Ryûketsu no kôsô

Despite a great cast, solid direction and a stimulating soundtrack this crime drama falls short with its simplistic & somewhat improbable storyline, it is a familiar tale one told in countless yakuza films. Nikkatsu studio's devotion to capturing the youth market throughout this era may have produced lively entertaining action films. However an over emphasis on jazzy style overrides serious substance. Here the centre of the typical crime drama hinges on a most unlikely scenario. Having witnessed a major indiscretion a gang member disregards his strict yakuza code, placing his own self interest ahead of his family syndicate. From the outset I expected not much from the film once the production company credits were revealed & in the end that certainly was the case...