Jogo do Palhaço (2015)

Really liked it more than I thought. It's funny seeing us English as the bad guys for once, especially as it was pretty much a Japanese James Bond. Not that it's a bad thing. As soon as the woman showed up I knew the plot but I'm a big fan of early Bond and this felt very similar, much better than new Bond. Plus Kame....he never ceases to amaze me. Was trying to imagine an English pop star playing a role like this, or even being a good actor. There were a few times when the English guys sounded very American but not really a big problem. The secondary characters were also good, and I'm sure if there is a sequel they'll be more developed. All in all watching this made me smile a lot, a good Saturday night in. I give it a 9, not necessarily based on anything rational rather just how much fun I had watching the film, especially as I don't normally like to sit and watch a film. I prefer the pacing of a story more in line with dramas.

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I was going to write a simple comment but it ended up looking a bit too long, so I guess it'll just have to be a simple review instead :)

The story was decent - it's very much your typical spy/action film. The writing didn't really give me anything new or interesting which made many of the events throughout the film pretty predictable. There also didn't seem to be much focus on characters or character development itself, so I didn't really connect or empathise with many of the characters, including the protagonist. I also wouldn't really consider this film a thriller, but it definitely is action-packed. Speaking of action, however, the fight scenes didn't have much of an impact on me. They looked TOO choreographed and calculated, so it lost some of its realism and oomph.

The acting overall was okay. I think Kamenashi Kazuya did a good job but it wasn't really a stand out performance for him (or the film). For the the amount of time Iseya Yusuke was in this film (which I swear was only about 10% of it), I thought he did a very good job. His portrayal definitely gave me more of an interest in his character more so than anyone else's. Fukada Kyoko was okay. I wasn't very interested in her or her character which is pretty sad considering that it seemed like the writer wanted her character to be the more mysterious and alluring one in the film, but I don't think they fully achieved that. Everyone else in the film did a decent job as well, especially considering that there wasn't really much to go off of as far as characterisation (obviously not including the more stereotypical/archetypal roles that were present).

As far as the other technicalities go... the cinematography was very good, the music was pretty typical (that of a spy film), and the direction probably could've been a bit better as well.

I know my review sounds pretty negative but it was still a relatively enjoyable film for me. It's biggest issue was lack of impact. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't very outstanding in any way.

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