Highly Overrated But Still Good

Good start, but then it gets ruined

A Major Disappointment

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Somehow I had thoughts about Leon The Professional when I watched this film. Just the bit parts about how a girl chances upon the professional killer and struck a friendship with him. Here, a girl chances upon a press-hyped hit-man, and begins a romantic relationship.There's something peculiar about the modus operandus of the hit-man, K (Shinji Takeda), in this movie. He'll don a pair of Ultraman inspired spectacles to blur his own vision deliberately, before whipping out his specially crafted pistol (ok, no naughty thoughts here), and dispatches his prey. He doesn't make money for performing his hits, but rather rewards his own ego by shooting at anyone who irritates him at that point. Which makes him rather hard for the cops to predict where and who he'll strike next, and this frustrates the authorities. It doesn't help that the press builds up the hype of this crazy, masked "four-eyed" vigilante, and despite having a photo-kit of his face plastered on the front page, this anti-hero eludes the cops and remains an enigma.Cue cute Japanese schoolgirl with huge expressive eyes (drool) Hinano (Hinano Yoshikawa), whose brother happened to be a cop taking on the case. On one hand, she's attracted to him, though she does not condone his violent acts, and on the other hand, wonders if she should follow her civic duty and report him to the police, or her brother. Bad boys almost always get the cute chicks I'd say.The movie has the look and feel of a classy indie, and being a French-Japanese production, it has this Euro-techno soundtrack infused, which I enjoy. Oh, and legendary Takeshi Kitano has a cameo as well, as what else, a Yakuza member. But don't hold your breaths as he only appears towards the end, and doesn't do much in his scene. The best scene in the entire movie will probably belong to the tense moment between K and Hinano as they square off and a piece of trivia gets unveiled. That one will make you go "ahhh...", while other scenes which you will probably enjoy are those scenes where K goes on his spree. Other than that, it's most plain lovey-dovey talk between lovers.Code 3 DVD contains no extra features, except for the usual English subtitles, a photo still gallery and the interactive scene selection. There are also some trailers (its own and other kinky films) included, but nothing worth a closer look.

"Tokyo Eyes" tells of a 17 year old Japanese girl who falls in like with a man being hunted by her big bro who is a cop. This lame flick is about 50% filler and 50% talk, talk, and more talk. You'll get to see the less than stellar cast of three as they talk on the bus, talk and play video games, talk and get a haircut, talk and walk and walk and talk, talk on cell phones, hang out and talk, etc. as you read subtitles waiting for something to happen. The thin wisp of a story is not sufficient to support a film with low end production value, a meager cast, and no action, no romance, no sex or nudity, no heavy drama...just incessant yadayadayada'ing. (C-)

This is an intriguing film in its early running. Its protagonist is driven by estrangement to aberrant behavior, and his budding relation with a kindred spirit makes for a potentially unusual story. But, ultimately it falls flat, never delivering any real punch. The acting is a little light weight to boot, too. Tekeshi Kitano has a near cameo role which does nothing for the momentum of the film, playing a Yakuza who shows up to retrieve a gun, and is more a distraction than anything else. There are many better Japanese films directed by real Japanese.

When I saw the first scenes I had other Japanese movies ( e.g. Hanabi ) in my mind. I was somewhat disappointed because this is a French love film more like "Salt on our Skin" or Episodes of the Three Colors Trilogy. This means no violence, no action. In the end I came to like the film for exactly this fact.My recommendation: watch this film with the one you love, so you have got something to do during the lengthy parts.