Beat Takeshi was best-known as a television host (see, for instance, TAKESHI'S CASTLE) when he made his mark with this violent cop thriller, best seen as a Japanese version of the classic DIRTY HARRY films. VIOLENT COP is an odd, unconventional movie that should be virtually unwatchable, due to long periods of inaction and a total lack of music in the production. Instead, it flies by at a speedy pace and often proves to be unmissable viewing.
Takeshi himself, typically stony-faced and taciturn, presides over the film as the violent cop, although the true violence of his character isn't revealed until the film's conclusion. Many scenes see him going about his duty, slapping the heck out of drug dealers, abusive husbands, and minor thugs, before things take a turn for the darker in the last half-hour of the movie. The last part of the film sees Takeshi tangling with a ruthless assassin, setting the scene for a truly nihilistic conclusion that bears more than a passing resemblance to the Shakespearian tragedies of old.
Violence is hard-hitting and gruesome; the worst scene for me is when the lookout cop has his head shattered with a baseball bat. But the ending, with its "everybody's crazy" coda, makes for very uncomfortable viewing, and the final shot – revealing that a rookie cop has become corrupt as all the rest – makes one question the value of humanity. Cold, gritty and altogether disturbing, VIOLENT COP is a film as ruthless as Takeshi himself.
Takeshi himself, typically stony-faced and taciturn, presides over the film as the violent cop, although the true violence of his character isn't revealed until the film's conclusion. Many scenes see him going about his duty, slapping the heck out of drug dealers, abusive husbands, and minor thugs, before things take a turn for the darker in the last half-hour of the movie. The last part of the film sees Takeshi tangling with a ruthless assassin, setting the scene for a truly nihilistic conclusion that bears more than a passing resemblance to the Shakespearian tragedies of old.
Violence is hard-hitting and gruesome; the worst scene for me is when the lookout cop has his head shattered with a baseball bat. But the ending, with its "everybody's crazy" coda, makes for very uncomfortable viewing, and the final shot – revealing that a rookie cop has become corrupt as all the rest – makes one question the value of humanity. Cold, gritty and altogether disturbing, VIOLENT COP is a film as ruthless as Takeshi himself.