Movie review by: Alvin James
Click here for pictures Starring: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Yamamoto
Mirai, Nong Hong,
Eric Tsang, Kathy Chow
Directed by Lee Chi Ngai, Taneda Yohei.
Music by Mooi Lam Mau.
Written by Hase Seisyu.
Kabukicho is a forgotten world where foreigners from all around Asia gathers. Gangsters of
Chinese Triad Society, illegal immigrants and social outcasts all flock to this place,
where they struggle and fight against each other for money, power and territory. The
struggles which never ends year in, year out.
In this fabulous story of love and betrayal, Ryu Kenichi (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is a
Taiwanese and Japanese mixed, lives in Kabukicho who makes a living out of selling and
distributing stolen goods. His identity as a mixed person makes him a social outcast, one
who is neither accepted by the Japanese nor Chinese. Even his God-Father Yeung Wai Man, a
Taiwanese triad leader places no trust in him. He trusted nobody and nobody trusted him.
He depends only to himself and to human greeds which is of interest to him. He is
considered as a bat, a bat that has flown into the darkness surrounded by all kinds of
dangers using its senses to guide itself.
At the moment, Kabukicho is controlled by three gangs. Yuan Shing Gui, the Shanghai
triad gang leader, Tsui Fu, Beijing triad gang leader and Yeung Wai Man, from the Taiwan
triad gang leader. Their territory hangs in a delicate balance. But this delicate balance
is upseted by the return of Ng Fu Chun, Kenichi's former partner. Fu Chun had disapeared
after killing a member of Yuan Shing Gui's gang. An arrangement was then made that Kenichi
was to return Fu Chun to Yuan within three days and the penalty for failing would be
death.
Suddenly, A mysterious girl named Natsumi appears in the scene and Kenichi gets deeply
attracted to her. Though he is aware that she is a dangerous girl. Kenichi gets framed
later and has to leave Kabukicho with Natsumi. He plans a perfect scheme in order to get
back to Kabukicho.
However, his plan does not run smoothly and in the end he is stirred up with the
conflicts which happens. He later figures out the entire idea of what was happening and to
his suprise, it was Yeung Wai Mun (his God-Father) who was the mastermind behind all this
and had planned to become the ultimate boss of Kabukicho. He was being used and in some
way or another he had to change this.