Ichi the Killer: The First Live Action Comic Book
Are American comic book movies truly comic book movies (This review was written in 2010.)? It is without question that they, for the most part, have to stay away from the dark modern elements, but do they really look like a comic book (if Frank Miller is not involved)? Maybe that is too tacky for Hollywood when the dismissal of Frank Miller is apparent. I think they maybe missing the point. The pictures are the books' vision. Should directors skew them for their vision?
Takeshi Miike thinks not, and he has always been set on delivering the uncompromising vision of the newsprint vision. Even if that is an adaptation of the ultra violent, ultra misogynistic, adolescent tale of "Ichi the Killer (Koroshiya 1)".
Ultra masochistic enforcer Kakihara is determined to locate his missing boss and punish his kidnapper. He is more or less living in denial until he finds out that his gang is the target of Ichi, the ultra sadistic assailant who is so brutal, he needs his own clean up crew.
Nothing else is known about Ichi, so preparing for a showdown is near impossible. How will they react when they find out he is a crybaby desperately trying to find vengeance from those who picked on him in high school?
"Ichi the Killer" is both visually stunning while simultaneously being appalling. If you are a fan of Japanese culture, this is a treat of sheer decadence for anime and manga fans.
Similar stories to "Ichi" have only been available as anime. This is a story so twisted, it must be made as unreal as possible. Miike does that, but the brilliance of course is that this is a live action feature. The imagery is still shocking, but if you look closely, it is so outrageous that the ride your on reminds you of "The Pirates of the Caribbean (rapiness intact)" or "The Haunted Mansion".
Like the animatronics, the actors set the mood perfectly. You could almost swear that they studied every image of the character they were portraying from the manga. Once you get over the shocks, you will fall in love with the imagery of this living cartoon.
As for the story, embracing that can be extremely challenging. Not so much the violence, but the callous nature of it. Women are objectified and abused, and Ichi has be trained to embrace those concepts. This is a film with no protagonist, only victims and assholes that merge into one anti-Buddha. "Ichi" is a film you cannot take personally and must accept as a complete work of outrageous fiction. If you think about consequences beyond what the characters receive, you will not enjoy it.
"Ichi the Killer" is a story that affects its characters and its audience. It is an act of pure sadism on behalf of the director Takeshi Miike and masochism on behalf of the audience. A brutal relationship, but enjoyable for all involved whether they are willing to acknowledge it or not.
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