...bad. Not bad ass, not "so bad that it's good", just bad. Miike (whose Audition I *gasp* enjoyed) takes post-post-John Waters depraved acts and film making and makes it reach full bloom in this movie. Don't expect a masterpiece in the vein of Gonin and Hana-Bi - the similarity in theme is quickly counterbalanced by an irrational flow of obscenity and deviance (sexually oriented clearly wins on this one) that covers any remnants of plot or philosophy. And what is most striking is that Miike didn't even bother trying to make a point by employing such a host of deranged acts.
I guess that the only film that comes close to this level of close-mindedness would be Naked Blood - much ado about nothing. The ending is mildly hilarious, but the film as a whole doesn't hold a candle to the real experimental classics of Seijun Suzuki, for example. Miike doesn't struggle to achieve the whimsical, just more and more scabrous. The plain gangster violence scenes were rather well executed, but there is no place for real soul in this film. Avoid it, or watch it with your pals when you get boomed on booze or when you think that you've seen way too many good movies in the last 10 years.
I guess that the only film that comes close to this level of close-mindedness would be Naked Blood - much ado about nothing. The ending is mildly hilarious, but the film as a whole doesn't hold a candle to the real experimental classics of Seijun Suzuki, for example. Miike doesn't struggle to achieve the whimsical, just more and more scabrous. The plain gangster violence scenes were rather well executed, but there is no place for real soul in this film. Avoid it, or watch it with your pals when you get boomed on booze or when you think that you've seen way too many good movies in the last 10 years.