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Sadly, the release of martial arts movies this year has not been going good, apart from the superb ‘The Paper Tigers,’ which means that most other films have been mediocre. I had really high hopes for Hydra, a Japanese language film directed by Sonomura, but unfortunately he was another letdown.
Masanori Mimoto plays Takashi, an assassin who is now retired. He is focusing on living a relaxed and quiet life. Currently, he works as a cook at a small bar along with two other employees, who help keep the bar running. The daughter of one of his old acquaintances works as a bartender, and Takashi has vowed to look after Rina.
The ghosts of his previous life are soon set to threaten the new life, as well as the new friends he’s made. Takashi will have to make a choice whether to finally walk away or one last time, prove to the yakuza why he was the best ‘tool’ out there.
I’m unsure as to what went wrong here. All the components at play for something neat, but alas, everything transpired to be a massive letdown. The primary problem stemmed from Hydra only being set to run at the very trim seventy-nine minutes. That said, it appeared that it would endure for much longer. Not much happened either while it was running. It is being marketed as an “action-packed, martial arts extravaganza” with only a mere two significant fight scenes.
While one of the scenes does feel extensive and drawn out, the latter only serves to showcase how awesome the film could have been. And this is why I’m extremely disheartened. The on one-brawl scene is exactly what I was expecting to see all over the movie. That said, it is exactly everything the audience wants. Fast-paced, brutal, and incredibly realistic.
Regrettably, that was all. One instance of brilliance simply isn’t enough to salvage it. I truly wanted to fall in love with Hydra, but it just was not enjoyable. On the other hand, I did cherish the attempt made, and a lot of promising futures were on display from all participants.
Even though Hydra did not live up to my expectations, one never knows. Perhaps later on, this group may make it big and produce a movie that all of us would go gaga about.
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