I thought of a couple of director Takashi Miike's movies while watching Full Metal Yakuza- Ichi the Killer and Izo- because of what they have sort of in line with it. Both of those films have a protagonist who, more or less, is on a hell-bent path of murderous destruction. But even Izo, in comparison with this (and I consider Izo a flawed film), is more worthwhile than this minor claptrap. Maybe it's also a sign of what Miike had with better things to come, as it was just a short on-assignment gig to fill up his V-Cinema requirements. Not that you can't tell he might've had a hand in some scenes, notably the most violent and abrasive ones where the hero of the title gets his revenge (albeit with the head of one yakuza and the heart & body of another, ho-ho). There's not much story to it at all, except that a lowly gangster gets gunned down when his mentor, a yakuza previously in jail for 7 years, gets out and gets killed too. A mad scientist dubbed the "nutty professor" (double ho-ho) puts them back together, and this time totally in metal. Not that there aren't any other "special" modifications too, like in the groin area to be precise (not just quick blue electrical flashes go through when he gets charged up).
Then the exploitation-fun continues, as the bare plot wheels away until I couldn't really care less about whatever really happened with most of the characters, and just wondered when the next big huge violent gush of blood would occur. The special effects, even for something as quick and ultra low-budget (and yes, even for a Robocop spin-off it's very low-budget, even with an invention or two in Miike's arsenal), are cheesy, and sometimes the film/video speed reminded me of seeing kids movies from the 80s or something. The only side development in any of the characters, however shallow, is with a woman (a prostitute I believe) who is with another man after a previous ill-timed engagement. Sure to be OK enough for most just looking for a splatteriffic time, but I think to really get a lot more laughs out of it I'd have to be pretty wasted. It's not devoid of punch, but it's got nothing in the way of a sharpness of wit or wild visual panache of Miike's other works. It's just what to expect- a V-Cinema gimmick made long into a feature with so-so acting and a yakuza story that's nothing new; I don't even think it'll get too much better if on a repeat viewing either.
Then the exploitation-fun continues, as the bare plot wheels away until I couldn't really care less about whatever really happened with most of the characters, and just wondered when the next big huge violent gush of blood would occur. The special effects, even for something as quick and ultra low-budget (and yes, even for a Robocop spin-off it's very low-budget, even with an invention or two in Miike's arsenal), are cheesy, and sometimes the film/video speed reminded me of seeing kids movies from the 80s or something. The only side development in any of the characters, however shallow, is with a woman (a prostitute I believe) who is with another man after a previous ill-timed engagement. Sure to be OK enough for most just looking for a splatteriffic time, but I think to really get a lot more laughs out of it I'd have to be pretty wasted. It's not devoid of punch, but it's got nothing in the way of a sharpness of wit or wild visual panache of Miike's other works. It's just what to expect- a V-Cinema gimmick made long into a feature with so-so acting and a yakuza story that's nothing new; I don't even think it'll get too much better if on a repeat viewing either.