Beyond Outrage (2012) User Reviews

Gritty Crime Cinema

[axion8 · 8/10 · 10 June 2013]

I was waiting for a while to see this film and was totally shocked to find out there was a sequel to it's 2010 predecessor. The 2nd instalment is more composed and deals with the politics and characters on a much deeper level. After watching it I am curious as to if this was one screen play cut into 2 films, or, if Tekeshi and co decided to write another script after the original.

Outrage Beyond is a solid piece of crime cinema. The themes of corruption, loyalty, redemption and honour are explored on multiple levels. I loved the cinematography and was really impressed with the solid performances throughout the film. My pick of a great bunch was Tomokazu Miura's portrayal of the aged and weary "Kato".

The ending solidified this Kitano outing as a classic. Great film.

Outrage Beyond

[RokurotaMakabe · 6/10 · 16 May 2013]

With Outrage, Takeshi Kitano returned to his filmmaking roots and he did not disappoint, bringing to the audience one of his signature yakuza movies. Its follow-up, Outrage Beyond offers more of the same as it focuses on a larger scale conflict this time, a conflict that is the direct result of the events in the first film.

The action here revolves around Takeshi Kitano's Otomo and the way his actions lead to a war between two rival yakuza gangs. We find out that Otomo is alive and well, but still in prison after surviving the aftermath of the bloodbath in the first film. His premature release from prison leads to tensions between the two organizations and the apparent peace between them is disrupted. Thus the fight for power begins and the conflict is spiced up by the involvement of a police detective who has interests of his own, all leading to an explosive finale.

The film does not fail to deliver, although it is not in the same class as some of Takeshi's other yakuza efforts. It represents an improvement on Outrage in terms of storytelling, there is less focus on old school action and more emphasis is put on the conflict between the characters, which is a good thing since it adds more dimension to the story. The characters themselves are well developed and the acting is what you would expect. On the other hand, the film lacks some creativity and some artistic touch in order to be truly great. All the elements of a Kitano film are here, but they do not stand out as much as they should, even his trademark deadpan humor is served in smaller doses. All things aside, the film is good in its own right and the only reason for it not being on par with Takeshi's best efforts is because those films have set such a high standard.

While it does not break any new ground, Outrage Beyond is an entertaining film to watch whether you are a fan of the genre or not and it represents a good addition to Takeshi Kitano's filmography.

A Nutshell Review: Outrage Beyond

[DICK STEEL · 8/10 · 9 March 2013]

In Takeshi Kitano's Outrage, we sat through some heavy plotting and counter-schemes where every one, a collective of Yakuzas and gangsters, is a bad guy, fighting over power and control when being unwittingly manipulated, together with shifting alliances. The story was pretty brilliant then, since you're really unsure how the concocted plans would turn out, suffice to say it boiled down to very violent affairs, with plenty of firearm action all round.

But Kitano kept his direction well balanced then, as he does so again now, with dramatic scenes happening in the first half of the film, followed by a build up to various violent crescendos in the latter half. We continue where we last left off, where the victors of the first film's schemes, Kato (Tomokazu Miura) and the Otomo Clan turncoat Ishihara (Ryo Kase) return to the top of the food chain, grabbing control over the Sanno-kai crime organization, although not without their detractors from within who will jump at every seductive, suggested opportunity to usurp the throne. It didn't help that their leadership style, parallel to some real world techniques of cost cutting stinginess, doesn't cut it through the rank and file.

And you just can't put a good man down, or a bad man in this case, with Beat Takeshi's Otomo returning to the mayhem as orchestrated by Detective Kataoka (Fumiyo Kohinata). Wait a minute, didn't we witness his key scene in the finale of Outrage? I suppose if one is at the creative helm of the film - directing, writing and editing - then anything's possible. Otomo, as it turns out, is still sitting pretty in prison, but has his enemies quaking in their shoes when rumours got squashed, and Kataoka accelerates Otomo's parole to get him released and back in the fray. With preference for a lowly life amongst the hood, it is genre mantra that one never walks away, but gets pulled back into the hustle and bustle of vengeance and violence.

Between the two films, perhaps I will have to throw my hat of preference over to the first one, if only for a plot that involved a lot more stakeholders, and on screen violence that was more balletic than this follow up's rather tame, and usually off-screen mayhem. Sometimes we get to see flashes from muzzles, compensated by the awesomely rendered loud sounds of multiple rounds leaving the chamber of the gun. And stylistically, which is a fair counter- point to the explicitness of what Hollywood does today, we find ourselves staring down barrels of guns on screen, before cutting to the aftermath.

