A Masterpiece!

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

The cinematography of this film was excellent. It is a slow burner and brutal in some scenes however If you like Japanese culture you will enjoy this film. Not for gaijins :)

I thoroughly enjoyed this film until the last 30 minutes of it as it took a nose dive towards the end. The script became contrived and some of the characters were doing things that their characters wouldn't be doing, but the script was making them do it. Jared Leto plays a very interesting, quiet, calculating character in this one and it's a great performance in the same respects of the quiet, calculated mob characters such as Al Pacino's character in The Godfather, etc. An interesting movie, but it could have been great if the ending would have paid off. Sometimes it's all how you finish, not how you begin.

There are some really good things in this East-meets-West film, but I have to admit that I am in the minority here, and I didn't think the movie was completely satisfying. I'm not saying it's a bad movie, because the movie does shine in some key areas. The whole package has a good visual look to it, capturing post-war Japan extremely well; this is certainly not a cheap-looking film. And the idea of the movie - a westerner finding his way into a side of Japanese society traditionally closed to foreigners - is certainly intriguing, and does lead to some very interesting moments. Western viewers who are interested in Japanese culture will certainly get a lot of insight.But as good as the movie gets at time, there are some things that hold it back from being a really great movie. For starters, there is the pacing. While I am glad that the movie was not extremely fast-paced - which would be inappropriate for a serious-minded movie like this - all the same I have to admit that it was a bit slow at times. A little tightening here and there would have worked wonders. The biggest problem, however, is with its characters. I don't think the movie got into the heads of its main characters enough, particularly with the Jared Leto character. We learn practically nothing about his past, why he decides to join the yakuza, and what is going on in his head. He is such a bland character, it's hard to care about him one way or another. I admit that I am glad that I saw this movie, since there is some really good stuff here and there. All the same, I don't think the movie is as good as it could have been. Yes, see the movie, but don't get your expectations too high, or you might be very disappointed.

First review ever, movie was awesome. Im prior navy who used to bounce at a couple clubs in Tokyo on the side so met some interesting people and saw some interesting things there. I'm kinda skeptical and critical to a movie like this, almost didn't watch it. So glad I did though, Leto plays kick ass part, all the actors and actresses do really, and everything movie was very very well done. Awesome prison, mafia, yakuza japan flick, great everything! Thank you movie.