Film Exposure

It looks like nothing can stop or even slow down young Japanese director Yugo Sakamoto. The 28-year-old genre filmmaker has already made over 10 feature films including this third instalment in the Baby Assassins franchise started just three years ago. It’s been clear for a couple of years now that what sets him apart is his willingness to mix genres – in this case, the slacker film and the actioner – and his desire to keep exploring the possibilities of action choreography within that framework. So, after two pretty good and singular films, what is there left to say?

Chisato and Mahiro are on vacation. Well, not exactly: they’re taking a vacation between two jobs in the city of Miyazaki in south Japan. The problem is that a psychotic freelance assassin soon derails their plans and forces them into a deadly race against time. You might infer from this synopsis that Nice Days contains a little bit less slacking and a little more plot than its predecessors. You’d be right to think so. Although admittedly a big draw for audience members who find themselves on the same wavelength, the slacking part of Baby Assassins (2021) was also what turned off some action fans.

The good news here is that Yugo Sakamoto seems to have found a better balance between touching, quirky character moments and propulsive, visceral action: aside from the opening act, the film is almost devoid of the lazy aimlessness the two teenage assassins are now famous for, courtesy of a more eventful plot that forces them to be more active players in the narrative. Fear not though, for the writer-director makes sure to continue leaning on their unique, whimsical personalities, and to fill the runtime with moving character beats. The relationship between the two protagonists remains one of the main draws here, and cements itself as one of the most interesting on-screen friendships in recent memory – a friendship that embraces the characters’ differences, complementarity, and unbreakable bond.

Sakamoto introduces a handful of new characters as well, especially a pair of assassins from the town of Miyazaki, where the story unfolds. Iruka Minami, a slightly older female assassin with a strong sense of professionalism, and Riku Nanase, a former bodybuilder turned assassin, form an unlikely and uneasy alliance with the two girls. Sakamoto plays with the age difference and the discrepancies in personalities to create an interesting and funny dynamic whereby the patience and limits of each team member are tested.

However, the show stealer here might very well be Sosuke Ikematsu (the star of Shin Kamen Rider), who plays freelance assassin Kaede Fuyumura, aka the best villain in the franchise. A psychotic murderer that gets hired to kill 150 people, he soon turns out to have been consumed by his quest. The grotesqueness of some of Fuyumura’s methods (he puts a Halloween mask on the face of someone he’s about to smash to death) combined with its progressive, sensible character arc as we understand his growth all through the 150-hit journey he details in his journal, make him a particularly compelling villain. There is something simultaneously so cold and movingly pedestrian in Sosuke Ikematsu’s eyes, the monstrosity of his skills and motivation become all the more spellbinding.

Some weaknesses remain in the writing, especially when it comes to tying lose ends together. For instance, Fuyumura is painted as a solitary and lonely man, but he needs an army of goons to make the final showdown possible. The way he brings his men together feels egregiously phoned in and unconvincing, but the film’s breezy pace makes up for it. The idea of the journal is a strong one, and opens a valuable window onto the killer’s psyche, so it’s a shame the concept is dropped quickly, as it could have helped fleshing him out even more.

As far as the visual aspects are concerned, Yugo Sakamoto clearly directs with more confidence than in all of his previous films, seizing the opportunity to use a variety of formal approaches (Steadicam tracking shots, aerial shots, extreme low angles) to better dramaturgic effect than ever before. His transitions as well have got smoother, though admittedly he was always quite comfortable in that department.

So what of the action? To say it simply, action designer Kensuke Sonomura, the man behind Hydra and Bad City, has once again outdone himself beyond expectations. The film includes three evenly spaced out major set pieces, and notably opens with a heart-pumping chase/fight where Mahiro must try to stop Fuyumura from catching up with a target. Their fight is intense and most importantly in constant motion, with the choreography mixing elements of the chase and the shootout with the hand-to-hand combat.

The final set piece answers to the same notion, a quest for renewed cognitive stimulation through action design and camera work. Sonomura and Sakamoto ask themselves one question: How can we offer something fresh and dynamic that remains perfectly legible? Their answer is a perfect manifestation of meticulous choreography that relies on set-ups and pay-offs, on the physical and spatial relations between bodies, and on the synergy between images and music. In shootouts as well as fistfights, characters must constantly remain on the lookout for an opening, find the right rhythm, and sometimes sync up with the movements of their allies or opponents. Never before had Kensuke Sonomura displayed such a level of playfulness in the precision of its action design; a precision that gives an illusion of chaotic brawling while simultaneously delivering a feeling of exhilaration.

With this third chapter, Yugo Sakamoto manages to deliver his best film yet, thanks to a better balance between the various elements that made the Baby Assassins franchise a success, and the boundless involvement of the more impressive than ever Saori Izawa, Akari Takaishi, Sosuke Ikematsu, and Kensuke Sonomura. The future is bright for all of them and for Japanese genre cinema.

Baby Assassins: Nice Days has its world premiere on Saturday July 27^th, 2024, at the New York Asian Film Festival. Thanks to the NYAFF press team for making this review possible.

Baby Assassins: Nice Days – No European release date yet
Written and directed by Yugo Sakamoto
With Saori Izawa, Akari Takaishi, Sosuke Ikematsu