While Tadanobu Asano and Sho Aikawa have the ability to make a comic turn and are far from playing-it-straight actors, casting the pair as leads in a comedy film is an interesting choice. But this is what novice director Sakichi Sato went for when making “Tokyo Zombie”: an intriguing ‘zom-com’ that has its moments, but overall falls a little flat.
Fujio (Asano) and Mitsuo (Aikawa) are two workers in a fire extinguisher factory, though they spend the majority of their time practising jujitsu, with the elder Mitsuo showing dominance. Their boss finds them slacking once more and his attack turns violent, so Fujio retaliates…a little too violently. There is only one thing to do: head to Black Fuji.
With people disposing of so much waste, a man-made mountain has formed on the outskirts of Tokyo. But it has also become a dumping ground for human waste. After burying their now former boss in the waste they just miss the emergence of a host of zombies rising up from the ash. Back in Tokyo, a practice session is interrupted by a group of the undead. Mitsuo gets bitten and deserts Fujio and the rescued Yoko (Erika Okuda) before he transforms.
Skip five years and Tokyo is post-apocalyptic; Fujio and Yoko now a couple with a daughter living in a slum. The rich have grown richer with the poor now tasks with inhumane jobs, such as creating electricity for the rich and fighting zombies in pro-wrestling style bouts for gambling leisure. Fujio is one such fighter, putting the jujitsu skills he learnt from Mitsuo to use.
“Tokyo Zombie” starts off at a slow pace, going for a more deadpan approach to comedy. Much like jujitsu, this is not high-octane action. It’s more a slow struggle, with moments of excitement bursting out. From the outset, “Tokyo Zombie” never really gets into a rhythm or creates enough of an atmosphere to absorb. Instead, you feel slightly detached from it, brought to a laugh here and there when there is a stab of comedy.
As such, this feels more like a TV sketch show about two bumbling characters caught in an unusual scenario. There is a lack of a natural flow to build towards a satisfying conclusion. While Asano and Aikawa are both likeable enough and both can deliver a comic performance, the fact that the first half of the film is very much a two-man show, this would work better with two more natural comedians in the roles. Despite both being given silly wigs to wear, a manzai act they are not.
There are laughs on offer though, and it does just about enough to entertain, but little more than that. AS ever with zombie films, there is some sort of need for a comment on society as a whole, and “Tokyo Zombie” offers this in the richer survivors now money-throwing gambling addicts baying for blood, while the poor have to work dangerously for their entertainment – which feels somewhat appropriate in the current climate.
But these ideas are not particularly explored enough and further the fact that this is a film that lacks the need for much mental investment. Brains. Brains.
politic_1983 