When put together, while the films touches on tit-for-tat revenge, and perhaps contain a shade of real world organizational politics given the structure of the Yakuza, not only do we get to compare leadership styles and skills of those at the top, but rather how one should be aware of the little man running around, stirring trouble only for personal benefit. Fumiyo Kohinata steals the show each time he comes on screen as the corrupt Detective Kataoka, on the payroll of the force and striving to go up in his career ladder, while on the take from the clans, yet at the same time scheming against all to advance his personal agenda at both sides of the law.

I had nothing but chuckles especially during an interrogation scene which Kataoka engineers, which probably cuts a little close to home given the series of gaffes in high profile court cases that didn't quite put the Home Team in good light. And characters like Kataoka, are not hard to imagine nor stranger than fiction. His opposite would be the ramrod straight Shigeta, who for all his righteousness, couldn't influence the corruption going on in his face, as executed in arrogant style by his counterpart. It's really Kataoka's show from the get go, being the key character, and catalyst in almost all twists and turns, with Fumiyo Kohinata being the quintessential villain amongst all villains here.

a great follow up to the first 'outrage'

[thomasmorus · 7/10 · 19 August 2013]

i'll try to be as short as possible. essentially, this is a good yakuza film, that picks up different angles from where the prequel left off. eg., in the first 'outrage', the focus is on the yakuza discipline, or a romanticized yakuza clan struggling with modern times. on this film though, the focus is on the "macro-level", the interactions with police, politics, other clans and business.

unfortunately, although this seems very promising, it's not as brainy as other flicks, like 'the godfather' perhaps, and doesn't have the psychological depth or intricate plot of, say, the 1st 'infernal affairs'; it's a rather superficial action/yakuza film, but a very enjoyable one.

if you're a kitano fan: it's not avant-garde like 'sonatine', or kind of experimental like 'hanabi' or 'violent cop', or even a different take on the hollywoodian style like 'brother' - it's more a regular kind of movie. but if you liked the 1st 'outrage', like i did, you'll definitely like this one.

Not as cerebral or gritty as the first, but a good gangster drama

[merqabah · 7/10 · 17 December 2013]

Outrage was one of the more conventional Kitano films out there, whereas in previous kitano films the violence was mostly implied, outrage reveled in its graphic tone. However it wasn't all shock value, outrage plot was a political masterpiece, with a yakuza that discarded honor and romantic ideals for cold pragmatism, intelligent, calculating characters looking for their adversaries to take a bait and run with it when up until the end it wasn't clear who was manipulating the events and who would come victorious.

None of the above remains true in the sequel, first of all Beyond Outrage is a tamer film, I'm not sure if it was a stylistic choice, or one that came from budget limitations, but most of the violence is either implied or shown without gore ; that said the film makes up for it with a great use of sound effects, where you will hear and feel every act of violence thanks to it, it is especially true with gun fire which is loud and powerful as it should be.

Now as for the plot, the manipulations and the winner of the struggle are made quite clear from the get-go, this is in part because the script is not as complex as the first one, whereas the original outrage had several layers of deception, here the machinations are simplified and more obvious, characters whose story had run its course in the first one are brought back with a quick dialogue explanation and one relationship in particular is redesigned, but its not very convincing, Even having watched the original, the comeuppance of several characters seems formulaic and not as gratifying as it should have been, lacking the operatic quality previous kitano's entries; the end also comes too soon, leaving the overall endgame hinted at, but not entirely resolved, perhaps in order to make room for a sequel.

So in the end Beyond outrage is a much tamer and straightforward film than its predecessor, it could be viewed as a standalone film since the movie recaps the previous plot in several occasions,the film seems commercially motivated and riding on the success of its predecessor, This now takes the crown as Kitano's most accessible film to date, but that doesn't seem to be an achievement to be proud of.

Lesser but still worthy sequel

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 12 December 2015]

Takeshi Kitano's OUTRAGE was one of the best films I saw this year, a top-tier Japanese yakuza flick with all of the hard-hitting violence and dense plotting that you could wish for in a film. This follow-up carries on the same story thus was a welcome addition for me, even though it's not up there with the quality of the first.

The main issue I have with BEYOND OUTRAGE is that the pacing is a lot slower than in the first film so that you're sitting around waiting for the proper plot to kick in, especially during the first half. Plus, a lot of the plot twists and turns are rather unsatisfying, whereas the satisfying material is rushed over quite quickly. Kitano goes out of his way to avoid copying the sort of scenes we had in the first film but as those were my favourite bits I can't help but be a little disappointed.

