BLOODY BATTLE is the feature-length follow-up to HARD REVENGE MILLY, although clocking in at a mere hour and eleven minutes means that it's still a short and snappy film. It's very similar in style and feel to the first short movie, which is no surprise given that the cast, crew, and director are all the same.
There's a little more plotting here than before, with depictions of a post-apocalyptic society based on trade, and a few nods to MAD MAX. The villains are more random and more likable, but they don't have the repulsive reputations of the guys in the first film. Miki Mizuno remains an impressive presence as the titular ass-kicker, using her mechanised body to dispense justice to those stacked up against her.
As before, the real hero of the piece is director Takanori Tsujimoto, who crafts something memorable out of something very little. The non-action bits are staid and unremarkable, but the action scenes zing with vitality and energy, much like in the low budget Japanese zombie film VERSUS, and the fight choreography is top notch. Tsujimoto fills his little movie with plenty of gruesome action, and it works a treat. HARD REVENGE MILLY: BLOODY BATTLE is hardly the stuff of greatness, being an exceptionally slight piece, but that it's watchable at all is the biggest surprise.
There's a little more plotting here than before, with depictions of a post-apocalyptic society based on trade, and a few nods to MAD MAX. The villains are more random and more likable, but they don't have the repulsive reputations of the guys in the first film. Miki Mizuno remains an impressive presence as the titular ass-kicker, using her mechanised body to dispense justice to those stacked up against her.
As before, the real hero of the piece is director Takanori Tsujimoto, who crafts something memorable out of something very little. The non-action bits are staid and unremarkable, but the action scenes zing with vitality and energy, much like in the low budget Japanese zombie film VERSUS, and the fight choreography is top notch. Tsujimoto fills his little movie with plenty of gruesome action, and it works a treat. HARD REVENGE MILLY: BLOODY BATTLE is hardly the stuff of greatness, being an exceptionally slight piece, but that it's watchable at all is the biggest surprise.