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Yo-yo Girl Cop aka Sukeban Deka: K?do n?mu = Asamiya Saki
R1 - America - Magnolia Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Pat Pilon (27th August 2007). |
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The Film
 After 'Battle Royale 2', where has Kenta Fukasaku to go? He went to drama with 'Under the Same Moon', with his follow-up movie, one look at the first scene of this movie will tell you he went back. Seeing all the cameras on the streets as a bomb strapped to a student blows up conjures up images of big brother and a government spying on its own people. The movie has shades of 'Suicide Club' and 'La Femme Nikita' (or rather, I should spin it around because of the age of the story), and follows a girl recruited by a government organization to infiltrate a school and find out about a mysterious countdown on an underground website. As may be expected from a movie taking place in a school with weapons, the movie was inspired by a manga comic. A quick look at the style of shooting and framing will also tell you the same thing. It's also the most recent incarnation of the story, and it's a pretty good one, I must say. The story is strong, and the movie starts off with a literal bang and ends with more. The yo-yo angle doesn't seem all that important. In a bid to be original or distinctive, the filmmakers took something completely banal and innocuous like a kid's toy and tried to make it a deadly killing force. Well, maybe it's not so unimportant. The action is well done and pretty interesting considering these people are fighting with yo-yos. To be fair, the choreography is very nice and the editing adds a lot of energy. The posing and cinematography are also pretty cool. As the fourth Saki Asamiya, Aya Matsuura does a great job. She has a definite toughness to her and she kicks ass really well. She has a harder role to play than at first glance, but she handles it very well and comes of as very assured. The rest of the cast, including rival Rika Ichikawa, are a lot of fun and deliver the right tone for the type of movie. Overall the movie is a lot of fun. It goes by quickly and has something to say. It's not as potent as, say, 'Battle Royale', but it's entertaining, if nothing else. The action is well done and the style is nice. It's pretty memorable, though not as striking as some movies. In the end, Kenta Fukasaku made a good decision going back to this style of movie.
Video
1.85 anamorphic widescreen. Overall, the picture is pretty good. I have no problems at all with the transfer. It's clear, clean and pristine. The print shows no signs of specks, scratches or anything else of the sort. The colours are accurate and pretty natural. The only bad thing I can say about the picture is that the colours could be better separated, which makes the picture seem pretty flat, especially if the background is of a more uniform colour. The picture, though, is clear and clean, and shouldn't be annoying to anybody.
Audio
English and Japanese are both available in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo tracks. I chose the Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 track to listen to and was very happy. It's dynamic through and through. With the movie being frenetic and active during the more energetic scenes, the track follows the action. Punches and yo-yos hit the back of your head, fly around your room and end up in the front. Even during the quieter moments there are plenty of ambiance and other sounds to make the track natural and enveloping. The voices are always clear and crisp. The little sounds are also audible and you'll have no trouble listening to anything here. English and Spanish subtitles are provided for those who want them.
Extras
The only real extra is the Making of Yo-Yo Girl Mission (41:32) and it's a doozy. This making of is a good look at the movie. Looking at the star, the story, the action scenes and various characters, it's pretty thorough. There's not much that isn't covered. They go from the first to last scene of principal photography, showing you some great behind the scenes footage along with nice interview bits from whoever's in that particular shot. It's a very nice making-of and is quite entertaining. The Original Japanese Trailer (1:28) and a Trailer Gallery with 'The Host' (2:11), 'Dynamite Warrior' (1:28), 'Severance' (1:38), 'The Signal' (0:44) and HD net ad (0:32) finish off the disc. The trailers are pretty good and they give you a very nice indication of what the movies will be like.
Overall
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