Outrage

The latest from Japanese actor-director-screenwriter Takeshi Kitano, Outrage finds Kitano playing Ôtomo, a lower-tier member of a Tokyo crime syndicate who's dispatched to terminate a pact made between his boss, Ikemoto (Jun Kunimura), and a rival gang leader, Murase (Renji Ishibashi), sealed when the men were in prison together. Ôtomo carries out his order with harsh violence, but this only serves to ignite a bloody gang war between the yakuza organizations. Kitano has enjoyed a minor cult following on this side of the Pacific for his deadpan screen persona and artistic visual style, presented in memorable works such as Sonatine (1993) and Hana-bi (1997), although Outrage is far removed from these earlier films in both style and substance. The narrative quickly becomes tiresome, strident, and confusing as a multitude of black-suited thugs run around Tokyo torturing each other with sadistic physical assaults on fingers, ears, and teeth (frankly, the R-rating seems more than a little generous). Not a necessary purchase. [Note: Blu-ray extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette (37 min.), a Q&A from the premiere with the cast (24 min.), a cast interview featuring filmmaker and star Takeshi Kitano (19 min.), a “Cast Panel Interview” (14 min.), footage from the Cannes Film Festival premiere (9 min.), trailers, and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing film.] (P. Hall)