Full Metal Yakuza

Rating:
Summary: WARNING:Miike does not deliver...
Review: After having seen Audition, Ichi the Killer, Dead or Alive, City of Lost Solus, etc etc. And trusting Miike to always deliver an amazing display of action, gore and very intense scripts I blindly bought FMY only to discover that even great minds are also affected by a lapse of unimaginative stupidity, a total lack of sense for storyline, characters that aren't even worthy of appearing with Sponge Bob Square Pants and semi-special effects that WILL(Yes I really mean it)MAKE YOU CRY. This movie isn't even worth the plastic it came wrapped in and if you want to still consider Miike as a good director save yourself the trouble of watching this very very very very very painful experience. I expect that someday in the future Miike makes a public appearance apologizing for this gruesome, ill-conceived, pest infested worthless thing he so boldly decided to call a movie.....

Rating:
Summary: Not top-notch Miike, but still good
Review: Full Metal Yakuza is Miike lite. As is often the case with his films, it's entertaining and outrageous and tastelessly funny, but it lacks the depth and feeling of, say, the first two Dead or Alive films or Ichi the Killer. FMY was made on a low budget as a V-cinema title (Japan's direct-to-video market), and lacks the polish of some of Miike's other work, but I think most Miike fans would enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: not what i was expecting
Review: having recently become a takashi miike fan i thought id give this one a spin, and while it wasn't a total disappointment, it did leave something to be desired. i was expecting something that would stimulate me on both a visceral level and an intellectual level as well. sadly it did neither. it had neither the amount of gore or the level of wit and symbolism ive come to expect from miike. all in all worth a rent, but im glad i didnt blindly buy it.

Rating:
Summary: Full Metal Yakuza falls short from good.
Review: I had seen this release of FMY in Best Buy, and I was surprised to say the least, as Best Buy does not hold unrated versions of Miike's films. I grabbed it, took it home, and was quite disapointed to say the least. Firstly, do not be mislead by its UNRATED stamp on the box.

Yes, it is unrated, but edited... badly may I add. The menu on the DVD was animated poorly and the other selections did not work. The DVD is also full screen, also edited badly. In certain scenes you can tell there is action happening off screen which you cannot see, and that surprising/gory action you expect from Miike is cut out.

The movie itself would have been better if it wasn't for these faults in the actual DVD manufacturing. But also, as a new Miike fan, This is the first of his films I have been disapointed in. Its teedering on the line between good and bad. Worth a viewing if you can rent it or borrow from a friend, or if You can find it cheap.

Rating:
Summary: Just a note
Review: To the reviewer below and others who might find that the Full Metal Yakuza disc is displaying in a cropped full screen image rather than proper widescreen, this is not a fault in the disc itself. You need to consult your DVD player's manual and adjust the display from 4:3 to 16:9.

Also, regarding the implication that this version of the film is "edited," if you're referring to the digital blurring in some of the scenes, this was done by Miike himself. Don't ask me why.