User reviews

Firstly, do ignore the ratings given by Metacritic and do keep an open mind before watching this underrated gem. Imho, It is unfair to compare "The Outsider" with "Bright", the other sombre Netflix's star-studded flick as both are in a genre of its own right. As a "Yakuza" movie, "The Outsider" storyline remained faithful to the 60' 70's yakuza genre with its typical subject of betrayal and honour, in other words fans of the "Yakuza Papers Anthology" won't be disappointed.

Suprisingly, there are less dialogue which i find it essential to the storyline as it sets the zen-like mood and calmness throughout the movie. The pacing is so subtle and that one will not flinched at some of the violent scenes. The cast did their part very well although the chemistry between Asano and Leto could have been explored further. Overall, i enjoyed watching "The Outsider" and also the movie pays homage to the Japaneses classics. Highly recommended.

Reminds me of the Yakuza (1974) with Robert Mitchum combined with Black Rain!

Stylish and dark beyond darkness; the brutality is almost clinical in its precision and execution just like the movie.

Critics - What do they know - there seems to be a difference between what critics say and the reality of what we all like and what is genuinely good!

This was a good film!

I for one thoroughly enjoyed this Netflix film, which is rare. Not sure what th deal with Metacritic rating it so low because I found it to be above average compared to most streaming originals. If you don't know the story, go ahead and watch the trailer, and for me, I was immediately drawn in to it by the trailer, because I'm a big fan of Asian crime films. And this film was not a let down in nearly any way. I loved the story, such a unique one in the time of super hero garbage and needless remakes of classics. The story pulled me in and the world it creates is a well represented one, definitely channeling other very successful Asian crime films. The action was true to the genre and definitely satisfied me.

Unfortunately not all the actors shined. Don't get me wrong, some had great performances, but others just seemed to be playing themselves, which I hate. As I said before, the world is well put together, seems very authentic with pretty good cinematography. I didn't like the pacing at some parts of the film but that really had no effect on the enjoyable experience. So I would say this is a pretty decent breathe of fresh air to see on Netflix, better than the majority of bombs that they put out into the public.

I would highly recommend it.

It's hard when the movie's main flaw is the main character. Nick is supposed to be this quiet and intense guy, but inconsistencies in both the writing and acting keeps this movie from being great. I like the concept. It's not an all-out action movie, more of a character study with bursts of violence. My kind of movie.

The 50's Osaka setting, the atmosphere, it's good. But the camera work doesn't take full advantage of the setting, and shots could've been better framed, better movement. The small budget shows. The audio mixing was acceptable but not great. In better hands, this movie would've been great. I'm not saying it's terrible, I enjoyed it. There wasn't any part of the movie where I got bored, I was engaged throughout. But at the same time, throughout the movie, I there were points where I was aware of how things could've been better.

I like Netflix doing unconventional stuff. But rather than make a lot of them, give them the budget they deserve to make them great.

This should've been great. As a concept, the fish out of water storyline is a tried and tested formula, and the setting within the Yakuza in post-WW2 Japan was potentially an inspired choice. However, it didn't delve anywhere near deep enough into these ideas, and instead remained very much on the outside. Perhaps that was a choice of the filmmakers, but as a storytelling device that only works for the characters, not the audience. We need to be let in on the inside.

I was excited about this film because it was picked up a few years ago on the Black List and it seemed to be my kind of story. I don't know if the idea came from Tony Luraschi's 1979 film of the same name about a young American joining the IRA who finds himself out of his depth, but there are many obvious similarities, and not just in the title. The problem with this film though, is that it didn't have the same dramatic conflict or character development. Things just happened and we kind of drifted along with Jared Leto's protagonist, Nick.

We didn't get to know anything of Nick's motivation or much of his backstory. That kept it intriguing for awhile, but by the end I didn't care one bit about him. Although the film was stylish and quite atmospheric, it suffered from poor pacing. When there was action, it was bloody and gory and often spontaneous, which can work to good effect, but I didn't find it particularly shocking because there was no build up of tension.

The whole film was a bit of a mystery to me. It didn't really use the setting of Japan to good effect, apart from a few cool looking scenes, and kind of skimmed the surface of Japanese culture, which to me at least, as an outsider, is utterly fascinating, and was the film's strongest selling point. Nor did it particularly explore the Yakuza in any great detail. I was really hoping for an updated version of The Yakuza (1974) but was left disappointed.

