"Retribution" could just as well have been entitled "Recapitulation," since it returns to all of Kurosawa's themes, not only reiterating but enriching them. This time, however, the narrative is a little clearer, the cinematography richer in palette and more conventionally noir, and somehow these changes make the film slightly less disturbing--and therefore less effective--than "The Cure" and "Tokyo Sonata." As an introduction to his work, however, this may be the best place to start.

Fascinating as it completely summarizes Kurosawa's previous work, going so far as to copy, shot-for-shot, a glorious scene from Pulse. But it's not so much a retread as a potent embodiment of the director's obsessions. The murders are merely a parenthesis in a story of urban decay, moral morass (pun intended) and a worldview - closer here than ever before - about to teeter off the edge towards a personal and grand apocalypse. Very recommended.