Black Angel Vol. 1Stories of the Tokyo underworld, of guns, girls, sex and drugs, dancing, intrigue and plots, and even arcade games--Black Angel Vol. 1 (Kuro no tenshi in Japan) is a story which is cut from the mold of the "deadly femme" style of action films of Japan, overblown and overflowing with verve, a decidedly guilty pleasure and an unquestionably categorized entry into the "B-movie" level of exploitation flicks. But that's not to say that Black Angel Vol. 1 doesn't entertain; I've always found a certain soft spot for the kind of crazy yakuza movies willing to sacrifice a little taste and plausibility in favor of a gutsy desire to get a little messy.
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The story of Black Angel Vol. 1 is about Ikko (Riona Hazuki), a young girl whose father is a powerful yakuza don, who is assassinated along with his wife.; Ikko is saved and delivered to a trusted guardian, Mayo (Reiko Takashima), who sends her to safety in America. Jump ahead fourteen years, and Ikko returns with her hip-hop breakdancing amigo, Zille (Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi), to seek vengeance upon the key players in the mob which killed her parents and ruined her life. In on the conspiracy to depose and usurp the power away from Ikko's family are her half-sister, Chiaki (Miyuki Ono), who is jealous that Ikko will get all the family fortune, as well as Nogi (Jinpachi Nezu), a slithering snake of an opportunist who knows when to seize his opportunity. Alongside these two is a corrupt cop, Onda (Kippei Shîna), who aids in the coup, but for reasons he makes decidedly obscure. Chiaki's rationale for cooperating with Nogi to assassinate the young Ikko is because she feels that her vengeance is justified for what her father did to her mother, which mirrors Ikko's revenge to an extent. Compare this with Mayo's late-game reclamation to revitalize Ikko, repent for her transgressions, and get her own kind of vengeance on Nogi, and it becomes apparent that all major female characters in Black Angel Vol. 1 are driven by revenge to some extent. Ikko models her style of espionage and professional assassination and gangbusting after the "black angel" who saved her as a child--she even appropriates the name at the onset of her rampage. And when Mayo dreams of her abuse at the hands of Nogi, it parallels Ikko's devastating treatment by the crime boss, and serves as an undercurrent for their mutual resurrection as avenging angels. However, there is little to reinforce any sense that Black Angel Vol. 1 claims to empower women--even if they are often savants with the pistol--because they tend to be ultimately driven by their emotions to shoot up the bad guys. Although it would be a bit far to say that Black Angel Vol. 1 is blatantly misogynistic, it is true that the ladies in the film do get roughed up a lot before they are able to deliver judgment unto the yakuza thugs which never possess any kind of redeeming qualities, save that they can soak up plenty of Ikko's and Mayo's bullets at least.
I suppose the moral of Black Angel Vol. 1 is that they don't all have to be Oscar winners--not the literal moral of the film; that would be that vengeance is a consuming fire which devours you and all in your path, but I digress. The charm of the film is that kind of indulgent element, a kind of goofy personality, taking itself very seriously at times, even when there is a copious amount of hammy overacting and exaggerated action set pieces. Lots of moments come across as comedy, such as when Ikko and Zille periodically break into broken English--which sounds more like a native Japanese trying to speak English than people who actually spent more than half their lives in America trying to speak it, sometimes for nothing more than the sole purpose of uttering a colorful curse word. Also, Zille and Ikko's breakdancing routine in the fancy hotel would be embarrassing enough at a few seconds, but lasts upwards of a few minutes; and a playful moment with Zille's highly questionable taste in music is sweet, but feels more at home in a YouTube video. And how can you not find some overindulgent panache and gusto in a film which takes a moment to have a vengeful assassination attempt in a strip club, performed in a slow-motion ballet of bullets, accompanied by an aria? Black Angel Vol. 1 is a tale of babes and bullets, of revenge upon the evil gangsters by the women who suffered under them. The film builds to a bloody climax which made me smirk at the very "Hamlet"-like nature of the conclusion, performed with great seriousness. Black Angel Vol. 1 never quite goes so far into the realm of unintentional comedy, but should be savored as one savors Doritos--a snack that sometimes you just crave, which isn't really good for you and may not really leave you feeling satisfied, but fulfills a need beyond simple nutrition or the inner gourmand. And besides, we all need a little junk food now and again.
Recommended for: Fans of kitschy exploitation flicks about the mob and the women who shoot them out of divine retribution. With a lot of gunfire, inflated drama, and questionable plot turns, it isn't going to win any narrative accolades, but it is a fun way to kill some time and nosh on some corn nuts.
I suppose the moral of Black Angel Vol. 1 is that they don't all have to be Oscar winners--not the literal moral of the film; that would be that vengeance is a consuming fire which devours you and all in your path, but I digress. The charm of the film is that kind of indulgent element, a kind of goofy personality, taking itself very seriously at times, even when there is a copious amount of hammy overacting and exaggerated action set pieces. Lots of moments come across as comedy, such as when Ikko and Zille periodically break into broken English--which sounds more like a native Japanese trying to speak English than people who actually spent more than half their lives in America trying to speak it, sometimes for nothing more than the sole purpose of uttering a colorful curse word. Also, Zille and Ikko's breakdancing routine in the fancy hotel would be embarrassing enough at a few seconds, but lasts upwards of a few minutes; and a playful moment with Zille's highly questionable taste in music is sweet, but feels more at home in a YouTube video. And how can you not find some overindulgent panache and gusto in a film which takes a moment to have a vengeful assassination attempt in a strip club, performed in a slow-motion ballet of bullets, accompanied by an aria? Black Angel Vol. 1 is a tale of babes and bullets, of revenge upon the evil gangsters by the women who suffered under them. The film builds to a bloody climax which made me smirk at the very "Hamlet"-like nature of the conclusion, performed with great seriousness. Black Angel Vol. 1 never quite goes so far into the realm of unintentional comedy, but should be savored as one savors Doritos--a snack that sometimes you just crave, which isn't really good for you and may not really leave you feeling satisfied, but fulfills a need beyond simple nutrition or the inner gourmand. And besides, we all need a little junk food now and again.
Recommended for: Fans of kitschy exploitation flicks about the mob and the women who shoot them out of divine retribution. With a lot of gunfire, inflated drama, and questionable plot turns, it isn't going to win any narrative accolades, but it is a fun way to kill some time and nosh on some corn nuts.