I had read nothing about the movie going into it and didn't know what to expect save that it was about Yakuza. What was presented to me was certainly one of the most violent and disturbing movies I have ever seen. This movie seemed to try to pack in about every depraved and deplorable act human beings are capable of (and a few that defy the abilities of humanity) into one movie.
You have Rape, torture, hanging from hooks, burned by hot oil, rape, mass slaughter, disemboweling, dismemberment...did I mention rape? Oh...and lets not forget a guy eating another guys hand, being cut in half, and lots of semen and blood. The blood letting puts Kill Bill to shame.
Sprinkled in is a storyline that would have certainly worked well, even without the over the top gore and violence. There were a few scenes I simply could not sit through and had to fast forward. Not that I couldn't handle seeing a woman being raped and beaten for an extended period of time or watching a woman have her breasts sliced off before being beaten to death...It just became a bit to much, violence overload.
If they were going for pure shock value they achieved it. If they were going for a great movie, it didn't come together. The almost constant violence and deplorable acts of depravity over powered any story that there was and there was nobody I ended up caring about thus it was impossible to invest anything in the characters save to guess whose next.
Ichi was an interesting but, in the end, annoying character who did most of the killing in the film while the sadist Yakuza boss and his men were the main prey although they perpetrated their own violence and torture on their way to their inevitable deaths. Ironically, probably the most disturbing scene was when Ichi's handler removed his clothes to reveal a body builders body.
If you like over the top violence and gore, a movie that leaves nothing to the imagination, you will love this movie. I found myself trying to find any other reason why a person would want to watch this movie and had a hard time.
You have Rape, torture, hanging from hooks, burned by hot oil, rape, mass slaughter, disemboweling, dismemberment...did I mention rape? Oh...and lets not forget a guy eating another guys hand, being cut in half, and lots of semen and blood. The blood letting puts Kill Bill to shame.
Sprinkled in is a storyline that would have certainly worked well, even without the over the top gore and violence. There were a few scenes I simply could not sit through and had to fast forward. Not that I couldn't handle seeing a woman being raped and beaten for an extended period of time or watching a woman have her breasts sliced off before being beaten to death...It just became a bit to much, violence overload.
If they were going for pure shock value they achieved it. If they were going for a great movie, it didn't come together. The almost constant violence and deplorable acts of depravity over powered any story that there was and there was nobody I ended up caring about thus it was impossible to invest anything in the characters save to guess whose next.
Ichi was an interesting but, in the end, annoying character who did most of the killing in the film while the sadist Yakuza boss and his men were the main prey although they perpetrated their own violence and torture on their way to their inevitable deaths. Ironically, probably the most disturbing scene was when Ichi's handler removed his clothes to reveal a body builders body.
If you like over the top violence and gore, a movie that leaves nothing to the imagination, you will love this movie. I found myself trying to find any other reason why a person would want to watch this movie and had a hard time.