Review: At first glance this Yakusa movie may seem very simple with a story that may seem predictable at times but this is only on the surface. In fact the movie has a very dark and cold view of those involved with the Yakuza world, even the most well prepared plan becomes a nightmare for the characters. What sets this movie apart is without a question the cinematographic vision. Takashi Ishii has a special talent for image and we don't need to have seen his other movies to understand that, as it is pretty apparent in Gonin. This special talent probably comes from the fact that he spent a long time as an artist for adult manga. The thing that really makes Takeshii's movies stand out is the very same reason why some people won't like his films. We can't hide the fact but Ishii has a very slow way of unfolding the various scenery, we watch without really knowing what the whole point is and the answer just jumps in our face when we least expect it.

The story in gonin is very simple and maybe has no real surprises in store for you. Even if having a good guess of what would happen next Ishii manages to bring the expected to you in the most surprising form and this is probably what makes the story interesting to follow. We can't remember the amount of times we said " What the F***" during this movie. The story itself is very slow and hold very few real action scenes, this will definitely not make people happy who are looking for a more action-orientated film. Gonin may almost be classifiable as an art movie.

In the beginning you will find the characters quite complicated to follow as you are thrown into events and don't know who's who. One strange detail in this movie is that there are no women in the main cast. In the beginning the characters seem ordinary and uninteresting without any real background but as the movie advances we discover that the characters have a whole other side to them, in fact quite contrary to the original portrayal. One of the most striking thing about the characters is that they all seemed like pawns without any real importance but as the story progresses we start to learn their ambitions and what makes them tick, we either take pity on them or hope for them to die quicker. Gonin is possibly the most well known movie from Takeshi Ishii, this is probably because of Takeshi Kitano playing an excellent role in the movie, one of two hitmen who are trying to track down the thieves. As for the other actors who for the most part are unknown to us, all play their roles well but really the best are Mitsuya the con artist and Kitano.

The visual aspect of the movie is probably the feature that sticks out the most. Action wise the movie has very little but the dynamic camera work restores the balance between the slow moments and the moments with true action. This film truly takes life because of its graceful and striking visual style. The actual fight scenes in the movie are only a few gun fights, the violence is shown in a very cold brutal way, there is no shooting all over the place and people flying back after being shot, it is just point and kill. The fact there is very little action and excitement in Gonin might turn some people off, so do not expect a crazy action packed adventure in there movie because you will be seriously disappointed.

xGonin is a very stylish yakusa movie and thanks to the special visual style it becomes an important movie in Takeshii Ishii film history. The movie may not be prefect and might have a few flaws but it is still a masterpiece that cannot be ignored in the yakusa genre. For those who mainly enjoy action we suggest to look elsewhere as this movie may not be for you. As for fans of Takeshi Ishii if you have not yet seen Gonin you should check it out as soon as possible. People who also enjoy visual movies or the yakusa genre should enjoy this movie.