Still, this is nevertheless compelling filmmaking with top direction and acting. Kitano is a more than welcome return as actor although his acting is more subdued here and he's keen to give the other returning stars more screen time and meat to get their teeth into. There are some fine set-pieces again, the most memorable involving baseball, and as a whole the movie has an air of quality and authenticity that makes it work. BEYOND OUTRAGE feels very much like a classic samurai movie, albeit one in a modern setting.

Stylish, thrillingly brutarian and beautifully ugly

[karmaswimswami · 7/10 · 25 April 2014]

"Beyond Outrage" is the sequel to star and auteur Takeshi Kitano's epic of rival yakuza gangs "Outrage." This film is thrillingly lensed in the way that erstwhile widescreen masters such as Kurosawa and Nyquist used the full frame, and done so with a quintessentially oligochromatic Japanese patina. The story has grandeur of conception, keeps you rapt, and slickly amps up the badness of some very bad guys. The violence has larger quantum numbers than the comic book idioms of Tarantino, but is deployed with panache and grace. Among the film's climaxes is vanguard violence that will permanently prefigure how you regard baseball! Here's hoping "Outrage" becomes a trilogy.

is this real or unbelievable fictional!

[fluffset · 7/10 · 19 April 2013]

I watched outrage a year ago, I found it just a plain yakuza movie and don't ever have any attention to watch its sequel and never know that they will make one. When it's release, I think why not I try this one. After at least 2 hours of the movie, I found it's still a plain yakuza movie, with more twist, more blood, more foulmouthed and more suspended. I like this one because I think its better than its predecessor, story looks quite style and can make audiences thinking. Its considered as a good movie if it can make their audiences rewind back to understand more of the story, I rewind many time actually, to understand what's going on. What I don't like is, its look like not logic, many murder happen, and all looks like a heavy massacre but the cop don't do anything. Why? That thing keep me thinking, murder happen everywhere and where is the cop? Actually it have the answer at the ending, if you want to know? Watch this!

Growing pains in the yakuza family structures.

[suite92 · 9/10 · 5 May 2014]

The film is set five years after the action in Outrage ended. The utterly corrupt Detective Kataoka is still in place, perhaps more entrenched than ever. Detective Shigeta, a somewhat more straight arrow policeman, accompanies Kataoka on some of his tasks. Kato is still the Chairman of the Sanno family. Ishihara, formerly in Otomo's clan, is now Kato's underboss. Sanno has grown considerably in wealth and power, partly because they absorbed Murase's drug business from the first film. Other shifts in the Sanno family are placement of older executives by younger ones, and valuing acquiring money over muscling other families. As the story begins, there is plenty of fuel in the powder keg: the old guard resent the younger upstarts; when one family expands, others just might feel threatened; the cops have decided to squeeze Sanno growth.

In the film's opening sequence, the police lift a car out of the water. Kataoka and Shigeta arrive, so one knows there is a yakuza connection. One of the bodies is that of a high government official, and evidence points to the Sanno family issuing the hit order. The police see that Sanno thinks its money is sufficient to buy enough protection for them to openly order the killing of a government official. This seems to be too much to bear.

Kataoka sets about riling up the yakuza against each other. He encourages one of the old guard in the Sanno family (and two of his followers) to attempt to unseat and replace Underboss Ishihara. He arranges a meeting with Fuse, the Chairman of the Hanabishi family. That seems to go well, but when the trio report back to Kato, they find that Fuse had described the whole situation to Kato. Fatalities ensue. Resentment increases. Kataoka gets schooled by his superior: did he not know that the Sanno and the Hanabishi were secretly allied?

To get the pot boiling even harder, Kataoka arranges for the release of Otomo, whom Kimura (released years before) shanked in prison. Kataoka had misled many (such as Chairman Kato) into thinking Otomo was dead. Now the detective brings him forth to heat things up.

Kataoka arranges a meeting between Kimura and Otomo, which goes surprisingly well. Also, he nudges them toward 'helping' the alliance between Hanabishi and Sanno to fail magnificently.

That is most of the early context of the film. How goes the execution? Quite well, I would say.

-----Scores-----

Cinematography: 10/10 Excellent, professional.

Sound: 8/10 No particular problems, but them again, I was following the sub-titles.

Acting: 10/10 Even better than the original.

Screenplay: 8/10 Nice story development. Not as many plot points as the original, but easier to follow.

Sequel

[jimniexperience · 6/10 · 19 January 2018]

More dialogue and less action than the first

The Sanno Clan has gained much power since the conclusion of first film . After his partner dies and his death is covered up , a Detective looking for vengeance teams up Otomo and a former rival of his for a three-way payback in bringing down Sanno Clan and all the traitors within .. To get the extra muscle they need , they make a pact with an outsider Yakuza group , the Hanabishi .

