First Love

Play trailer

1:47

First Love

2019

1h 48m

Crime

Drama

Comedy

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

98%

Tomatometer

121 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Verified Ratings

One night in Tokyo, a self-confident young boxer and a prostitute get caught up in a drug-smuggling plot involving organized crime, corrupt cops and a female assassin.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

First Love's blend of violence, comedy, and romance might seem disparate -- but for director Takashi Miike, it's just another wildly entertaining entry in a filmography full of them.

Read Critics Reviews

Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

03/03/2020

4/5

Yes, it's preposterous and at times hyper-violent, but the tongue is always firmly in its cheek. Until it's cut out.

Go to Full Review

Mark Kermode

Kermode & Mayo's Film Review

02/20/2020

A small release, but if you're looking for something different to see, please let me recommend this one. It's not like any other film out.

Go to Full Review

Simran Hans

Observer (UK)

02/16/2020

4/5

Kôji Endô's thundering jazz-rock score amplifies Miike's tendency towards playful cartoon excess.

Go to Full Review

Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Jun 10

4/5

... tough, silly, violent and thoughtful by turns; if you enjoy extreme cinema, find someone who feels the same, kick back, and enjoy the internecine world of First Love...it’s an ideal introduction to Takashi Miike and the auteur’s work...

Go to Full Review

Dolores Quintana

Dolores Quintana

12/28/2022

This film is not only an excellent addition to Asian crime or Yakuza cinema, but it is also a rip-roaring comedy with a big beating heart.

Go to Full Review

Dan Bayer

Next Best Picture

05/13/2022

7/10

Every time Miike could go completely off the rails, he reins himself in, pulling back where barging ahead would make this an even more memorable (if messier) experience.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

john c

10/18/2019

Not enough violence / I wanted a yakuza blood bath!

See more

Lúcio Leonardo P

@Lucio 11/16/2024

Entertainment that pleases as an action film, even if the plot uses the stereotypical romance based on its short story. It's violent, brutal, with well-orchestrated fights and a plot with accusations between the lines. We have a fable that uses comical attempts (with small successes) to provide a certain relief in its aggressiveness and that works well with the cliché of first love, in the last yakuza.

See more

Darren D

@DarrenJD 02/19/2024

"First Love" a brilliant & dark humoured love story from Takashi Miike & if you're familiar with his work, it's made in the manner you would expect, with blood, gore & severed heads, as two young down on their luck people accidentally come together & get tangled up with courrpt cops, stolen drugs & gang warfare.

See more

Gareth D

@HiGarethDavies 07/16/2023

Absolutely insane, weird, dark, gory and fast-paced. Loved it.

See more

william d

@acsdoug 02/21/2023

I got a real kick out of this one.

See more

Becca S

01/06/2023

Miike in the style of a Tarantino crime film and it goes hard!

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Takashi Miike

Director

Masataka Kubota

Leo

Nao Ômori

Otomo

Shôta Sometani

Kase

Jun Murakami

Ichikawa

Sansei Shiomi

Actor

First Love: Movie Clip - Hit it!

0:31

First Love: Movie Clip - Cat Out of the Bag

1:22

View more videos

First Love: Trailer 1

1:47

First Love: Teaser Trailer 1

1:06

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

One night in Tokyo, a self-confident young boxer and a prostitute get caught up in a drug-smuggling plot involving organized crime, corrupt cops and a female assassin.

Director: Takashi Miike
Producer: Misako Saka, Jeremy Thomas
Screenwriter: Masa Nakamura
Distributor: Well Go USA
Production Co: Oriental Light and Magic, Recorded Picture Company (RPC)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Comedy
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 27, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 24, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $218.3K
Runtime: 1h 48m

Most Popular at Home Now