Beyond Outrage

Suffers from a relatively typical overlong setup, and when things kicked off in the second half I found it hard to follow who was killing who, and why. Partly because I had found the first half pretty unengaging and perhaps partly because I haven't seen the first film. The second half is quite good, the first half is quite poor.

the first one was high on violence, light on story, but still fascinating. this one switches the approach, gives us more story and less, but just as striking violence. kitano does well both behind and in front of the camera. the soundtrack was especially nice-- very different and off-putting in a good way. final scene is probably in my top ten favorite final movie scenes ever

Slowly paced crime thriller is beautifully crafted by Kitano but spends an agonising amount of time in the first half setting up a not especially interesting (and overly convoluted) plot. Signature bouts of harsh violence are very well executed, and Kitano brings a likably world-weary attitude to his character, but the flaws in the storytelling cannot be overcome.

Doesn't have the crazy slasher kills of the first installment, but the revenge motif is much more focused and gives the whole thing a lot more momentum.

After some awkward maneuvering at the start to paper over the fact that the first one wasn't really fit for a sequel it settles into a much more compelling plot than the first. There's also no Ghanian diplomat, and the ending is perfect, so all-in-all this is definitely an improvement.

If Outrage dealt with the erosion of old-school yakuza, Beyond Outrage is its bloody, noisy return. I yelled "NO, YOU CAN'T END LIKE THAT!" at my screen, which should give a good indication of how much I liked this movie.

It's like the first one, but more focused, slightly more serious, and more finely honed. This removes a bit of the fun that the first film had for me but elevates this film to something more enjoyable and lasting in memory and impact at the same time, which is really what counts.

Much slower and less badass than the first film. It almost feels like a less effective remake more than a sequel given how similar its approach to setting up a bunch of characters and then killing them off is, but the shock and surprise are gone. The violence retains punch but is reduced in creativity. The direction this time around feels a little more conventional and less distinctly like a Kitano film, though there are still moments where his unique sensibilities shine through.

not quite as good but has its moments

I am tempted to say all the yakuza shouting insults at each other is some kind of sinister form of rakugo, and Kitano is begging us to get in on the joke. And that's probably it: Kitano seems to be playing with sound as he once toyed with shock cuts - only here, the results are mixed. The highlight of the film is the tall police second-in-command, whose every glance looks like his boss just blew a gnarly Tijuana-level bean-burrito fart.

More focused and more tense than the first film. The plot feels less smart, though. Or rather, the characters act dumber. It only detracts slightly from the overall greatness of the film though.