Bad Movie Mini-Review: Sukiyaki Western Django
Quentin Tarantino is a funny guy. He brings us all sorts of goof-ball stuff that can be classified only as "bad movie fare". As an aficionado of bad movies, I appreciate his efforts. Sukiyaki Western Django is no exception. In this he has enlisted a fairly well-known (in Japan) action movie director to tell the terrible tale.
The premise is quite lofty from a Serious Movie Buff™ point of view. Do a loose remake of A Fistful of Dollars with all Japanese actors dressed up as cowboys in a Western U.S. town that prominently features Japanese architecture. Seeing as A Fistful of Dollars is a remake of Akira Kurosawa's classic Yojimbo, this really is a pretty funny starting point for the type of movie we get here. The opening scene with Quentin himself appearing in a cardboard prop town with a western backdrop dominated by a distinctly cardboard Mount Fuji grabs the viewer and leaves him wondering just the heck he is getting into.
After a little tomfoolery by Q himself, we finally open on the real movie with relief that it is actually shot on location somewhere. The rival Red and White clan/gangs that run the desolate town are dressed in a nice combination of "cowboy garb meets street racer." I actually like the look. The protagonist wears standard brown drab cowboy gear such that he stands out as not belonging to either gang. The actors are young Japanese dudes speaking English with heavy heavy Japanese accents, straining at times during the dialog. They all brandish six-guns and rifles, with a smattering of katanas and bows thrown in.
It's a pretty standard "anti-hero versus double bad guys for a butt-load of gold" type of cowboy story with a little Romeo and Juliet back story, mixed with modern Japanese action flick styling. I liked it and give it a "thumb's up" for those who like spaghetti Westerns, B-movies, and strange mash-ups of weird crap. I like that kind of stuff.
The premise is quite lofty from a Serious Movie Buff™ point of view. Do a loose remake of A Fistful of Dollars with all Japanese actors dressed up as cowboys in a Western U.S. town that prominently features Japanese architecture. Seeing as A Fistful of Dollars is a remake of Akira Kurosawa's classic Yojimbo, this really is a pretty funny starting point for the type of movie we get here. The opening scene with Quentin himself appearing in a cardboard prop town with a western backdrop dominated by a distinctly cardboard Mount Fuji grabs the viewer and leaves him wondering just the heck he is getting into.
After a little tomfoolery by Q himself, we finally open on the real movie with relief that it is actually shot on location somewhere. The rival Red and White clan/gangs that run the desolate town are dressed in a nice combination of "cowboy garb meets street racer." I actually like the look. The protagonist wears standard brown drab cowboy gear such that he stands out as not belonging to either gang. The actors are young Japanese dudes speaking English with heavy heavy Japanese accents, straining at times during the dialog. They all brandish six-guns and rifles, with a smattering of katanas and bows thrown in.
It's a pretty standard "anti-hero versus double bad guys for a butt-load of gold" type of cowboy story with a little Romeo and Juliet back story, mixed with modern Japanese action flick styling. I liked it and give it a "thumb's up" for those who like spaghetti Westerns, B-movies, and strange mash-ups of weird crap. I like that kind of stuff.
posted by Rhett in SoCal at 3:03 PM
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