- Director : Hugo Sakamoto
- Actors : Akari Takaishi, Saori Izawa, Masanori Mimoto, Mone Akitani, Yasukaze Motomiya
- Media Format : Subtitled, Widescreen
- Run time : 1 hour and 35 minutes
- Studio : Well Go Usa
- MPAA rating : NR (Not Rated)
- Country of Origin : USA
- Number of discs : 1
- Release date : August 16, 2022
If only a film could
be judged on the merits of a single scene, Baby Assassins would receive nothing
less than stellar praise. For those patient enough to plod through the plotless
scenes of forced humor and acting which ranges from over-the-top to underwhelmingly
understated, Baby Assassins provides one of the most exciting climactic action
scenes in years, highlighted by the action choreography by Kensuke Sonomura.
Unfortunately, writer and director Yugo
Sakamoto fails to provide an interesting script or consistent tone to the
direction of the remainder of the film. As a result, Baby Assassins is an
underwhelming film which just happens to contain a scene I will likely revisit on
its own. With a better storyline, Baby Assassins could have been a memorable
action film with dark humor, but instead it is often grating and forgettable.
The simple plot
involves two teenage assassins Mahiro (Saori Izawa) and Chisato (Akari Takaishi),
whose agency has recently forced them to move in together. They are instructed
to get part time jobs as cover for their real job as hired killers, though they
both have the unfortunate bad habit of killing their bosses at their places of
menial employment. Mahiro is low energy and sarcastic, while Chisato is bubbly
and hyperactive, which leads to the pair having difficulty coexisting
initially. This is really just a distraction from the main plot, however, which
involves their inadvertent rivalry with a local gang of Yakuza.
First the girls
are hired to kill someone connected to the Yakuza, so the boss (Yasukaze
Motomiya) sends his daughter Himari (Mone Akitani) to discover who carried out
the hit. For no real logical reason, this leads nowhere, but the conflict is
reignited when the Yakuza inexplicably decides to visit a bizarre café that
Chisato happens to be working at. That is essentially all the story has to
offer, and considering how annoying the characters can be, it simply isn’t enough.
But then there is the final showdown, and a one-on-one fight scene that makes
the entire thing worthwhile. I would have loved to see Kensuke Sonomura direct this
film himself, because he couldn’t do any worse in terms of story and likely
would have included more fight scenes of this caliber.
The Blu-ray
release for Baby Assassins doesn’t contain any special features, and the high-definition
presentation only makes the shortcomings in filmmaking more noticeable. It is
only truly worthwhile for the few action scenes contained in the movie.
Entertainment Value:
7.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6.5/10
Historical
Significance: 3/10
Special Features: 0/10
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