American Yakuza (1994)

In America, they call it the Mafia... In Japan they call it Yakuza. When they meet they call it war! Viggo Mortensen (G.I. Jane) and Michael Nouri (The Hidden) star in this explosive action-thriller about the first American accepted into the savage brotherhood of Japan's criminal underworld. Sent to infiltrate the American arm of the Yakuza, FBI agent Nick Davis (Mortensen) rises through the ranks of assassins and is soon adopted into the powerful Tendo crime family. His work brings him into brutal conflict with not only the Italian mob, but also a hard-nosed FBI taskforce guided by unscrupulous Agent Littman (Robert Forster). Caught dead center in a war between the Yakuza, the mob, and the FBI, Davis must decide what's more important: his old loyalties--or his new bond of blood.

American Yakuza - Gives Both America and The Yakuza a Bad Name

American Yakuza is based on an interesting premise, that an American can be accepted into a Japanese crime family. I'm interested in Japanese culture, though I know next to nothing about the Yakuza. I thought to myself when I saw this on sale, "That's less than the price of a movie ticket." Well, I sure got my money's worth. There are some good things in this movie, but perhaps not what the producers intended.

For starters this movie is full of TERRIBLE acting. Not bad acting, not so-so acting. I mean REALLY BAD ACTING. Believe it or not, that's actually one of my pros for this movie. At times the acting is so bad that it provided some "unintended humor" to spice up an otherwise dry scene. The actor who plays Vigo's agency boss is the highlight for me. I'm laughing now just thinking about it. In fact, only a few of the Japanese actors are watchable, but that is all lost in the bad performances all around.

Many people will be drawn in by the star power of Vigo Mortensen. Let me just say that while I think he can be good at times, this is hardly the first of his movies that have left me unsatisfied. I won't blame him for that, but his star power alone shouldn't really be drawing anybody to anything. He clearly will act in just about anything as long as they cut him a check.

The DVD quality is as close to VHS as DVD can be. Once again, it's an older movie, not a major studio release, so I can overlook that a little bit.

But the worst part about this movie is the extremely weak story line. In fact, that's my second source of unintended humor. Vigo shows up out of nowhere and saves some guy's life. No questions asked he's asked to join their clique. He's meeting with his agency bosses on a regular basis. Don't these guys do surveillance of any kind? He is just handed a beautiful Japanese girl, you know to fulfill the silly fantasies of too many men out there. And then out of nowhere, they ask him to be Yakuza.

What??? I've earned boy scout badges that took longer than that. This is just not believable to me. Who gets invited into a crime family after working with them for a few weeks?

As for special features, don't even ask. This disk is clearly a budget transfer made before special features were demanded by consumers. Yep, this is a budget disk all the way.

This is a guilty pleasure movie for me, if only because it's so bad that it has me in stitches. Still, it's mind-blowing to me to read so many high praises. I can not even speculate why I experienced none of the pleasure others have noted here. It makes me wonder if somehow they included a rough draft disk in my DVD case instead of the final copy.

I bought this on sale for $5. I have no idea how the price could have gone up to $10, but if I could get back the $5 I paid I wouldn't blink an eye. So don't pay more than that.

If you love to watch really bad cliche B-movies, or you really are a Vigo Mortensen fan, you will probably enjoy this. If you are expecting a Japanese "Donnie Brasco," prepare to be seeking a refund.

Enjoy.
May 15, 2008

Disappointingly predictable story!

Had trouble getting through the movie. The story was disappointingly predictable, and the acting strikingly amateurish! March 17, 2008

One of Viggo's better films

An exciting movie for Mortensen lovers out there. This movie didn't get the recognition it should have at the time it was released. He, like in so many his other movies, shortly speaks another language which he is greatly known for preparing for as well as preparing for a movie with foreigners. He knows what he's gotten himself into in the movie, makes it home and shares it with us as a master of the acting world. However a surprise twist in this movie, does mimic a more recent film... Although I would not rate it any more than 3 1/2 to 4 stars, I don't think you will be too disappointed. December 17, 2007

When

Somehow I missed this one when it was originally released. I was quite suprised when I stumbled across it and gave it a watch. This film is quite good. It is a "Donnie Brosco" story type involving the Japanese Yakuza which is there form of organized crime. Honor, respect and family are what the Yakuza hold most sacred, which is strange since they are basically criminals of the highest order. Viggo is strong as ever playing an FBI agent going undercover to infiltrate the Yakuza. The main theme is between Viggo and his boss who owes him a blood debt. It is very interesting as Viggo doesn't quite know what side he is on anymore. Very well told story. March 21, 2007

AMERICAN YAKUZA

I ordered the product as I had seen the movie before and this movie kept my attention and still does. Sometime I like to spend the day looking at old movies and this one is still at the top. Suspenseful. Very pleased on the timeliness of the delivery. Your web site made it easy to find.

THANKS January 12, 2007

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