StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

SoftInloveRox Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Murphy Howard I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

thisissubtitledmovies excerpt, more at my location - A yakuza film is bread and butter for Takashi Miike, and Deadly Outlaw: Rekka (Jitsuroku Andô Noboru kyôdô-den: Rekka), sandwiched between the sadistic violence of Ichi The Killer and the surrealism of Gozu, is surprisingly ordinary when compared with much of the director's oeuvre. However, the straightforward nature of this 2002 film is the essence of its charm.Deadly Outlaw: Rekka is such unabashed fun it will leave you feeling indulgent and sporting a maniacal grin from start to finish, just like the one, you might imagine subsequent to viewing, Miike wore while making it. Concentrated to an hour-and-a-half, as so few recent films are, it hits you like a shot of pure audio-visual entertainment straight in the arm.

chaos-rampant Seemingly modeled after DEAD OR ALIVE, starting off with a stylistical hodge podge of slow-mo gunfights and paranoid posturing and sizzling in the finale with a fair share of comic-book outrageousness, Rekka succeeds as a movie not for being ultraviolent or particularly graphic (it is neither by Miike standards - although still violent enough to raise a public outcry if it was the work of a mainstream American director), not because yakuza underlings get shot full of holes or Riki Takeuchi scowls like a bulldog as he shoots rocket launchers in the middle of crowded streets (DOA homage anyone?), not for the sound and fury, but for the moments in between. In that respect, Rekka is antithetical to DOA. Whereas DOA dragged through a drab and lifeless middle act to arrive at an exciting conclusion, Rekka sustains itself through moments of quietude and intimacy. In between the outbursts of violence, Miike gives us life as lived. Takeuchi's friend giving him advice on his hair dye. The glances between Takeuchi and his Korean girlfriend. The dingy eateries, night clubs and neon-lit streets - Miike prowling Fukasaku's stampin' grounds half a century after the patriarch of the yakuza film first pictured a different kind of postwar Japan.In the end, Rekka works so well as a movie because Miike restrains the child within him eager to shock and impress and embraces the dramatist who observes the small moments of life. The plot is mostly forgettable, something about the son of a yakuza boss going on a spree to avenge the death of his father while a gangland conspiracy festers behind and a war between the different fractions is about to break out, and Takeuchi in the leading role scowls a little too much for my liking. But overall, this is as good a yakuza flick as I've seen from Miike, violent, funny, occasionally beautiful, imaginatively conceived but hastily executed (as with most Miike films), a thoroughbred Miike flick bearing all his trademarks, one aimed at both the heart and the gut. Not a masterpiece of any kind but a worthwhile movie.

spanky6666 Those of you that are used to American-style movies, don't watch this because you're probably going to be bored. People, like me, who are used to weird Japanese movie-styles will mildly enjoy this movie. The editing is very strange, sometimes you get the impression that your DVD has skipped, the sound is also weird in some places, I can't explain exactly what's wrong with it but watch this film and you'll know what I mean.I recently watched "Imprint". That's an episode in the "Masters Of Horror"-series directed by Takashi Miike. THAT's what I call a strong and violent film. It was awesome!Don't expect too much and you will be entertained. But not as much as you expected. A decent watch. Nothing to keep.

Demogorgo Rekka is a movie that deals with the theme of backstabbing and diplomacy of the new Yakuza clashing against the violence and honor of the old Yakuza; a common theme in Miike's under-the-radar gangster movies. It begins when the protagonist's father, the leader of a crime family, is killed. Before he knows what's happening, the new boss of his gang is already making agreements and accepting the murder to avoid a full-scale gang war. Needless to say, the son isn't happy, so he seeks revenge on the rival crime family. Knowing this, the new boss tries to get rid of him so that he can enjoy his new place in the Yakuza hierarchy.On its own, this is an exciting modern Yakuza thriller filled with bloodshed and intrigue. But if you're already a Miike fan, you might be let down by a few details.Rekka follows a pretty distinct formula. It has the same plot ideas, nearly the same characters, some of the same actors, and the same filmmakers as Agitator and Kikoku (which came out later). While Miike changes up the style and feel of each one, it still looks like he made three different versions of the same movie. Shigenori Takechi, the screenwriter of all three, has to be the laziest guy in the film industry. You see the same characters doing the same things, only with different names and settings. Like the other movies, the protagonist is a seemingly invincible and honorable guy who just can't seem to get killed no matter what he does. There is a charismatic and equally invincible hit-man chasing him. There are greedy and cowardly superiors that only he can stand up to. There is a dethroned and deceased father figure that he wants to avenge. And of course, there is a love interest that appears for a few minutes combined and has no personality or reason to even be in this movie.The way that this movie is different is that the feel is a little more intense and modern than the other two. The visuals and camera-work are comparatively better and do a much better job of grabbing your attention. It is not as slow-paced and complicated as Agitator (clearly the best of the three), and it's all-around better than Kikoku (the worst). The ending is the most unique part. For better or worse, it is incredibly strange, and I know that some people will like it. Rekka appears to have the largest budget of the three movie and is the easiest to understand; it's definitely the one to show to your friends. Like those two other movies, there are no insane shocker moments or incredible gore effects that will stick in your head forever. Rekka has almost nothing in common with Ichi or Fudoh, for example, so new fans of Miike's work might not get what they expect. But it has more than its share of violence, just not enough to make your head spin.On it's own, Rekka is definitely not a waste of time, and my criticism doesn't sound fair at all. However, the feeling is ruined when you've seen Agitator and/or Kikoku. Seeing these movies after each other in a short span of time left me with a feeling that I got from Graveyard of Honor, another Miike/Takechi product. But in that case, it only took one movie to make me feel uncomfortable by giving me the same message over and over again.