People are voting emotionally.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

American Yakuza tries to be two separate movies and ends up failing in both attempts. The first side of the story is of relationship between Nick and Shuji, two men who end up becoming almost inseparable. This strand works thanks to strong acting from Viggo Mortensen and Ryo Ishibashi.Unfortunately, the more predominant side of the story is the usual "turf war" stuff involving copious shoot-outs, slow motion and people flying through the air while firing two pistols. Yes, we're in a Hollywood that had taken note of John Woo's films and was doing everything to emulate them. Unfortunately, the action sequences here are just imitation, and rather silly as a result.Although the depiction of the Yakuza in this film is rather understated - we learn little of the warrior code that we see in the likes of Takeshi's BROTHER - Ishibashi is outstanding as the gangster with a conscience.I also found the amount of story in the film to be too little. There just isn't enough intrigue to sustain the running time and including B-movie favourites like Michael Nouri and Robert Forster just isn't enough. Try HARD-BOILED instead.

B-grade directing, lousy story and bad acting from the entire cast, including Viggo Mortensen. I was expecting more when they claimed to have "technical guidance from real-life Yakuza gangsters", but this film was very disappointing indeed. Some scenes were so badly carried out I was forced to fast-forward past them. Avoid unless you have nothing better to do.

The plot offers very few surprises. It is a standard B-movie plot with formula characters.However, two things raise this movie from the usual B-movie fare.First, both Viggo Mortensen and Ryo Ishibashi turn in understated, yet thoughtful, performances that create chemistry and add a dimension of believability to their characters beyond what simply appears on-screen.Second, creative camera angles and striking visuals lend an air of intelligence and elegance to many of the key scenes in the movie.

What a fantastic action B-movie with a very interesting plot. Viggo Mortenson saves the life of a Yakuza and wins his trust and respect. Of course it's action but the whole movie shows how important friendship is and for what the tradition of the Yakuza stays. Michael Nouri from "Flashdance" and "The Hidden" and "Jackie Brown"-Star Robert Forster are also in this interesting movie. Don't miss it!