It's hard to recommend this film as opposed to any of the yakuza films of the 60s that it draws so heavily from. The direction, editing, and cinematography all leave a lot to be desired, which I think everyone involved realized going in because there's a lot of absurd pyrotechnics that feel like they're meant to distract from the film's poor quality.
That said, there's some real charm here, including a scene where the main character puts together a veritable…
Luckily, Tony Leung is the handsomest man on the planet - if he wasn't, the plot would completely fall apart. As it is, the script is just about saved by solid direction, cinematography, and performances.
I would love to be a fly on the wall as this film was being conceptualized. The idea of putting Scott Glenn (playing a hapless racist) and Mifune Toshiro (in a truly bad wig) in the same movie is insane to me. Both of them are less fun to watch than I expected, but the performances from the rest of the cast (especially Calvin Jung and Clyde Kusatsu) kind of make up for it.
Full disclosure, I only watched this…
What an immensely charming film. Polite Society absolutely nails its action and comedic moments and makes a strong case for being the feel good movie of 2023. There are a couple things that are less exceptional, but they're surrounded my so much that is both joyous and truly great that it's easy to overlook.
I highly recommend you go see this in theaters if you can. This is the first film since covid I've seen where the whole theater started cheering and clapping for the jokes and fight scenes. There's a lot to love here and it was fun all the way through.
