Gun Crazy: A Woman From Nowhere

Publisher
ADV
Director
Atsushi Muroga
Production
Genon Entertainment, Q Movie
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Film
Running time
70 mins
Year
2002

Gun Crazy: A Woman From Nowhere

By John Huxley
2nd Dec 04

Gun Crazy opens with a simple white on black text reading something like 'A fable of a woman with guns'. And you don't need to know much more than that, really. Ryoko Yonekura (no, don't worry, I don't know who she is either) plays a trigger-happy woman dressed in figure-hugging black leather biker gear and she shoots people. Lots of people.

Arriving in a backwater town divided by the foreboding US military presence, it's all too clear to the locals that Ryoko's character Saki is yet another bounty hunter; a gun for hire who wants to take the bounty on local crime lord Tojo's head for herself. But she'll have a hard time getting it; Tojo is an influential man protected by the US military and the Japanese police are powerless as long as he remains confined to his house inside US territory. Undeterred, Saki enlists the suspect aid of a local mechanic and a washed-up, drunk policeman to help her plan an elaborate scheme she hopes will bring Tojo out of hiding.

Director Atsushi Muroga doesn't make any attempts to disguise Gun Crazy's linage, this is clearly influenced by spaghetti westerns and in turn the samurai films that helped to spawn that particular sub-genre. Automatics replace revolvers and katanas, the US military takes the place of the Mexicans and the hero's trusty steed is replaced by the heroine's Harley Davidson motor bike. There are a few crucial differences that separate Gun Crazy from the likes of A Fistful of Dollars, but otherwise this is a faithful update of a classic piece of film-making. That's all well and good, but really, does this deserve to be mentioned alongside A Fistful of Dollars and Yojimbo?

There's certainly enough here to keep the average film buff busy spotting all the various parallels, but when you take a step back and view the film as a standalone piece away from this illustrious lineage it becomes apparent that something is missing. Akira Kurosawa's samurai epics worked not only because they're terrific films but also because the periodic setting is so compelling. Likewise, despite being near carbon-copies of Kurosawa's earlier films Sergio Leone's westerns set themselves apart thanks to a unique score and a charismatic lead. Gun Crazy attempts to repeat this feat by moving the story to modern day Japan and replacing the 'man with no name' with an attractive female character (called Saki, actually). Unfortunately it falls just wide of the mark, and despite Saki's trademark biker gear and false leg, you're unlikely to remember this film in years to come.

The action scenes are vibrant and fast paced but lack the originality and ingenuity to really make an impact. Thankfully we're spared the pseudo-matrix guff, although the heroine's favoured dual pistol dive is far from Takeshi Kitano's sparse brutality. Based on the most simple of stories as Gun Crazy is, I doubt the plot alone will be enough to see you through to the final credits. That said, Muroga does well to engineer a couple of twists and turns that may come as a surprise to some, including a hackneyed yet effective subplot told in flashback that concludes, amusingly, in a most unexpectedly ridiculous fashion. You'll just have to watch it for yourself to discover exactly what this entails; one of those double take, 'did that really happen or was I imagining things again?' moments.

Despite suffering in comparison its forebears, Gun Crazy is an entertaining romp that should satisfy action fans if not a fair few film buffs. There is a sequel (review coming soon!) and it will be interesting to see if Muroga deviates from the formula for Saki's next outing.

R2 DVD Notes

Features: English 5.1 and Japanese 2.0 audio, English subtitles, interview with lead actress, ADV previews

Release information: UK: Out now, ADV

Notes: The casing sports a montage featuring three images of Saki, a design that's echoed throughout the presentation. Its not ADV's most successful design but its perfectly suited to the style of the film. I can confirm that the sequel follows a similar scheme so they should look nice tucked up on the shelf together. The inside of the box houses a single page leaflet with a different design on the front and a DVD guide on the back. Extras are few and far between but do include an interesting interview with star Ryoko Yonekura in which she reveals that she doesn't really like action films. A decent but not spectacular start to the Gun Crazy series from ADV.

-- John Huxley 2nd Dec 04

Gun Crazy: A Woman From Nowhere Images