Here
is what I already knew before I made the decision to watch As the Gods Will (2014):
- Takashi
Miike is the Director
In
a span of almost 25 years he’s directed at least 90 works. It is said that 13 Assassins (2010) and Audition (1999) are his most notable
over sea successes, but Crow Zero
(2007) and One Missed Call (2003) are
the films that usually come to mind when I think of the director. Then again,
out of the select few works of his I have seen Crow Zero is my favorite.
- Miike
can get pretty gruesome.
Think
of something along the realm of Kill Bill
(2003). I’m not a fan of the unnecessarily gruesome (at all for that matter), but blood and gore does not encompass all
of Mike’s work. I would say Crow Zero is among milder films. But don’t
take this as my saying As the Gods Will
is one of his more tolerable films in the gory department. We barely get five
minutes into the film before there is a pan across a girl in a high school
uniform, behead, laying in a pool of her own blood.
- This
is a manga adaptation
Manga
to film adaptations aren’t anything special or new in the Japanese film industry.
Takashi Miike has directed a number of manga adaptations prior to this film.
Even if you didn’t know that it was a manga adaptation. From taking note of the
way it was shot and edited it does feel at times that the frame was pulled
straight from the pages of a manga.
- Fukushi
Sota is in it
Since
last year he’s increasingly becoming one of the popular younger male actors to
look out for in Japan. He’s mostly known for being a part of the Kamen Rider Franchise, but he has
recently broke out into working on other films and dramas outside the franchise.
I’ve been anticipating the day I watch him in something so I can judge how good
he is for myself.
Maybe
As the Gods Will wasn’t the best
first impression to make though. The films reminds me of the child birthed by Battle Royale, Saw, and Kill Bill. As the Gods Will tells the story of the
game of survival. Takahata Shun (Fukushi Shota) is an ordinary high school
student whose life takes a turn when his teachers head explodes in the middle
of class and a daruma doll (a traditional
Japanese symbol of perseverance and good luck) emerges. Shun is forced to
play a game of red light, green light with the class the daruma where if the
daruma doll sees you move your head explodes into red marbles. Shun winning the
games brings on an onset of other games he must win in order to keep from dying
along with his friend Ichika (Hirona Yamazaki).
I
will say that if you cannot get passed the on slaughter of teenage boys and
girls, then this may not be the film for you. I did appreciate the use of graphic
and editing in this film. The characters running the game, such as the daruma
doll, blended into the scene with the actors pretty seamlessly. I believe, (more
so in horror and thriller films), if CGI isn’t executed properly the film can
become pretty cheesy and become outright comedy.
I
will honestly say that I didn’t care very much for the film. I do understand
way Miike has such a cult. Even as I was debating whether I should continue on
with the film, I still couldn’t help but admire how well assembled the film was. But not even Miike’s magic could save this film
for me. The actors weren’t instrumental in making this film a gem either. Anyone
could have played Takahata Shun. Nothing about Fukushi’s performance was
memorable or even very moving. I also never really believed Takahata Shun grew
to like Ichika as much as the film leads us on to believe.
Just
seeing other people’s opinions of the film, it seems the message left an
impression. By the survival of the students we left to question what’s leaves
an individual best equip to survive and prosper in society. Does caring about
other and sacrificing yourself for the wellbeing of another make you weak? I
don’t want to spoil the ending I do want to touch on the idea that the film
leaves you with. On one hand, Takahata is symbolic of self-sacrifice for the well-being
of others, while Amaya’s character is selfish and does everything for personal
gain. They are complete foils of one another, and both of their opposing ways
of surviving in the game speak to the bigger picture of the way individuals
view survival in everyday life. The
ending leads one to question which of the two opposing views on life leads to the
more prosperous life, kind of like good versus evil.
While
it is a pretty thoughtful message to leave behind, I just didn’t have the same thoughtful
feelings after finishing this film. Maybe Action Thrillers just aren’t for me.
What
did you think?