Black Angel Vol. 2

I first came across Takashi Ishii through the masterpiece "Gonin," and it was a film that totally changed my perspective of action cinema. I was pleased with the sequel to Gonin, yet Black Angel Vol 1 never really impressed me. The story and direction were both excellently executed, but a lack of characterisation made it rather tedious at times. What made Gonin so brilliant were the different motivations and emotions of the main characters. Thankfully, with Black Angel 2, Ishii returns to creating good, solid characters. The main three protagonists in this film are each well designed characters that make this an superior film to its predecessor. What starts out as a rather simple film builds up to an excellent finish that will definitely satisfy fans of Yakuza thrillers. As with most of his films, Ishii is not afraid to include graphic scenes of rape and violence, but he is able to counter these with scenes featuring touching displays of love and humanity. While Ishii has a way to go before equaling the brilliant Takeshi Kitano or Miike Takashi, with this film he is returning to the form of Gonin, that could open him up to being amongst the best directors in Japan.