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1968 - 95m.

After thoroughly enjoying Massacre Gun, I had really high hopes for director Yasuharu Hasebe's follow-up. Retaliation features much of the same cast but this one is in colour so I knew it would be a different experience. Surprisingly, the immediate impact on me was not as potent as it was with Massacre Gun. This has a lot to do with the fact that this is a more complex movie that doesn't offer the instant gratification of its predecessor but instead has a lot going on with a more intricate plot and multiple characters. Instead of a simple revenge flick, we are treated to more of a traditional gangster story (a la Scorsese) as one man tries to build up his business with rival gangs meddling with his plans. Themes of honor and trust are prevalent and there is a lot going on in this movie which makes it feel a little plodding at times especially considering I am not a big fan of gangster epics.

Akira Kobayashi stars as Jiro, a man fresh out of prison who goes immediately back to the Yakuza life after meeting with his ailing godfather. Jiro gets involved with another family who want him to settle a land dispute involving farmers and two other gangs. He agrees to do this if he is able to do so on his own terms and quickly gets to work putting together a plan with the help of a small crew with varying talents. Soon, he sets off the gang war with the help of a card shark named Shinjo (Tatsuya Fuji) and then things begin to turn sideways. Making matters worse, the family that hired Jiro goes back on their word forcing him to make some difficult decisions. When an innocent girl is caught in the crossfire, Jiro has no choice but to retaliate.

The first hour or so of this flick is more of a drama than an action picture as Jiro works to convince the farmers that he has their best interests in mind and also balance the tensions with his rivals. The film picks up at about the hour mark and ends with a satisfying conclusion. My main issue is that I had a hard time connecting with Jiro and found myself much more interested when other characters were on screen (particularly Jo Shishido and Tatsuya Fuji from Massacre Gun being ultra cool again). As the plot is a bit convoluted, my interest in what Jiro was trying to accomplish was diluted until Jiro's motivation took on more of a personal than business slant. It is possible I may enjoy this more on a second viewing and I can see myself exploring that one day. I may have been thrown off by the way that Jiro reacted more with his head than a gun as this is a unique approach for this kind of movie. Visually, there are a number of interesting moments including a character's death being illuminated by flashlights and a gory finale featuring blades over bullets.

It's a shame that I am not more excited about this flick as I am enjoying getting into the Japanese crime subgenre but I found the main land dispute plot thread to not be very engaging. I don't think this is a bad movie by any stretch but I have never been able to get into gangster sagas and prefer my crime movies to be straightforward and personal. This was more about building an empire than acting on emotion and therefore it was difficult to relate. I was relieved when things took a turn as the movie reached its conclusion. Kobayashi went on to star in many crime flicks including a few instalments of the popular Yakuza Papers (aka. Battles Without Honor and Humanity) series in the early 1970s. Look for Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood) in a supporting role as the farmer's daughter that Jiro takes a liking to. (Josh Pasnak, 9/14/15)

Directed By: Yasuharu Hasebe.
Written By: Yoshihiro Ishimatsu, Keiji Kubota.

Starring: Akira Kobayashi, Jo Shishido, Hideaki Nitani, Tamio Kawachi.