girl and all kinds of movies that have happened before and since. Yet still I dare you to watch this movie and say, "Yeah, I've seen it all before." Won't happen; Miike's too playful and too willing to go "there", "there" being just as far as you didn't think anyone would go before.So, simple plot synopsis: this guy Hagane is in the Yakuza, only he's an impotent fool and a coward and is only in his family because he greatly admires his "Brother" Tosa. But when Tosa gets gunned down and Our Intrepid Hero catches a few bullets in the process, a self-proclaimed Mad Scientist appears out of nowhere to recraft him out of metal, spare bits, and the heart, genitals, and tattoo of his hero. Fully equipped (on more levels than one), it's time for Hagane to wreck vengeance. And stuff.There are some pretty amusing scenes here. For the most part, this movie is kind of wonderful because it's a playful and action-filled male wish-fulfillment. He's nearly invincible, he gets to destroy stuff easily, and he gets a bigger penis. Of course, Miike isn't satisfied with only one emotion, and scenes range from hilarious to sentimental to disturbing, switching gears on a whim and always allowing an opportunity for silly facial expressions (the acting in this movie is great, by the way. Japanese actors have this wonderful way of stretching their faces).Funnily enough, the tone of Full Metal Yakuza fits closer to Zebraman than most of Miike's other work. Ultimately, it's playful and escapist by nature, which is not honestly what he does all that much. But whereas Zebraman can sort of kind of almost maybe be considered a children's movie (except for its strangeness and a couple sordid scenes), this is closer to Heavy Metal type escapism, fully adult entertainment and yet full of boyhood passion.--PolarisDiB

I love Miike films so I was a tad shocked after watching this one. It still bears his trade mark arterial spray shots and the WTF ending but other than that it's more like something you would find along side the likes of Robot Jocks or Dollman from Full Koon films. I recommend this flick to fans of the Guyver films more than I would fans of Audition or Visitor Q (even tho I love both of those films). I was intrigued the entire film laughing, cheering, booing, so I have no idea why everyone trashes on this movie so much (it's even a tad cerebral at times!). So bottom line from me is: Don't watch this flick expecting anything in particular except for an Ultra-Man-esquire splatter film and you'll find a surprising masterpiece.

Takashi Miike may well be the savior of modern cinema - more than any other film maker I'm aware of, Miike keeps pushing the boundaries of the art form. He's also got a deliciously sick sense of humour.Full Metal Gokudo is an early Miike movie (with the rate he produces movies, even 5 years ago is a long way back in his career). It's a made for video ultra-cheapy, probably made in a couple of weeks for a few thousand yen. The basic premise is Robocop meets a Yakuza movie... producing the Full Metal Gokudo himself, a low ranking Yakuza gangster whose body is reanimated by a self-proclaimed genius scientist, to be a crime fighting superhero. Though things don't quite go according to his plans.Despite the very very low budget and terrible special effects, FMG contains buckets of that Miike imagination and intellect. Subtle, dark humour occasionally gives way to comic absurdity - and occasionally to something much darker and more disturbing. Nothing as sick as you will find in Ichi The Killer or Fudoh, but enough to trouble the more squeamish viewers no doubt. There's a little bit of a heart in the movie too though, for the viewer who can look past the gore and idiocy.Mostly though, FMG is just a silly comedy. It takes a bunch of mostly loathsome characters and puts them in a ridiculous situation, then has fun seeing how everybody reacts. It's a movie that could only have come from Japan, and probably only from Takashi Miike himself. The ultra low budget means its never going to get mainstream popularity, but it's the perfect material to become a lightweight cult classic.