Jun

21

2008

The Machine Girl

Posted by luna6


Movie: The Machine Girl
Release Date: March 22, 2008
Country: Japan
Director: Noboru Iguchi
Starring: Minase Yashiro, Asami, Kentaro Shimazu
Runtime: 96 min.
Editor Rating: 4.0
Users Rating: 5.31 1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars6 Stars7 Stars8 Stars9 Stars10 Stars (13 votes)

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A movie creating strong buzz on the internet is the latest Noboru Iguchi splatter pic - named oh so cleverly - “The Machine Girl.” The movie from the start let’s you know its a tongue-in-cheek film, inspired heavily by 70’s era Japanese exploitation films. Opening credits features spiffy 70’s era fonts and a snazzy jazz soundtrack, There’s also a pretty Japanese gravure idol turned actress (Minase Yashiro), running around in a high school uniform and … a machine gun attached to her left arm. When she runs out of bullets, she’s able to attach a chainsaw to her arm. Needless to say, she would most likely kick “Yo-Yo Girl Cop”’s ass.

In “The Machine Girl,” Ami Hyuga (Minase Yashiro) is an energetic high school girl, good in basketball, but also responsible for taking care of younger brother Yu. A few years back, their parents committed suicide after being falsely accused of murder. Since that time Ami vowed to always protect her brother.

Meanwhile, younger brother Yu is constantly harassed by a group of thugs from his high school. The leader of that gang is Sho Kimura. Sho Kimura comes from a long lineage of disreputable folks, his dad is a yakuza boss and his mom is just evil. One day the group of bullies corners Yu and his friend Takeshi in a vacant building. The two friends are then thrown off the building and fall to their deaths.

Ami now seeks vengeance for her brother’s death. She tracks down the Kimura family and nearly gets to Sho Kimura. Before she can finish her mission, Pappa Kimura’s henchmen corners Ami and eventually cuts off her left arm. The always inventive Ami then manages to escape Kimura’s house before they can do anymore damage, eventually collapsing in front of her brother’s friend Takeshi’s home. By good fortune, Takeshi’s parents are mechanics and they come up with the brilliant idea to turn Ami into Machine Girl. Takeshi’s dad then builds a machine gun able to attach to Ami’s severed left arm. With machine gun in tow, Ami now seeks out the Kimuras one last time.

What “The Machine Girl” does is aim for the low-end and aim for the low-end proudly. Actors (some even picked from the adult film industry) dish out their lines with campy zeal, while representing the comic book spectrum of good and bad characters. Blood is shed in exorbitant quantities, while limbs are severed at an alarming rate. Meanwhile, the strongest aspect for the film are the visuals and were especially impressive for a lower budget film.

What doesn’t work so well for “The Machine Girl” is its weak script and the endless amount of gore spilled onscreen. Even with its tongue-in-check style, the repititious manner in which the plot unfolded had me yawning before the movie even reached the halfway mark. The constant flow of bloodshed also became less “trashy fun” and more “just bad taste” with each successive scene. Sure this will appeal to a select but considerable cult fan base, especially to the casual Western movie goer who might believe their getting a slice of authentic Japanese cult cinema. What “The Machine Girl” actually delivers is a formulaic genre pic fitted mechanically with a checklist of all the obvious components for an international audience: cute high school girl, machine guns, blood, gore, ninjas, yakuza, sushi, tempura … yadda yadda yadda.

If you really want to watch an entertaining pic with a girl able to kick major ass you should check out Thai pic “Chocolate.” If you want to watch an entertaining pic centered around the yakuza and high school punks you should check out Takeshi Miike’s “Crows Episde Zero.” If you want the Lean Cuisine version of trashy Japanese camp fun, then check out “The Machine Girl.”

Cast:
Minase Yashiro - Ami Hyugo
Asami - Miki (Takeshi’s mother)
Kentaro Shimazu - Kimura (Sho’s father)
Honoka - Kimura (Sho’s mother)
Ryosuke Kawamura - Yu Hyuga
Taro Suwa - Kimura’s henchmen




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2008 Movie Reviews, Japanese Movies, Movie Reviews, Movies |

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2 Comments so far

  1. 2 rei Says: July 13, 2008

    Saw this. Senseless violence galore. It’s a good thing I left my brain on the door before watching it. This movie reminded me a lot of Sukeban Boy (where Asami was the lead) - but that one had tons of nudity. For a Japanese cult flick, I was surprised that there’s no nudity in it - just a lot of blood.

  2. 1 aco Says: July 3, 2008

    *cough*Saikano*cough*