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The Blood of Wolves

Play trailer Poster for The Blood of Wolves 2018 2h 6m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
100% Tomatometer 9 Reviews 92% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Rookie detective Hioka is given a crash course in subterfuge and street smarts by his veteran partner as the two attempt to shake down the mob.

Critics Reviews

View All (9) Critics Reviews
Robbie Collin Daily Telegraph (UK) Just as the film pulls no punches when it comes to violence, it withholds the tension-breaking respite of pastiche. Rated: 4/5 Oct 29, 2018 Full Review Katie Rife AV Club [It's] an appealingly hard-boiled tribute to Kinji Fukasaku's seminal Battles Without Honor And Humanity series from Toei, the same studio that released Fukasaku's yakuza films back in the '70s. Rated: B Oct 18, 2018 Full Review Matt Donato What To Watch The intricate web of lies, sleazeball rivalries, and stakeout benders that is The Blood Of Wolves does so, so, SO much right. Rated: 4/5 Nov 20, 2020 Full Review Pieter-Jan Van Haecke Psychocinematography While those expecting a pure Yakuza drama might be disappointed, those who give Blood of Wolves a chance are in for one of the best and most entertaining Yakuza/police thrillers in years. Sep 27, 2020 Full Review Panos Kotzathanasis Asian Movie Pulse "The Blood of the Wolves" is a great movie, definitely among the best of the year, and hopefully, a splendid beginning in the resurrection of the Yakuza film. Nov 30, 2019 Full Review Leigh Monson Birth.Movies.Death. You may approach The Blood of Wolves with a sense of nostalgia for yakuza films, but you'll leave with a sense that this pulpy genre has been injected with new life. Sep 27, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (3) audience reviews
Audience Member I was lucky enough to catch this film at the new York Asian film festival yesterday. I am a fan of Japanese yakuza films, especially Kinji Fukasaku's "Battles without honor and humanity" series. Shiraishi continues to wade into this world of gritty hiroshima yakuza thugs, this time focusing on the other side: the grittier, nastier Hiroshima police. The film is set in 1988, at the tail end of the showa era. It starts with the brutal torture of a young yakuza accountant that starts the ball rolling on a potential gang war. a young detective, fresh out of university, is assigned to partner up with a veteran detective in the anti gang division. The veteran is obviously dirty, and it offends the young cop to the point where he begins investigating his partner as well. as we follow the investigation of the disappearance of that young accountant, we see the line blur between police and criminal. There is no one to really root for in this film. No true good guy, only characters that I liked more than others. I found it difficult to side with anyone. Koji Yakusho's stellar performance as the dirty cop walking the tightrope between cop and criminal becomes the most likeable character in comparison. Tori Matsuzaka plays the young cop who does a great job as the only "clean" cop in the division. His character is so clean that it was almost cringe worthy for me to watch him constantly yell out "This is wrong!" throughout 3/4 of the movie. Don't get me wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The story made sense. The violence was bloody. The ending was cathartic. This film is much more satisfying than most of the other yakuza films I've seen in the past decade. The problems I had with the film had to do with the politics among these gangs. Why are some of these characters so important? Why is that woman crying over some young guy she screwed a couple of times? My problems with this film are kinda petty, and didn't affect my overall enjoyment. Think of it as "Training Day" meets "Battles without Honor and Humanity." Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member A well executed fusion of genres. The bad cop is partnered with a good cop within a yakusa setting. What's not to like. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Masterpiece Yakuza movie Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Blood of Wolves

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Rookie detective Hioka is given a crash course in subterfuge and street smarts by his veteran partner as the two attempt to shake down the mob.
Director
Kazuya Shiraishi
Production Co
Toei Tokyo
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 23, 2020
Runtime
2h 6m