It scores a solid 6/10 because despite its limitations, it's enjoyable enough and it's refreshing to get something a bit different from your usual Hollywood fare. I also thought the cast did a pretty decent job.

The story is as empty as mr Leto's blank stare throughout the movie. It's a pretentious piece of crap.

The Outsider (Gaijin), starring Jared Leto, is the latest addition to those Netflix Originals that was slammed by most of the critics and yet turned out to be an enjoyable watch for me. This Netflix Original tries to experiment with the less talk and more acting type of storytelling which is not often seen in the genre of crime thrillers. For an out and out Jared Leto movie, The Outsider is more than 70% Japanese.

The movie follows the story of an American soldier imprisoned in post-war Japan who enters the Japanese Mob Family, Yakuza after befriending one of them while in prison. The support cast of Tadanobu Asano, Kippei Shîna and Shioli Kutsuna are amazing throughout but no gaze goes past the intensity of Nick Lowell, portrayed by Jared Leto. The intensity and honestly he brings to his character is beyond words. The story telling style and the exhaustive usage of Japanese in the movie makes it difficult to convert 'The Outsider' into a fast paced thriller that it could have been.

The way the movie ended was a bit anticlimactic and was open ended, probably with the intention of bringing out a part 2. I would go with the title 'The Insider' for part two though. I would recommend this movie to anybody who is a fan of Jared Leto and likes slow-burn crime drama's. Do not expect any classic dialogues as the dialogues itself are few and far between.

Leto's character could have been fleshed out more, but the story I found to be most mesmerizing. Netflix go for part 2.

Title says it all and I like all Japanese and Chinese movies, even the cheesy ones but this one right here was so dry and uneventful you would think it was written at the high school level. Seemed to me that when the wrote the story the went to Wikipedia and typed in Japanese culture and went off of that only. Oh and forgot to menchion Jared stares a lot into the distance for no reason or explanation. I don't ever write reviews unless they are great or horrible this got one Star for a reason...

The critics are once again wrong. This is a good yakuza movie although there are better movies but I enjoyed this movie. It is slow going, building up characters. The climax and ending are good. Jared Leto is great in this movie, playing the silent but dangerous American who gets involved with the Yakuza. Leto's character is mysterious, maybe too mysterious. It would have been nice to understand his motivation and background. There is a small caveat to his former life but it is so small that it does not answer any questions except that's Leto's character is brutal. I didn't think this was the white savior type of movie like The Last Samurai. Please watch and support movies like this, movies that take a chance.

I watch a lot of movies, I mean, like a lot of movies. Most movies are awful, summer watchable, some are good, some are great and some are amazing. This is a good movie, which is saying a lot when compared with the massive amount of trash floating out there, especially with so many streaming services nowadays. I like movies that transport me into another world, and this one does it for me. The writing and dialogue are excellent, with no cringe-worthy scenes. The acting is superb, even if it's not easy to sympathize with Leto's character. The cinematography is serviceable, and even striking in some scenes. This is a great late night quiet yakuza gangster take. Watch it.

'One of the many ways in which the Western has become old-fashioned is that the characters have values, and act on them. Modern action movies like "The Outsider" have replaced values with team loyalty; the characters do what they do because they want to win and they want the other side to lose. Underlying most modern action movies is Vince Lombardi's dictum: "Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing." Underlying most classic Westerns is the Biblical text: "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul?"' --- film critic Roger Ebert, reviewing the Western "Open Range" (2003)

Obviously, then, your response to "The Outsider" will very much depend on which camp you're in. Are you with the Westerns, or the action movies? The action movie fans will love this film; the Western crowd, not so much. As it happens, I'm with the latter. So. . . .

The big problem here is the blank at the center: Nick (Jared Leto) is so undeveloped as a character, I never did figure out what makes him tick. On the outside, he's an accomplished assassin, but how about his soul? What is he like on the inside? What are his values? Why does he do what he does? Not a clue. I finally pulled the plug on him when, without any explanation or justification, he commits one brutal murder too many.....

The good news, though, is that it's not Jared Leto's fault. Leto actually turns in a splendid performance. But you have to pay attention. As in silent films, it's all in the eyes,.

The other actors also do a good job, especially considering that their parts are just as underwritten as Nick's. Again, it's never explained what he sees in them or they see in him. As for the plot, don't expect any surprises, it rolls on by the numbers; you can play spot the Judas after the first five minutes.

