With a fun new direction for our titular assassins and more of the chaotic action from the first film, Baby Assassins 2 delivers.
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As a giant fan of the genre, I've been aching for more solid action comedies. There are plenty of American action movies that have elements of humor, but more often than not, one aspect of the genre doesn't deliver. Either the action isn't that good or the humor is more of a chaser to the action rather than a core aspect. For instance, James Gunn's Superman and Ryan Coogler's Sinners both have a strong sense of humor, but you'd be hard pressed to call either one a comedy. But in my experience, if the American movie scene isn't making it, there's a good chance another country can fill void. Enter Japanese filmmaker Yugo Sakamoto and his Baby Assassins franchise, that manage to deliver a new approach to action along with some surprisingly grounded comedy.
The Setup
Now cohabitating better than ever, our young assassins Mahiro and Chisato come across a new problem. Debt. Apparently they've been charged fees for a fitness club for four years and now owe a giant sum. But when their efforts to pay off the debt earn them a suspension from the assassin guild, the two friends will have to find jobs, and actually *gasp* budget their money. All while two would-be assassins target the duo to prove their mettle and get into the guild themselves.
In my review of the first movie I gushed about how the movie made the most out of the premise, mining the image of these two very young women who are contract killers, but can't figure out how to do things like laundry without bullets flying out of their pockets. So the real question is, even if you bring more of the same crunchy action, how do you challenge this pair again?
The answer: put them through the monotonous grind of everyday life under capitalism.
Unlike something like the High Table in the John Wick franchise, the Assassin's Guild in this movie operates more like a traditional bureaucracy with seemingly arbitrary rules and distinctions. Something that two girls who can barely function like normal humans are not well suited to interact with.
So when they're on suspension and they're low on funds after paying off their fees, our heroes have to do things like budget their money while working a demeaning day labor job and be sure not to get into any scuffles because they're on suspension. Which is easier said than done when they have two would-be assassins on their tail that want to kill them and even a fistfight could lead to an extension of their suspension or a pile of paperwork where they'll be told they can't attack anyone until they're shot at.
So as much as our heroes are two versions of arrested development, their struggle is actually relatable since working a day job for little to no money sucks, especially when the only reason you got suspended was because you were trying to follow the rules and avoid late fees, and maybe you want to gamble a little bit in the chances of eating slightly better food today.
All of this is played up beautifully by both leads, especially Akair Takaishi who is the queen of teenage-styled angst in this movie.
But wait isn't this an action movie? Why yes it is.
Much like the last movie, Baby Assassins 2 isn't as action-packed as a Hollywood blockbuster, but the 3-4 set pieces that are here are wonderfully staged and performed chaos. This is all thanks to stunt coordinator and fight choreographer Kensuke Sonomura's who expands his approach to action a bit here.
The first one is his take on gunfights. A lot of cinematic gunfights go one of two directions. You either go more tactical (i.e. everyone is moving and holding guns like folks would for real) where there's an emphasis on cover. Or there's the more gun-fu approach where everything is pure chaos and we throw physics out the window a bit to highlight acrobatic dodges. Sonomura leans much heavier into the second with a lot of the gunfights being out in the open with our combatants flipping, spinning, and dodging before the shot comes. Like a real time bullet time effect or something close to gun-kata in Equilibrium.
The next is the hand to hand combat approach which is equally acrobatic but also much more influenced by mixed martial arts. The emphasis in these fights is less about strikes and more about close-quarters grappling and positioning. So if Mahiro is fighting someone she'll close the gap quickly, throw a few feint jabs and then move in really close so she can deliver punches and elbows. And if her opponent throws a punch she's just as likely to spin against her opponent's body to dodge it, duck to position herself for a grapple or pull off a feat of gymnastic madness so her opponent hits air but she somehow has him in a headlock.
It's a distinctive approach that really stands out to the much more zoomed out approach most modern fight choreographers emphasize.
Condense all of that into 100 minutes and you've got yourself, would you look at that a solid action comedy that does both aspects well and doesn't go on long enough to wear out it welcome.
The Verdict: A Strong Sequel
With a fun new direction for our titular assassins and more of the chaotic action from the first film, Baby Assassins 2 delivers. 8/10
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