Title: Crows Zero 2 : The Black Bible
Director: Miike Takashi
Genre: Action
Format: Movie; 133 minutes
Dates: April 2009

Synopsis: Takiya Genji and his newly formed gang, GPS, have successfully taken over Suzuran and overthrown their former leader, Serizawa. He soon realises however, that reaching the top is tough, but staying there is even tougher. Unity is fast deteriorating as inner turmoil begins to grow within the grounds and loyalty crumbles. Genji is soon beset by a malaise as he doubts his ability as a leader and fighter. Meanwhile, a certain rival school declares all-out war on Suzuran and this conflict will test Genji’s ability to rise up to the challenge.

The Highlights
Fight scenes: An insult to physics, but entertaining nonetheless.
Plot: Attempts to be convoluted but fails miserably.
Characters: Grotesque caricatures of Japanese gangsters.
“Wow” factor: Pales in comparison to the prior installment.
Serizawa Tamao: Great character but is relegated to a supporting role.

Crows Zero 2: The Black Bible is the sequel to the wildly popular Crows Zero, directed by the oh-so-prolific Miike Takashi. Employing the same formula of bravado, fast-paced action, and school politics, it has got the word “masculine” streaked across the screen from the very beginning.

Cutting right to the chase, the major selling points of this movie are indubitably the fight scenes. Fortunately, it meets these expectations by doling out a copious amount of all-out brawls which defy the laws of physics at times. Adorned in school uniforms, student yell out profanities and declarations of masculinity as they charge at each other. As if that weren’t unbelievable enough, the characters all seem to possess superhuman healing abilities, appearing unscathed mere days after being beaten to a pulp. For those who can look past these cartoonish flaws, the fight scenes are rather entertaining.

Moving on, the characters themselves make up an integral part of Crows Zero 2. Oguri Shun does a decent portrayal of Genji, the stereotypically truculent and silent main character. Particularly commendable is Takayuki Yamada’s performance as Serizawa, who nails the character’s aloof charm quite well. The other characters, particularly those from Hosen, like Ryo Urushibara and Tatsuya Mito, played by Gou Ayano and Haruma Miura respectively, were laughable. These actors have the thespian ability of a wooden mop. Thank them for providing several notable unintentional moments of hilarity.

Miike’s works, for the most part, have never really been about material. His eccentric, constraint-free approach in the director’s chair often results in sleek, idiosyncratic products which epitomize the concept of style over substance. However, in Crows Zero 2, there isn’t much originality past the manga setting and its over-the-top fight scenes. Miike is all too glad to use a cornucopia of clichés, including “lone man against hundreds.” Let’s face it, no self-respecting viewer is going to take this movie seriously and Miike’s adamant attempts to evoke pathos in the movie result in a disjointed and incongruous shift from a shounen manga-esque presentation to something out of Soap Weekly. It is Miike’s contradictory (and extremely obnoxious) approach that is Crows Zero 2’s biggest underlying flaw.

Finally, the “wow” factor also seems to be missing. In the prequel, Crows Zero is every bit as cartoony as this movie, but it still has incredible fight scenes and an even more incredible final fight scene that culminates into a heart-pumping climax. Crows Zero 2 however, does not. The fight between Serizawa and Ryo Urushibara, which had been foreshadowed earlier in the movie, is incredibly lacklustre and the final fight between Genji and Narumi is not befitting of a “final” fight.

Sadly, Crows Zero 2 is a pale shadow of its erstwhile predecessor. Its nice packaging dresses up an irrefutably poorly-manufactured product, thus confining it to place reserved for disappointing sequels.

The Rating: 4

Reviewed by: Fuu