padiyark Review of The City of Lost Souls

The City of Lost Souls (2000)

Boring by Miike standards, boring by any other standard

[5/10 · 21 February 2005]

I have been a big fan of Takashi Miike since "Ichi the Killer" and was further solidified by "Audition", so obviously I needed to hunt down every Miike film out there. This movie sounded had an interesting premise (similar to "True Romance"), so figuring it would be Miike-ized, I rented it. After watching it, I didn't feel the same exhilaration that I did out of other Miike films. Apart from an exciting helicopter escape, an interesting cock-fight, and a cool would-be ping pong game, it really didn't hold my attention for long. Teah, who plays the protagonist Mario, makes Keanu Reeves look like a Shakesperean actor, and I could've cared less what happened to him. On the other hand, Michelle Reis did show good potential, but was largely wasted in this film. With the exception of the guy who played the Yakuza upstart, most of the characters are forgettable. Yes, it has the typical Miike weird ending, but it doesn't' strike you as anything special, unlike the endings of "Dead or Alive" or (better yet)"Audition". If you are getting into Miike, stay away from this one.