Violent Cop

Kitano, on the first try, makes a film that's specific to his flavor -- a melodrama devoid of emotion, devoid of highs and lows, a straight, head-on, quiet exhibition of grit, grim, violence, unpleasantness. He films in a way that would be serene if not for the subject matter -- and the prevalent bitterness. It's a film worth talking about, a film I liked, but a film I hesitate to recommend -- because it's hard to get it off of you afterwards

Nihilistic and very violent. Kitano's first directorial effort.

Some of the best violence I've seen in cinema, with some really cool additional ideas that make it worth watching. I just wish it was a bit more concise, but for a directoral debut, one that wasn't even planned, Kitano did an excellent job.

It's like Bad Lieutenant but, you know, without the Catholicism. In the result, it sacrifices the former's gritty aesthetic and philosophical themes for something more nihilistic; this would be fine but it's not particularly well-captured or explored. It gets a bump for the Erik Satie music, I guess, but nothing's gonna top Harvey Keitel dancing naked to Pledging My Love.

Makes me excited for the rest of his movies I haven't seen

Lots of great footage of cops getting their asses kicked. Unfortunately the protagonist is also a cop (Takeshi's later films fix this problem). Looks nice by virtue of its settings, but can't help but wonder how much better this would have looked in his 90s period when he perfected immersive coherent color schemes.

Everybody's crazy.

A man, a brother tries to live a calm life and "walk" peacefully -that's why between the action he always walks- and tries to act "slow", but he is forced into "action" through his environment and society. And when slownness is forced to get in action you have absurd and funny. Not the best Kitano but a good movie.

Straight-forward nihilism.

The first time I saw this movie my jaw was hanging open the whole time. Beat Takeshi is incredibly intense and yet strangely subdued at the same time, amazing how he can do that. Yes it's violent and nihilistic but it serves a purpose and has a ring of realism that too few movies of the same type could ever hope to match. Watch it and then hate it or love it you won't soon forget it.

Impressively assured debut by Kitano might be less polished than his later films, but it's unmistakably his style from the pacing to the deadpan humour to its use of silence and the shocking bursts of sudden random violence that linger long after death or destruction has been wrought. It was arguably ahead of the curve in its serious contemplative treatment of violence in a familiar genre context, and the nihilistic gut punch finale is tough to forget. Takeshi is superb in the title role.

The plot is pretty idiotic for the most part, with a lot of dumb clichés played dead straight and a nihilistic ending bordering on juvenile, but Kitano's direction elevates it. The whole production has a deadpan quality, including the fantastically abrupt gunplay; it's almost as if, when Kitano removed the jokes from the screenplay, he replaced them with perfectly-timed gunshots.

Obviously sets up Takeshi's style for future works. All his trademarks are here, but could use more polish as we see in his later work. A few really good shots, funny beats, and demonstration of corrupting cycles of violence and greed. He gives a surprisingly more articulate commentary on the themes then you would expect at the end. The extent to which things go super nihilistic by the end is ridiculous, but also believable if you bought everything else that came before it.

I'm sorry but I did not like this film at all. you can't be both ironic and exploitative about violence at the same time.

Among the more jarring depictions of Japanese society as being a lurching, threatening, wild wild east, its distilled nihilism -- maybe a bit too distilled, particularly with regard to one female character's treatment -- a calling card for all future Takeshi films.

“Watch Out, This Guy’s Wild” is less interesting than its title or reputation might lead one to believe.

It's interesting to see the 'maverick cop' trope from a Japanese perspective, and there's a great chase scene that takes you through a ton of cramped urban terrain. Kitano himself is as charismatic as always. The whole thing with his sister seemed a little too perfect and coincidental to me, but it's generally a strong film.

Incredibly dissapointing. Violence there was, but not enough. Should have been named "Staring Contest".

While it's a bit less polished than Kitano's later movies, it's commendable how assured Kitano is in his debut. He clearly has an idea for the style he wants and manages to pull it off. The minimal use of music f.e., with lot of scene's playing out without any music and music used to contrast scene to give a comic effect, shows impressive restraints for a debuting director.

Deliberately paced and full of unassuming but v. well composed shots. As a result, calm and almost soothing despite the violence.

Dark, and increasingly intense. Some good stuff.

My favourite of Takeshi Kitano's films.

If Takeshi Kitano's directorial debut lacks the elegance of his later work, don't blame him too much. He took over the project when Kinji Fukasaku abandoned it. Violent Cop traffics in all the clichés of the "loose cannon" cop story, but manages to bring a few surprises to the table as well. The nihilistic climax is dynamite, and I liked how the antagonist was sort of a mirror "loose cannon" on the yakuza side. The over-the-top brutality of Kitano's character provided some funny moments.

Pretty good.

The subtitles on the DVD only translating half of a conversation might have been to blame, but even if they had been done properly, I think I'd still feel that the film wasn't really developed enough. Alright, his friend is dealing drugs and his sister is kidnapped. But I don't know why these things have happened, and thus I don't care. The first, and hopefully last, disappointing 'Beat' film I'll watch.

In broad strokes, this is a film about a renegade (one might even say violent) cop who breaks the rules to solve crimes. Kitano almost completely deconstructs the genre though. His cop doesn't particularly need to break the rules to fight crime, he just does it anyway. As the film progresses, his violence and nihilism increases to the point where there really isn't any sense that he's a cop anymore.

Low-voiced on the outside, explosive on the inside... Sore and unique; a masterpiece.

If Dirty Harry was a bad cop story full of twists, turns, strong characters, and sharp action sequences, Violent Cop is its inverse. The padding is insane, with held shots and grueling takes of empty mundanity like characters walking. Unlike Hana-bi's melancholy VC doesn't have the unique atmosphere for this pace to add to the movie. It's endless meandering with no character insight, unique writing, or style. Even Takeshi's violence is muted and cheap with cuts obscuring impact. Incredibly dull.