Originally published July 15, 2022: The last several years have seen a notable of proliferation of the newest J-wave of action cinema titles out of Japan. To this end, films like the HiGH&LOW franchise which remains on-going to this day, stars and figures like Shun Oguri, Tak Sakaguchi, Takumi Kitamura and Masanori Mimoto, and directors like Kensuke Sonomura have all been welcome assets amidst the emerging talents of late, and it’s not over yet with other filmmakers and performers bound to leave their mark in the coming weeks and months. This especially goes for director Hugo Sakamoto, who has been increasingly influential in his craft for at least six years to date, having since made waves stateside at Fantastic Fest last year with his most recent endeavor, Baby Assassins.
The film is still trekking the festival circuit in North America, and in no short order looks to be a solid milestone for its director following its domestic success. The same goes for the film’s two principal cast members with whom he reunites following Sakamoto’s last film, A Janitor, which looks equally impressive by way of its trailer. This ultimately brings our attention to Akari Takaishi, a stage actress who also has other credits in film and television, and Saori Izawa, a stunt performer who made her acting debut in A Janitor and whose credits in the stunt field include working with the likes of Keishi Otomo (Rurouni Kenshin franchise), Shinsuke Sato (Kingdom), and Yuji Shimomura (Re:Born), a point that also brings back to action director Sonomura, who serves under Shimomura’s U’den Flame Works banner.
That level of experience combined with Sakamoto’s directing caliber invites any and all curious onlookers to watch and observe the playful, quirky and often charismatic performances amidst the chemistry shared between Takaishi and Izawa who star in the respective roles of Chisato and Mahiro, two high schoolers working as fulltime assassins under the support of a secret organization. It’s one that insures its young workers from providing room and board, to weapons, hits and clean-ups – a top-to-bottom service that unfortunately extends only until employees graduate and/or turn twenty.
That’s where our story comes in, with both girls left no choice but to find and sift through as many job applications and interviews as they can. As it stands though, it’s hard for them both to keep any jobs they do land for long periods of time. Why? They’re both sociopaths. Mahiro is more of an introvert and has a hard time communicating with anyone except her roommate, whereas Chisato is more tolerant and willing to deal with people until someone says the wrong thing and she snaps, or certain precarious circumstances get in the way, including and especially one such moment when an overzealous Yakuza boss and his son try to have their way with Chisato’s co-workers at her latest restaurant gig.
You can imagine that what happens next only sets viewers up for an exciting ten-minute thrillride for the film’s finale with both actors double-teaming their way through a small army of Yakuza hitman, led by a stark-raving mad princess who has a knack for sniffing her way to the truth. The award for outstanding fisticuffs here assuredly goes to Izawa who bookends the film on both ends with stellar action performance, including an exceptional match-up that pits her against the aforementioned Mimoto who plays one of the main Yakuza enforcers. The action sequences are just as fast-paced and hard-hitting, and accentuate what I love most about his style of choreography in terms of energy and roughness.
What signifies the film most is the relationship between Mahiro and Chisato. Like all roommates, they’re there for each other when the moment requires it, although they do have their share of disagreements. The most discerning example of this is scene during a social gathering with restaurant co-workers, and the moment Chisato and Mahiro stare at each other amidst the cheery mood brings about stark revelation, one that Mahiro isn’t quite ready to confront yet as a killer whose social ineptitude will most likely be her downfall. This particular plot point is one of many in Baby Assassins that underscores the film as a wholly palatable a coming-of-age tale about self-realization, told through an action comedy lens with a cast that delivers grade-A performances across the board.
If you loved films like Hydra and enjoyed A Janitor or any of Sakamoto’s works, more than likely you’re gonna want Baby Assassins in your moviegoing purview. This film is an absolute keeper for action fans and leaves room for a potential sequel, with Takaishi showing immense adaptability to her latest role in the action genre, with Izawa standing as a pure and pleasant reminder of the veracity of talent that lays bare in the stunt community, and for Sakamoto who rightly earns his praise as an unreservedly capable filmmaker who no one should be passing up.
Baby Assassins will next screen on Saturday, July 16 for Fantasia Festival at the Auditorium des diplômés de la SGWU (Théâtre Hall) at 2:05pm. Well Go USA Entertainment is debuting the official U.S. trailer at Comic Con International next week and will premiere the film exclusively on the martial arts streaming service Hi-YAH! on Friday, July 22, before hitting Digital & Blu-ray on August 16.