Bad City: A crime drama with a rough intense and dirty feeling of the city called Kaiko City which is referred to as Crime City. The main plot of the story concerns a corrupt businessman who is a mayoral candidate and who starts killing the members of the mafia in order to guarantee his authority. To this, a retired police captain, Torada Makoto (Ozawa Hitoshi plays the role with great force), is set free on secret and charged with heading a special investigation team on dismantling the criminal ring. The movie is an excellent piece of work that is able to touch on the themes of morality, corruption and redemption and it engrosses the audience into the world where justice is lost and survival is war.
The performance by Ozawa Hitoshi is spectacular, as it is a haunted man with determination and feeling of duty. The film is also made to look remarkably authentic by the fact that Ozawa does not use any CGI and stunt doubles, making the action scenes and emotional moments look very visceral and tangible. Bad City uses a black-and-white cinematography and dirty production design to create the feeling of the ugliness of the street in the city, and the tense music enhances the mood of urgency and danger. The plot progression of the story is inexorable but balances a mix of high-action scenes with less dramatic scenes that focus on the ethical nature of decisions made by the characters.
Probably the most compelling was that the film was a chilling depiction of the weaknesses of humanity and their ethical grey areas. It left me excited and reflective and underlined the strength of people in an unjust system. Although the film takes patience, the viewers are rewarded with the sincerity and bare emotionalism of the film, Bad City. After all, it is a great investigation of justice, morality and human spirit in the middle of chaos and it creates a great impression even after the credits are over.
