VIOLENT COP A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): **
In the aptly named VIOLENT COP (SONO OTOKO, KYOBO NI TSUKI), Azuma (Takeshi Kitano) is a DIRTY HARRY-style rogue cop operating in Japan. Directed by Kitano without any of DIRTY HARRY's comedic flourishes and without the character depth of Kitano's more successful FIREWORKS, the movie does start promisingly.
When some juvenile delinquents -- now more politely called social misfits -- beat up a poor man, Azuma visits one of their homes. Telling the boy's mother not to worry, Azuma goes into the kid's room and beats him up in order to teach him a lesson.
Azuma's a vigilante who dispenses his brand of justice on the spot. In his mind the world is easily dichotomized into the victims and the punks -- his favorite expression being "damned punk." When someone dares sleep with Azuma's grown sister, he gets ridiculed as a punk and slapped around by Azuma.
VIOLENT COP, which has almost no music and little ambient noise, possesses a serenity that is periodically punctured by random acts of increasingly horrific violence. Kitano's acting is always intriguing, but the thin story has trouble holding the viewer's interest. Starting off as a character study, the picture quickly degrades into just a collection of stylized acts of violence. The intensity of Kitano's acting and directing has to be respected even if they become increasingly difficult to admire as the story grinds on.
The English translation of the dialog sometimes becomes laughably sparse. One interchange, for example, has a new cop introducing himself to Azuma with "I'm the rookie. Coach me."
The minimal plot involves drugs, but the plot is just a ruse. The whole point of the picture is to let Azuma demonstrate his sadomasochistic behaviors. Walking into a hail of bullets, he doesn't even duck as he gets holes all over his body. "Everybody's crazy," the criminal's second in command says of both sides in the war of Azuma vs. the drug dealers. And so is the movie -- violently crazy.
VIOLENT COP runs 1:43. The film is in Japanese with English subtitles. It is not rated but would be an R for strong violence, drug use and sex. The film would be acceptable for teenagers only if they are older and mature.
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
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