The Specials enjoyed its Canadian Premiere for the 30th edition of Fantasia International Film Festival.
It’s been the hottest minute since I’d seen actor Kippei Shiina in a movie, so getting to watch The Specials this year was a delight. The film also has a solid cast in Daisuke Sakuma of Snow Man and NCT member Yuta of HiGH&LOW: THE WORST X fame, as well as Sho Aoyagi who I’ve enjoyed since screening Tatara Samurai years ago. Topping off the main roster is none other than Hitoshi Ozawa, longstanding V-Cinema staple and credited in recent releases like Bad City and the Nihon Toitsu franchise.
The quintet is joined by Eiji Uchida in one of two titles currently situating at Fantasia Festival this year. Uchida crafts what primarily looks to be an upbeat fish-out-of-water crime tale about five underworld hitmen taking desperate measures to target rival crimeboss Honjo (Renji Ishibashi) and eliminate him for good. Together, they enlist the help of Asuka (Urara), a child with a passion for dancing who volunteers to coach them so they can infiltrate the competition where Honjo’s daughter performs and take him out.
Sounds simple enough, correct? Well, that’s only if you’ve taken this summary at face value; Regarding the team in question – Kumashiro (Shiina), Shin (Aoyagi), Kiryu (Yuta), Murasame (Ozawa), and Daiya (Sakuma) – as far as Asuka knows, Daiya is a simple caretaker at an orphanage where she resides and all she’s doing is helping a friend. From that point on, it’s up to the burgeoning team to keep up the act long enough to see the job through, which, if their personal insecurities, bitter trade rivalries and past demons are of any hint, will be their biggest test yet.
Save for the film’s opening, I didn’t really expect The Specials to be as stimulating as it was for most of the way. As a crime comedy piece with spells of music and piquant introspection, Uchida delivers a fine flick with enough darkness to make the film’s fluffier moments amiable to the violence and drama.
Shiina leads the way in the role of Kumashiro whose loyalty to his yakuza family keeps him on the straight and narrow. Yuta and Aoyagi are solid in their roles as is co-lead Ozawa whose Murasame is a down-and-out ex-con/ex-Yakuza resigned to washing and waxing cars before Kumashiro approaches him.
Conveniently, almost each character is given a lynchpin moment in their origins pertaining to dance and why they all now seem to hate it. This aspect of the film and more are additionally handed to Daiya’s story as it all culminates who he was as a child and the big decision he made the night he retired from being an underworld assassin. Oddly though, the most traumatic moment in his particular story is presented to us only once and never really addressed again, so I thought that was kind of a stumble.
Much of the writing picks up along the way where, long after Asuka generously christens her team accordingly with its new name, the gang are eventually able to build camaraderie with one another. Even the well-aged Murasame finds himself eager to learn how to do the running man, which results in Kiryu putting on a show of his own for a small room of bar patrons.
The best part for me in this scene is when Shin steps up to Murasame’s defense when a trio of hoodlums try to harass him, although as far as bests go, I can’t proceed without mentioning that seeing the cast perform to “Flyday Chinatown” was what put the biggest smile on my face. The Covid-19 pandemic had most of us in our own bubbles and Citypop became more and more life-changing for me, so you’re all welcome to picture me dancing in my seat like a happy dork. It’s fine. I’m cool with it.
Not to be overlooked either are a slew of palatable and cool action sequences that whet the appetite courtesy of stunt coordinator Hiroyuki Yoshida (11 Rebels, Mumon: The Land Of Stealth). Action sequences are comprised of slick gun battles throughout, with ample doses of the red stuff if you’re not too squeamish, although you’re perfectly fine if you’re the least bit surprised at the film’s tone in this regard.
Sakuma is especially terrific in standout form as well, particularly as his character, Daiya, is given more ample focus as it pertains to his care for Asuka. I will say, however, not to get too attached to all of the characters, because someone is bound to buy it amid all the flying bullets and whatnot, mainly when the final act occurs and a major plot twist happens that turns the entirety of this film into a not-so-subtle revenge flick.
The Specials is a fun and feasibly entertaining action comedy crime flick. If you’re able to overlook some of the hangups and tonal dissonance in the film’s delivery, it runs fairly well for what it promises. It’s lighthearted enough that you can enjoy the dance sequences, drama and laughs, and it’s punctuated precisely by the kind of Japanese action that’s made the genre so prolific in the region for audiences the world over.