Killing For The Prosecution is a 2018 film that was based off Shizukui Shusuke's novel of the same name. The film was directed and rewritten by Harada Masato while for the first time ever Johny's Associates actors Kazunari Ninomiya and Takuya Kimura(Blade of the Immortal) had the opportunity to act together. No one saw this joint project coming so it caused a lot of buzz in Japan at the time of release. Nino is still very much loved in Japan as Takuya tries to find his footing again after loosing fans because of legendary group SMAP's disbandment. Yoshitaka Yuriko(Story of Yonosuke, GANTZ, Midsummer Formula) also costars in the film with Matsushige Yutaka.
A young public prosecutor gets to work with another prosecutor who he sees as his idol. When he us assigned to work with the man, he finds that many of his ideologies changed from what he though he believed causing the two men to but heads. They still mange to work together on violent murder cases until one case connects back to the lead prosecutor while the young prosecutor tries to prove there's a chance of innocence in the case.
Killing For The Prosecution has a ton of bad reviews online. These reviews ALMOST stopped me from buying this film because many people had bad things to say. In the end, I trusted myself and bought the film anyway. Nino never is in bad films for the most part….. Moving on, Killing For The Prosecution is far from being a grand masterpiece without flaws. Oh, there are a lot of flaws that clearly are placed in this film on purpose. Well, except t for the sloppy time change at the beginning of the film that could have been executed better in my opinion. I do agree with some comments people had in their reviews. For example, the film really does feel like a drama special Japanese TV dramas have before or after a drama airs just for promotion but some reviews had me under the impression that this film was going to unfold like a big debate where the characters sit discussing what they want to do without actually doing anything. Boy was I wrong. There contains a good amount of dialogue that was made to be exciting due to the performances. We all have to take a goof look at ourselves to remember those times we sat watching anime series such as Death Note where ninety nine percent of the action was Light thinking what his next move would be. It sometimes took a while for him to take action however, the fun came in at the thrill of waiting for him to finally act. Killing For The Prosecution has the exact thrill that builds up inside the viewer who watches the two prosecutors go head to head. Things take a serious left turn off a dark road which there was no turning back from. What really tripped me out was how people made this film out to be boring. So much is there for you to stick your teeth into. Even the end was perfect to me. It wasn't left hanging….. That right there was a harsh reality of life. Life will pull the rug out from under you and kick you in the gut at the same time. You just have to build a thick skin against the punches. Long story short, I enjoyed Killing For The Prosecution more than what I thought I would. MUCH more than I thought I would.
The acting from Nino and Takuya made this film by a landslide. Any problems the story had were overlooked once the focus goes to the two main characters. They're scenes together ooze out a strong building tension that makes you focus more on what is being said between them. It was cool to see Nino act with an actor who was on the same level as him ability wise. I know he must have had a lot of fun. Takuya's acting is so forceful in this film that I thought he might over take Nino performance but our little Petter Pan boy who never ages held his own in all those scenes. His character goes though a change in his desperation that Nino conveys so well. Takuya's gaze can shoot daggers at a person. I also noticed how sharp his gaze can be in other stuff his been in. All the cast does very well too, though these two still the show. From strange murderers to sneaky Prosecutors, These characters are so crafty when you think about it.
The way in which the cameraman decided to shoot some scenes from up above and far away gave viewers a new take on the action. Especially during the forest scene. Nothing else looks too different other than that. Many shots used in this film are similar to courtroom dramas/movies you would see anywhere. Only thing I can remember that caught my eye was the angles used in some scenes.
Fans of Nino will like this film. He's fantastic just like in his other productions. The script isn't bad but wouldn't be as good without Nino and Takuya. Killing For The Prosecution makes me want to go revisit the Death Note series again.[INSERT ME LAUGHING.]
No comments:
Post a Comment