Watches
April 19, 2022
A very early Miike. It's not his first, and I was already familiar with some of his earlier films, so I had a good idea of what to expect. It's fair to say Miike didn't start with a bang, instead he worked himself up and learned the trade by making films. There are already flashes of Miike's genius present, but only if you know where to look.
The Karate Kid is captured by a gang and held to participate in an underground fight club for the wealthy. He doesn't want to participate in any of the matches, but the gang gets his girlfriend and uses her as leverage. He has no choice to fight, even though he promised his mentors not to use his lethal fighting skills gratuitously.
The performances are pretty poor and the film looks dirt cheap, even when it's just over 70 minutes long. There are moments where Miike manages to elevate the film, squeezing in some minor crazy and building up the atmosphere, but they are few are far between. For Miike completists only.