I write about it, i talk about it, i dream about it... this sequel is the tits

[willson_x · 10/10 · 7 November 2013]

A lot of people seem to be hesitant to put that this is one of the all time great sequels to a movie, ever. It's up there with the Lord Of The Rings, the Toy Story, the Godfather, whatever you consider the best (Alien?) trilogy. What it is, is that it's the perfect sequel to the first film and its complex, meaty character/story web. It compliments it and enhances it in every way, it's not just "Annuva' sequel". It's *BETTER* -Guarantee included.

The story starts like if you're reading the be-all-end-all of crime dramas in bed, and you've turned the page, fueled with adrenaline and no thought for your sleep pattern. OK, so Takeshi Kitano's character died in the last film, right? He's on the cover of the damn box, but let's pretend you can't put 1+1 together: he's dead, the gangsters lost their boss, tensions are high... unfortunately they stay high the whole movie, unfortunately for them, trapped inside the screen. Fortunately for us, the nail biting tension is strung high, like a tightrope, and we are being tickled along. The emptiness of the camera is like the sinking hole below you as you cross this suspended wire. Look, do you want me to say any more? Just go see the movie, if you haven't seen the 1st installment, go see that. You will watch the next one straight away. There is no third chunk to call it a trilogy, so you'll have to make do. Now go watch it before the magic of word of mouth fades off and you watch the next bullshit Hollywood film starring Emma Watson or some pretentious looker that acts as well as a zombie, freshly resurrected from a Haitian cemetery by Baron Samedi. Keep it vanguard, people.

Requires A Knowledge Of The Yakuza And Japanese Law Enforcement

[redrobin62-321-207311 · 6/10 · 15 May 2020]

I'll admit that, as a Westerner, I do not understand how the Yakuza are allowed to operate with such impunity in Japan. In can't be that Japanese law enforcement is ball-less, spineless and weak against them. If that's the case, then they're useless. Why even exist? Bodies pile up everywhere and the punishment for the boss who ordered it is to walk away from gang life and maybe go plant a garden in Kyoto or something? That kind of behavior would NEVER hold sway in the Western world, and that's why "Beyond Outrage" was a confusing film for me. Whatever it portrayed, that was well done. But in the end, I just didn't get the Japanese way.

This is a bit of an uneven movie with some worthwhile elements

[kevin_robbins · 7/10 · 2 July 2022]

Beyond Outrage (2012) is a movie I recently watched for the first time in a long time on Tubi. The storyline follows Otomo whose death ends up having been faked in the first film. The police need help cracking down on the yakuza and who better than to leverage a ghost who knows how they work. The police and Otomo will work together to try and create a war between the top Yakuza clans.

This movie is directed by and stars Takeshi Kitano (The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi) and also stars Ryô Kase (Letters from Iwo Jima), Fumiyo Kohinata (Audition), Hirofumi Arai (Confessions) and Kenta Kiritani (Jin).

The storyline for this movie holistically was very average but the execution is good. The action is a little less than the first film but some of the politics within the yakuza are further on display. The dialogue and writing remains very good and when there's action it is sudden and intense. There's some good depiction of traditions and the torture scenes are entertaining. The sound effects used are solid and the baseball scene is outstanding.

Overall this is a bit of an uneven movie with some worthwhile elements. I would score this a 6.5/10 and recommend seeing it once.

Yakuza procedural?

[x_manicure_x · 6/10 · 14 August 2021]

"Beyond Outrage" is possible more sober and cynical than the first film, exploring further into the bureaucratic side of the struggle between clans. There seems to be no difference in the ways police, yakuza, and politics work in nowadays Japan: honor is for the weak and any chance is good to betray your partner for a promotion. Character development is again minimal, but at least we have a more charismatic cast this time.

Excellent Screenplay

[maverickhamillfan · 6/10 · 6 October 2017]

The dialogues written for the main character Ottomo(Takeshi Kitano) was better than most movies similar in genre to ''Beyond Outrage'' (2012). It was fluently portrayed by Takeshi Kitano, who is usually known as a comedian and his co-stars. The action in the movie was also more than decent, the highlight being when Otomo empties a gun on Kataoka at point- blank range, killing him and not attending his funeral.

It's a Japanese Thing; You wouldn't Understand

[bemyfriend-40184 · 6/10 · 30 June 2021]

A film about the Japanese Yakuza. Brilliant! Lots of subtle humor: mugging, deadpanning. I'm sure in Japanese, there were puns, double-entrendre, plays on words, etc. A great, good-old-fashioned gangster film. Wow!

