Search - Wild Criminal on DVD

Pulp film makes decent attempts

04/15/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"What exactly does it attempt? A plausible 'surprise' ending and a truly warm relationship between the leads within a film meant to be a predominant exploitation fest. I knew what I was getting into somewhat because I own 'Riki-oh: The story of Riki', which was also released by Tokyo Shock. I wasn't expecting extreme gore which is the other film's lynch pin, but I knew what kind of tone it might have and I wasn't far off. It's very cheesy and over the top with a general disregard for it's characters, it mostly cares about what horrible things are happening, happened to them, or what they are doing to others. Lots of horrible stuff that's not treated seriously so it's humorous, in a dark way. Back to what I was saying before: the thing that makes this film somewhat more worthwhile for me on the second viewing is the caring relationship that develops between the two leads and the ending. In 'Riki Oh' what makes it good is the cheesy action sequences, gore, and overwrought acting. There's overwrought acting in this as well, the sincere acting is what makes this more enjoyable for me because I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't more action in this film considering the cover with the gun right in your face. The man isn't even a lead even though he does play an important role in the plot. Also, a note to those who haven't watched a Tokyo Shock title yet: beware of the ridiculous English Language dubbing. Since I bought this title on DVD I had the option of switching the original spoken language which is a slight bit more straight than the dub. Anyway, if this sounds entertaining to you then check it out."