KAIJI 2: THE ULTIMATE GAMBLER 2 (2011)

Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: Toya Sato
Cast: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Yûsuke Iseya, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Katsuhisa Namase, Teruyuki Kagawa, Hayato Kakizawa, Suzuki Matsuo, Ken Mitsuishi, Kyusaku Shimada
RunTime: 2 hrs 17 mins
Released By:  Cathay-Keris Films & Encore Films
Rating: PG
Official Website: http://www.kaiji-movie.jp/

Opening Day: 17 November 2011

Synopsis: The much-anticipated sequel to the hit movie, KAIJI, is about to hit theaters. KAIJI 2 is a feature film adaptation of arguably the most popular episode “The Greed Swamp” from the original comic book series. Surviving one death-defying game after another, Kaiji Ito (Tatsuya Fujiwara) manages to erase all of his debts, but finds himself once again choking under a new mountain of debt. Eager for another shot at turning his fortunes around for good, Kaiji earns a chance to take on a monster pachinko machine with a billion yen payout a beast of a machine dubbed “The Swamp”. Under the tight control of the illegal casino’s ruthless manager, Seiya Ichijo (Yusuke Iseya), the machine is 100 percent unbeatable. What’s more, a dark and telling secret exists between Ichijo and Kaiji...

Movie Review:

Thankfully, the wait is finally over! After two years, Kaiji Ito is back and better.

Kaiji 2 picks up from where the previous movie ended, and wastes no effort in retelling what was already told. Hence, it could be a little confusing for viewers who missed out Kaiji. However, the flashbacks do provide the viewers with a little knowledge of what happened, and is sufficient for one to enjoy the movie. Cutting back on setting up the background for Kaiji 2 allowed more packed action and sequences.

Kaiji Ito (Tatsuya Fujiwara) finds himself deep in debt again, and works underground for Teai (Note: a leading capitalistic company that has loaned them money) with fellow “make inu” (loosely translates to losers), who apparently lost their purpose of living. Now that Kaiji earned himself the chance to go above the grounds, he is entrusted with a sum of money by his mates, who are betting their final hopes on him so that he could get ¥200 million (S$3.3 million) within 14 days, clear all their debts, and redeem new lives. Without a doubt, Kaiji was set on gambling in desperate hopes to obtain that huge amount of money. Kaiji bumped into Tonegawa (Teruyuki Kagawa), who lost to him in the last gambling showdown in the last movie. Tonegawa gave Kaiji an invitation to an exclusive gambling club, where the key to getting ¥200 million lies. Ultimately he has to outwit the gambling club manager, Seiya Ichizo (Yusuke Iseya), in order to win the grand prize at the Monster Pachinko Machine aka The Swamp.

Kaiji 2 follows the previous themes in Kaiji, with a good deal of deceptions, swinging loyalties, friends turning into enemies and vice versa. This time it is more exciting to watch because all the characters are in a complicated web of correlations, namely Yumi Ishida (Yuriko Yoshitaka) the daughter of a man who was killed by Teai, Seiya Ichizo who survived the Brave Men’s Road to rise up in Teai, Kaiji Ito who got enslaved by Teai, and Tonegawa who was once employed but thrown into the ashes by Teai. Then there are also other characters who got involved by Teai. As symbolic as it is, this probably mirror some truth in today’s capitalistic society, suggesting that human’s weaknesses are being capitalized on (predominantly in this movie, capitalizing on human’s greed).

On another note, Tatsuya Fujiwara’s acting in this film is significantly better than what it was two years ago or even tracing back to the time to his role in Death Note. This star has been steadily gaining popularity over the years from all over since Death Note, with Japanese teenage girls crowning him as Ikemen (good looking guy). Yusuke Iseya steals the limelight as well. As the cunning manager of the gambling club, he is unexpectedly comical and entertaining and inevitably perks up the film. This leads on to the fact that the film, unlike other feature films, is guilty of anime-styled improvisation, with exaggerated expressions and all. However arguably, that is what sets it apart from other films and make it so ‘laugh out loud’.

As of many Japanese movies, the ending is often redundantly lengthy. This film is no exception. It does kill the movie a little as the focus got lost. Tested and proven, a leopard doesn’t change its spots. Likewise, Kaiji stays true to who he is, all the way till the end. Anyway, if you do follow Japanese drama or movies along this genre, you would probably find Kaiji pretty similar to the leading female character in Liar Game, Nao. With that, you can probably guess what happened in the end! 

Movie Rating:

(As suggested by Tatsuya Fujiwara himself, watch Kaiji 2 as a movie primarily intended for entertainment. Kaiji is back, wittier and more entertaining!)

Review by Tho Shu Ling