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Overall Rating : 6/10
Directed By : Sakichi Satô
Tadanobu Asano (Ichi the Killer)
Sho Aikawa (Dead or Alive)
Erika Okuda
Arata Furuta
Supplied By : Anchor Bay Entertainment
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : March 23, 2009
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| PLOT Tadanobu Asano and Sho Ikawa star as full time slackers and wannabe ju-jitsu champions who bring the body of their murdered boss to Tokyo's towering toxic waste dump known as "Black Fuji". But when an army of the undead rises from the massic trash peak, these bonehead buddies must survive a non-stop onslaught of hasty decapitations, pervert teachers, tasty snack foods, stormy romance and zombie professional wrestling. Can even the most devoted of friendships survive an apocalypse of the undead? |
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| THE REVIEW In TOKYO ZOMBIE, Fujio and Mitsuo are two slackers, whom in their spare time, take verbally comedic shots at each other and practice their ju-jitsu skills, a form of Martial Arts that the two love, as they aspire to make fighting their careers. When they aren't slacking off, the two work for the local waste dump. Won of the dump's sites happens to be Tokyo's biggest dumping ground, a place that has been dubbed "Black Fuji". For a while now, it's apparent that people from all over Tokyo has came there to dump their unwanted garbage....so much so that the site has turned into a mountain of waste. But garbage isn't the only thing that's been dumped there, as it turns out, people also come there to get rid of people - as in burying them alive. After they accidentally cause the death of their boss, Fujio and Mitsuo also go to the site to "get rid" of their once nagging boss, it's here that eventually they discover something is wrong. Since most people were mostly buried alive there, their spirit along with their bodies have been trapped their, but what Fujio and Mitsuo find there is that the corpses are rising in an undead state and having a distinct taste for flesh. Now with the town suddenly overturned by a horde of zombies, the two slacker buddies find themselves both fighting and running for their lives. They are convinced that if they head North they will be one their way to a zombie-free safe zone. Their destination? Russia, of course. Directed by the writer of ICHI THE KILLER, Sakichi Satô, TOKYO ZOMBIE is the live action film adaptation of the Manga comic series of the same name created by Yûsaku Hanakuma. Told with a sense of humor, TOKYO ZOMBIE focuses on two best friends Fujio and Mitsuo, who would much rather by Mixed Martial Arts fighters than working their 9 to 5 at the local dump. Like film such as SHAUN OF THE DEAD and the like, TOKYO ZOMBIE puts the everyday Joe against the undead, forcing them to survive in any witch way they can. Mixing the likes of BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE with George A. Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD, this film is essentially a buddy comedy equipped with all the things you'd come to expect from one, like verbal spats between the two main characters and situations and occurrences, such as tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top gore that is a bit outrageous and meant to be taken lightly. The film is basically told in two sections. For about the first hour of the film, the plot progresses while continuing the buddy comedy element, but after the fact, after a small animated intermission/prologue we are moved up to 5 years in the future where the film then adopts a more post apocalyptical zombie approach. After the said transition took place, I have to be honest, I enjoyed the film a little less, but that's not to say that the contrast between the two segments is too drastic, as it does consistently keep it's comedy intact. The script for the film is good, but like the book it's adapted from, it tells us that stories of this type don't always have to make sense, or better just add up - it's essentially a film that wants to tell us two stories in one, so there is some jumping from one thing or another, most prominently when it comes to the film's transition midway through. The look of the film is also good, I don't know for a fact, but i'd say that this film was probably made with a low budget, there's not the abundance of zombies you're likely to find in other zombie flicks, the gore is also not by the truckload, but still this film is a pretty solid Horror comedy effort, that in my opinion is held together by it's writing as well as some great performances, especially by the film's stars, Tadanobu Asano(Fujio) and Sho Aikawa (Mitsuo). |
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| GORE
METER 4/10 There isn't really a whole lot of gore, but it is done in a more comedic way. there is bloody biting, beheadings and more. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 3.5/10 Like the feel of the film, the score is lighthearted and fun. There is some piano along with some more upbeat tracks. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM Overall, TOKYO ZOMBIE is a fun film to watch. I really enjoyed especially the film's first half, and if it would've stayed that way. I probably would've liked it more. With that said however, I would recommend this one to those who are fans of film's like SHAUN OF THE DEAD, DEAD, DEAD AND BREAKFAST or even RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD. Check it out. This DVD will be released April 1, 2009 |
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