Director: Sion Sono
Writer: Sion Sono (Screenplay) Santa Inoue (Manga)
Starring: Ryohei Suzuki, Young Dais, Nana Seino, Shunsuke Daito, Takuya Ishida
Plot: In an alternate Japan, territorial street gangs form opposing factions collectively known as the Tokyo Tribes. Merra, leader of the Wu-Ronz tribe of Bukuro crosses the line to conquer all of Tokyo. The war begins.
Tagline – Let Sion Sono take you on a tour of Tokyo’s underbelly for a night of turf wars & rap battles.
Runtime: 1 Hour 56 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Way Too Busy
Story: Tokyo Tribe starts as we meet the different Tokyo Tribes around the city, each doesn’t cross into the other’s territory until Mera (Suzuki) looks to make a play on a rival territory, this is the beginning of the one night war between the tribes.
As the war starts, people who have been victims of the gangs in the past look to get their revenge, as chaos is unleashed between the tribes.
Thoughts on Tokyo Tribe
Story – The story takes us to an alternative Tokyo where tribes run different corners of the city in their own vicious style, when one steps out of place a war between them all starts, leading to a war which will bring them into complete chaos as they look to own the streets. This is one story that is incredibly busy, it has so much going on, it is ridiculous, say that, it does make it difficult to keep up on everything going on through the film, this is one you could watch a couple of times before you get every clever cross over between the scenes involved.
Action/Musical – The action is great to watch, we get plenty of fights, blood shed added too, though the music is mostly hip hop and rap, which isn’t going to be for everyone.
Settings – The sets in the film are incredibly designed, from the run down looking streets, to the unique look to each tribes main location, right down to the private rooms, with their unique look to make them standout more than anyone thing else in the movie.
Scene of the Movie – The sets look amazing, is the highlight of the film, they add so much to each scene, even if not much takes place in some.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – While we do have strong female characters, most other women are just pieces of meat.
Final Thoughts – This is such an ambitious movie that it could go a little too far with bringing a massive gang war to life, not giving everyone enough time to make an impact in the story.
Overall: Massively Ambitious.