Lacking character

[politic1983 · 6/10 · 10 October 2021]

The second of Takeshi Kitano's "Outrage" yakuza trilogy, "Outrage Beyond", very much carries on where the first film ended, with more of the same. But, with much of the cast eliminated from its predecessor, Kitano introduces a whole raft of new characters to keep the complicated narrative alive, but also make it something of a standalone film in its own right.

With Sekiuchi, head of the Sannokai, now eliminated, Kato (Tomokazu Miura) takes over as Chairman, with the young treasurer Ishihara (Ryo Kase) his underboss. Employing largely young and inexperienced men in senior roles, the old school seniors grow suspicious of Kato's actions, with various plots and backstabbing leading to many lives lost as pressure grows on Kato.

But the biggest plotting of all comes from Detective Kataoka (Fumiyo Kohinata), who sets the Tokyo and Osaka heads against each other in a powerplay to show that he is the real man in charge. Within his cauldron he throws Otomo (Kitano), expediting his release from prison and teaming him up with former rival Kimura (Hideo Nakano) to start a hit on Kato's men. Again, a complex network of lies and deceit is created where it's every man for himself within the organisations.

Stylistically, Kitano keeps things very consistent with the first film: a conventional drama without much in the way of the humour normally associated with his films. Many of the shots feature black and shiny cars moving around Kobe which, while not a setting for the film, provides much of its industrial and brutal architecture for many of the characters' demises.

Again, glamour is combined with grime in the yakuza world in a seamless transition over the five years between the two episodes. But while the building of the distrust towards Kato is well measured, the speed at which Otomo and Kimura rise from lowly depths is perhaps a little too quick in what is an extended saga. Their new crew are not given a voice and are merely shown as a murderous and efficient unit whom one can't imagine have previously gone unnoticed by the yakuza heads.

Indeed, the lack of humanising characters - a strength in the depiction of Otomo's crew in the first instalment - results in a lack of audience involvement, with the newly-formed crew's rise inevitable and without much intrigue. Character-wise, the whole thing lacks a little Kippei Shina charm.

The development of the role of Kataoka, however, is the strongpoint, showing how politicians, the police and yakuza can all work together, as the lines between the good and the bad are blurred. He claims that he keeps the organisations in check with his plotting, but the resulting infighting leads to many deaths indirectly at his hands. His subordinate Shigeta (Yutaka Matsushige) can see this, but the power has now gone to Kataoka's head.

With only a handful of characters remaining from the first film, "Outrage Beyond" can be watched as a standalone piece - Kitano helpfully adding reminders for those still with us about what happened five years previous - and so you can watch it knowing where things stand. But in terms of quality, it needs to be part of something bigger to be effective.

It is a worthy follow-up to the decent - but far from ground-breaking - starting point, but needs that initial hook to pique your interest. This isn't quite as creative or shocking in its violence; lacks much real humour; and suffers for its lack of characterisation. Definitely an episode in something bigger, you need to look beyond "Outrage Beyond".

Politic1983.home.blog.

Beneath and above too

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 6 June 2019]

I'm refering to the international title of the movie "Beyond Outrage". I do think that the movie is a real good continuation of the first one. Back when I watched it, I didn't know a trilogy would emerge. I don't know what was planned, though I guess certain things might have been set up on purpose. But it's really great how this continues.

Beat Takeshi back again but not really with a vengeance. At least not at first, because he realized he was being used. The first one was quite frantic. I did revisit it, just to remember what had happened. It was a good idea, seeing characters and having them on your radar. A lot of violence and a lot dead people - so not for the faint of hearted ...

Bonus outrage, for similar reasons

[Sankari_Suomi · 8/10 · 9 May 2018]

Sanno-kai has vanquished Murase-gumi. Kato is secretly in league with Hanabishi-kai. Ishihara causes resentment among the dankai no seidai. Kataoka has a plan. Otomo wants revenge.

Kimura forges an unexpected alliance. Fuse is playing the long game. The Korean fixer takes a risk. Nishino remains loyal. Nakata is unstable. Shiroyama and Gomi are still the same. A yakuza honours the jingi code.

Is Shigeta a liability? Who killed Shima and Ono? What is the meaning of the tattoo on the back of the prostitute in the white dressing gown? Is it possible to murder someone with a baseball-throwing machine?

I rate Autoreiji: Biyondo at 26.64 on the Haglee Scale, which works out as a violent 8/10 on IMDB.