Very deliberate pacing: not so slow as to quench my interest entirely, but, then again, it never picked up enough to engage me fully.

On the plus side, gritty industrial locations work well with the ice-cold cinematography. "The Outsider" also has plenty of blood, all of it most graphically shed.

Too bad it has no heart.

I've seen a lot of negative reactions to this movie, and I can understand the reasoning. The narrative approach goes a usual route and it's not so inventive as a whole. Yet I couldn't help but enjoy the experience somehow. It's easy for me to get drawn into this mysterious crime world in Japan. There are intriguing elements for sure, but nothing too surprising. You won't get an action film which appears to be what many were thinking. Turns out its centered on atmosphere where you follow a vessel-like character. I can see why someone would be bored. Your main character isn't so open and there isn't a sense of urgency. Weirdly enough for me it feels like the slow burn helped me get more immersed into what was going on. At times I felt like I was next to the driver's seat as the car would enter into the dark underground world and its traditions. I can't say the entire movie was interesting. There are some halts were the drama didn't land. Still, for every dull moment you sometimes get an engaging one. The beautiful aesthetics are always stimulatingly great to look at, but they weren't utilized to the fullest.

Jared Leto is subtle and grounded here which is refreshing since he has in recent memory most been known for playing weirdos. There is also this intensity in his eyes which makes him all the more believable as a violent gangster man. I've liked Tadanobu Asano in everything I've seen him in and here he delivers another great performance with many nuances. A shame that he was a little underused. It's weird because I really saw that the movie was mostly mediocre surface stuff, but I was hooked and enjoyed it nonetheless. I would usually not recommend a movie like this. In this case I'll actually say; Give it a chance. Be open and see what you think. I honestly expected worse.

When you dishonor your boss and you want to show remorse, you give your finger. It's called otoshimae. I see you've got all your fingers.

Even though I don't have any affinity with Japanese culture as such and mostly ignore Asian films, I couldn't resist giving "The Outsider" a chance. Not only because of the fact that Jared Leto is playing in it (a colorful actor who reminds me of Johnny Depp and because of his role as The Joker in "Suicide Squad" can join the club of quirky Hollywood actors), but also because of the central theme of the Yakuza families. I wondered if this could be another successful Netflix original.

I don't know much about Japanese culture. Only the term Yakuza is known to me. You can see it as the Japanese version of the Italian Mafia. The only difference with their Italian counterparts is that the Yakuza members are an epitome of inner calmness and adopt an intimidating attitude by using ice-cold, angry looks and a threatening, non-loud tone during their conversations. Quite different from the Italian mafia members, who usually want to make an impression by shouting and intense gesticulating while making their point, after which a rival gets a concrete pedestal and they dump him in some Italian river. So I prepared myself for a Japanese-colored "Godfather"-like movie.

The first thing you could criticize is the pace of the film. "The Outsider" is extremely slow at times, indeed. But doesn't that suite the entire Japan concept? After all, members of the Yakuza families themselves use a certain pace in their conversations by using impressive silences between sentences. On the one hand to show respect. On the other hand maybe also to increase the impact of used words. Have you ever seen a Geisha passing by? They aren't exactly a paragon of speed. And to be honest, if this movie had lasted an extra hour, I wouldn't have minded that either. And that's because of the other positivities you can find in "The Outsider".

First of all, I thought the acting of the entire cast was marvelous on all fronts. The mix of authentic Japanese who speak their own language for most of the film instead of constantly using broken, bad-sounding English and the acting of Jared Leto was simply stunning. How Nick Lowell ended up in an Osaka prison, remained a mystery to me. He's the only English-speaking prisoner and is surrounded by mainly Yakuza gang members. Rescuing the Yakuza Kiyoshi (Tadanobu Asano) from a perilous, life-threatening situation gives him a ticket to freedom. And that's when he chooses to gradually integrate into the Yakuza family. Not an easy task since the members of this Yakuza family aren't really hospitable and are rather resentful towards white strangers (a Gaijin). However, I wonder if, in reality, a Westerner would get a chance to be included in such a Yakuza-family. I doubt it.

