I’m not especially familiar with “City Hunter,” Tsukasa Hojo’s iconic 1985-1991 manga, that’s been finally turned into a live-action film in its homeland thanks to Netflix and director Yûichi Satô: my main experience with the series was the 1993 movie from Hong Kong, starring Jackie Chan, a cheerfully dated time capsule of HK cinema most fondly remembered for a Looney Tunes-esque scene, where Chan cosplays as Chun Li from Street Fighter to bamboozle some goons. The new take is also a martial arts action comedy with a questionable sense of humor, although it’s undoubtedly darker and more violent.
To be upfront, I largely enjoyed this reboot, which portrays how titular P.I. Ryo Saeba (Ryohei Suzuki) and frustrated sidekick Kaori Makimura (Misato Morita) became a duo while investigating a series of superhuman attacks, which caused the death of Kaori’s brother (and Ryo’s previous partner) Hideyuki (Masanobu Andô), as well as the disappearance of cosplayer Kurumi (Asuka Hanamura). There are two major issues I have with the movie though, namely how bad the first 15 mins are, and the presence of a hoary old Japanese comedy trope, which is how lecherous Ryo is.
Seriously, I can’t believe it was decided that the best way to introduce this character to a new generation was to 1) have him oggle the cleavage of Kurumi’s sister as she asked him to investigate, 2) sing about spying on women in bikinis instead of scouting her supposed location, and 3) slobber over Kurumi’s social media after failing to recover her. I thought to myself, “My god, this guy’s the biggest pervert,” at least three times within the first 15 mins. The rest of the movie plays with Ryo’s weakness in interesting ways, although there’s still a lot of cringe-inducing moments, like his decision to wear a horse head on his crotch at a convention, and the way his horniness at said event is conveyed by zooming in on cosplayers’ body parts.
The first 15 mins are also marred by really ropey CG, and a distracting sense that the cinematography is more like a TV show’s, thanks to its glossy digital sheen and large aspect ratio. Fortunately the picture quality feels more authentic and less like a travelogue as the film goes on, while it becomes clear most of the effects budget was prioritized for Ryo’s sharpshooting skills, and it proves to be money well spent. As offputting as it is, the opening does establish one of the strongest parts of the film, which are the fight scenes; there’s a really fun beat where Ryo pulls off a goon’s belt, and uses it to whip him and another bad guy into submission, a great taste of the fun choreography to come.
Despite the issues with Ryo’s characterization, Ryohei Suzuki is really good in the role, perfectly embodying both his goofy side, and the serious, stoic, hypercompetent detective he somehow is too: maybe it’s just because of his jawline, but I couldn’t help but feel there was something of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the commanding presence he brings whenever he’s in the latter mode. He has an enigmatic gaze that makes you wonder: how much is Ryo actually a happy-go-lucky fool, versus feigning being one to put everyone off guard?
Misato Morita, meanwhile, gives a really emotional and authentic performance as Kaori, that sells how different she is from Ryo, and more than makes up for how uninteresting the main villain is when they’re unmasked. I was genuinely invested in Ryo and Kaori’s journey from acquaintances to friends, and whether she’d avenge her brother or not, as well as what exactly the conspiracy that engulfed them and Kurumi was. The plot certainly lends an appropriately cyberpunk undertone to the setting, as well as a whiff of Resident Evil, and there’s even a thug who gets so hepped up on the drug at the center of everything he resembles Bond’s Jaws, and the Batman: Arkham games’ version of Bane.
So between the performances, plotting, stylish action sequences that occasionally live up to Jackie Chan’s inventiveness, some good jokes, and a solid soundtrack, City Hunter is quite a fun way to travel to Tokyo from your living room after that awful initial quarter of an hour, but Ryo’s obsession with mokkori still leaves me hesitant to recommend it to anyone not familiar with the series. I get this is a very common piece of humor in shonen manga that persists to this day (yeah, I’m talking about you, “My Hero Academia”), and I’m certainly not advocating erasing his character flaw, but my god, it could’ve been much subtler — and what makes it all the more frustrating is that it actually is for the most part.
Ultimately, I gave a thumbs up to the movie despite the lousy opening, fully aware of the huge caveat for non-fans, and that I will not persuade anyone who also objects to it to put up with it, because saying “Yeah, Ryo’s a pervert, but he’s our pervert” (believe me, that makes sense in context) is not going to work, but also because it is still only a movie. Thank god for Kaori – I can see now why Hojo paired Ryo up with her, and this is really her story. Hopefully it won’t be too long before we see Morita as her — wielding her signature hammer — again, giving Ryo a fully deserved bonk on the head for his inappropriate behavior.
