And Eric Tsang demonstrates why he is everyone's favourite gangland boss (epitomised in the Infernal Affairs trilogy) Meanwhile, Mirai Yamamoto, is simply brilliant in her role, keeping everyone guessing as to the motives of her character. Takeshi Kaneshiro, heartthrob to millions of teenage girls in Asia, is perfect in his role with his trademark stone cold yet innocent manner. Plot twists are everywhere in this film, and it's been designed to keep you guessing. It's a complicated plot (not least to describe) and it is even more than I've said already. Meanwhile, Fu-chun's girlfriend, Natsumi Sato (Yamamoto) turns up to sell something to Kenichi. Yuan wants to get even and attempts to do so by using Kenichi. Things are calm, however, his former partner-in-crime, Fu-Chun, is rumoured to have returned to Kabukicho, having fled years earlier after killing the number two to gangland boss, Yuan (Tsang). His domain is in Kabukicho, a gangland controlled by various Shanghainese gangs intent on taking overall control. You can sell him anything except children's organs.
Kenichi (Kaneshiro) is a half-Japanese, half-Chinese man of the underworld. Sleepless Town was a pleasant surprise for me, a well-written and well-executed film, with a gangster storyline containing enough twists to win a dance contest. Reviewed by leekandham 7 / 10 Very well written and executed A lengthy running time and derivative nature of the plot also work against this film, meaning that I didn't think much of it at all. Yamamoto fails to make her repulsive lead in the least bit likable and suffers because of that, while the excellent Eric Tsang is underused as the mob boss, appearing in all of three short scenes. Kaneshiro is a good actor, but his character isn't given a great deal to do here and comes across as a little staid. I found the last scene to be overlong and devoid of the badly needed emotion it sought to generate, but at least something's going on, unlike in the middle section. Then things pick up in the last half hour, with lots of action and shoot-outs and more twists and turns than in five regular Hollywood movies. The pacing slows down to a snail's crawl while this romance is explored, and the filmmakers do attempt to generate some suspense by keeping their character motivations murky, but it doesn't work very well. For the next hour we're treated to a lifeless romance with one of the most worthless female characters I've seen in a film. Unfortunately, Kaneshiro's character then meets a girl, and the whole film falls flat.
The first half hour follows this type of plot with some stylish direction and another solid performance from Takeshi Kaneshiro, who once again delivers a 'quiet but cool' type character with emotions bubbling just under the surface. This Hong Kong/Japan co-production starts out as a traditional gangster thriller, as we meet our youthful hero and find himself caught between opposing sides: a violent criminal gang from Shanghai, who frequently employ torture and murder as their methods, and a lone gunman with psychotic tendencies. Reviewed by Leofwine_draca 4 / 10 Promising crime drama let down by a boring romance
Meanwhile, Fu-Chun's girlfriend, Natsumi Sato turns up to sell something to Kenichi. Things are calm, however, his former partner-in-crime, Fu-Chun, is rumored to have returned to Kabukicho, having fled years earlier after killing the number two to gangland boss, Yuan. Kenichi is a half-Japanese, half-Chinese man of the underworld.
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