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Yatter Man
Based on the anime from the 70's, Yatterman
has been brought up to date with a smooth and groovy mix of live action
and CGI. Considered a bit daring even back in the 70's with sexual
innuendo and off colour comments, nothing much has changed from the
original recipe and from what I take from this movie, that is a good
thing!
Toy shop owners Gan and Ai are superheroes in disguise named Yatterman 1
& 2, fighting crime whenever evil shows it's ugly head and having a
great time while they do it. With the assistance of their robot dog
Yatterwoof, it's a no holds barred slug fest that is such a blaze of
colour that you would be forgiven for wondering if someone had slipped
director Takashi Miike some psychedelics before he got behind the
camera.
A change from the anime which for the purposes of the movie is welcome,
is that Yatterman's nemesis, the Doronbow gang are sick of being
defeated by Yatterman every time they go up against them. Lead by Lady
Doronjo, the stakes are upped in order to appeal to a new audience.
Director Miike has also made sure that you the audience is subjected to
such a visual feast of colour and weird things to look at during the
movie that I am sure that just the same as I did, will actually question
if you saw what you thought you saw. Yatterman must find four pieces
from a magical skull before the Doronbow do and take over the world.
The feature is a delight from start to finish, and a big part of that is
due to the gorgeous Kyoko Fukada who plays the role of Lady Doronjo and
the sheer delight she brings to the character in being "evil". No matter
what goes on in the movie, there is a feeling that prevails that no
matter how badly things might appear to be going, all is going to work
out in the long run. This is intentional on the part of Takashi Miike
who got the inspiration from the original cartoon and it's upbeat nature
despite mushroom clouds blowing up nearly every show.
Yatterman is a breath of fresh air in a time that even superhero movies
are taking themselves a tad too seriously. Its colourful, fun and a
delight to watch the whole way through from start to finish
Video quality is nice and clear throughout this feature and is presented
in 16:9 aspect ration. Audio is 5.1 surround sound with Japanese audio
and English subtitles.
Fans of Miike's horror movies, rest easy. Interviewed at New York Comic
Con to promote Yatterman, the director of Ichi the Killer had this to
say:
""I'm sure I'll end up making some more horror films in the future –
just with the natural flow of things. Maybe we'll make a film like 'Ichi
the Killer,' but powered up, taken to the next level."
Special Features:
Making of Yatterman
Cast & Crew Interviews
Theatrical Trailer |