The used cinematography in "The Outsider" was also generally sublime. Maybe a little too dark at certain moments, such as the prison scenes, for example. But in general, the setting in this post-war Japan is really impressive. A mysterious metropolis with dark, narrow alleys, clubs where Sumo wrestlers compete and smoky night clubs. The only thing that tries to break through this darkness is the sometimes bright neon lights. Expect some violent scenes too. You can't do without it in a gangster movie, I guess. There are quite a few victims. Lots of gunshots and knives carving around. Even a self-mutilation scene where a few fingers are sacrificed isn't missing.

My limited knowledge of Asian film material and Japanese customs made sure everything came across as fairly authentic to me. Others, who immersed themselves in this matter, may have noticed imperfections. And perhaps the content has all been done before. I even read somewhere that there was a lot of fuss about casting Jared Leto. And the term "whitewashing" came up. Didn't we have the same discussion about Matt Damon's contribution to "The Great Wall"? By the way, I thought Jared Leto was suitable for this role as the silent (probably because he doesn't speak the language), cold-blooded and emotionless Nick. He reminded me a bit of Keanu Reeves in "47 Ronin". Only the speed with which he was accepted in the Shiromatsu Yakuza clan, seemed greatly exaggerated. And the emotional relationship between Nick and Miyu (Shioli Kutsuna) felt like a mandatory item.

But just as I scoured the internet for information about "The Zodiac Killer" after watching the movie "Zodiac," I couldn't resist consulting Wikipedia about the Yakuza phenomenon. That means this film also left an impression. If slow crime movies about the Mafia interest you, and this in a Japanese environment, then I can definitely recommend this movie to you.

Just because a movie has a snails pace, does not mean it can not be brutal and violent in spades. We got one of those cases right here. It's about honor and loyalty. A major part of the movie is in Japanese (with subtitles of course), but our main character is an english speaking one. Which is the old "stranger comes into town" kind of thing.

In this case his invasion into this culture that most westerners may not be that aware of, is really the driving force. He does learn fast, but he is also human, so he does have some urges and he has feelings too (even if sometimes you may think otherwise). Brutal, honest and without really taking compromises, this may feel too long for some, but will be a masterpiece for others.

This is weak. Genetic, cliched, boring script and a weak direction. The film doesn't offer any real feeling of being in Japan soon after WW2. Leto's acting is poor too. I give it generous 3 stars because I usually love anything about Japan.

The story is a fairly by the numbers mafia drama in terms of structure but,it is very well executed. The sense of high stakes is always present trough the whole film, every action has a consequence. As the script has no unnecessary filler plots, it keeps the story moving at a prefect pace.

The main themes of the movie are brotherhood and revenge, and even if the characters ar not too deep, you get to know them enough to care for them in dangerous situations and you feel some empathy for the main character in his struggle ro fit into a violent world that does not treat him as an equal Nick is not a hero or a good person at all but he shows enough principles for the audience to understand his perspective.

Is this movie unique? Not at all but it more than a time waster that deserves your attention.

This movie starts out with a ton of promise and then delivers nothing. The plot ends up failing to deliver on every front and just meanders around with little to nothing happening from beginning to end.

Huge disappointment, the overall IMDB score is way to high for this movie. It's just an empty box wrapped in nice shiny film hand delivered by Jared Leto

I wanted to love this movie from the minute I watched the trailer. It had potential. It had an AMAZING cast. I will not go into the story to spoil anything. Under a different director, this could have been a solid 10 on my book. It felt rushed at times, it wanted so hard to be a classic mobster movie like The Godfather or Goodfellas. People usually complain about a long movie, but the 2hr length of this movie was not enough to tell the story the way it should have been told. Emile Hirsch was on screen a total of 4 minutes. What a waste of talent. Leto had very few lines, which was supposed to be a way of showing he was an outsider, but made his character kind of empty at times. Tadanobu Asano was fantastic, but again his talent was wasted. The movie needed to be an hour longer, and to be more violent. I mean, these were the Yakuza, not the boyscouts! It still is a good movie, just not a great movie! Lacked a lot of backstory, and needed more character development. I would still suggest you watch it. It's better than most of the crap out there.

Who knows how Jared Leto was conned into this project but honestly he deserves a nobel peace prize for this performance. This could have been an impressive biopic if somehow the producers could have reigned it into some version of reality. Sadly, despite impressive set, costume, and cinematography, the film falls short because the plot makes absolutely no sense. It's not a bad film and the final scenes dovetail with what we must accept as the outcome of such a tale. But somehow we are left shortchanged - we don't really learn anything about what it means to be a yakuza and we don't really learn what it means to be an outsider in Japan.