Demon City on Netflix is Japan's answer to John Wick with a dash of Oldboy, and it rocks

Date:
Mon, 17 Mar 2025 14:21:43 +0000

Description:
I want to see more unique, fun action movies with tight runtimes like Demon City on Netflix.

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Let me know if this sounds familiar: A muscle-car-loving gang hitman capable of tearing an army of bodyguards to shreds, and seemingly impervious to bullets, wants to leave the business to have a quiet family life after completing a major hit to bring down a rival gang. But when he loses his family and is attacked at home, and then left for dead, he goes on a
murderous rampage of revenge.

Yes, when I say Demon City is Japan's answer to John Wick , I don't just mean it's an action movie full of slick hand-to-hand combat (although it is that). I mean this thing really spends the first 20 minutes sketching a new story around John Wick 's outline.

But in its very first scene, it also makes clear what sets it apart in this comparison by adding a lot more blood and dismemberment, and creating its own dramatic goal by having a group of guys in demonic masks collectively attack our anti-hero Sakata so instead of a hunt for one villain, we know we're going to see our hero collect a load of heads here (probably with masks still attached).

It further sets itself apart with a 12-year time jump, and a light dusting of political conspiracy to add spice. Whereas John Wick was pulled back in by unlucky circumstances, Sakata is at the center of a storm of betrayal and intrigue a few of these elements tie into it having a certain air of Park Chan-wook's Oldboy about it too.

But it's far less interesting in being grounded than most similar movies, and is happy to throw the occasional feat of near super-strength into its
uniquely and unmissably choreographed fight scenes. If you're a guy employed by the demon leaders, it's like Jason Voorhees is coming for you an unspeaking, unmoved, undead force of violence.

The stakes here are not "will Sakata make it out of this one alive", but
"what the hell is going to happen next well, I didn't think it would be that ". (Image credit: Netflix)

This is the perfect mark for a movie like this to hit I'm obviously not worried the main character might die part way through, but I was locked into this movie solidly for its tidy 107-minute run time because I couldn't wait
to see what the next big fight scene would be. They're not all as successful at one-upping each other every time as might make it truly one of the best Netflix movies , but it really works for me.

At times, the cause-and-effect, Rube-Goldberg-esque choreography almost feels comedic not because it's poor or overly silly, but because you're used to seeing something like this in a Jackie Chan movie. The cheesy electric guitar soundtrack kind of helps to maintain this sometimes OTT tone it'd be wrong
in most movies, but it's all mixed in the right proportions here.

I mean, there are clearly flaws here it's lacking in character depth; obviously there's an upper limit to how much emotional investment you'll make in a movie where the stakes are most "what wild thing will happen next"; the last fight is maybe the weakest and slightly outstays its welcome (though certainly has its moments) but I had a great time, and it's easy to have any concerns washed away by a banger of a final scene that subverts the sequel tease you expect from every movie these days.

But as a fun, brutal, tight action movie for a long weekend? I had a blast. You might also like The Electric State could have been a great Netflix sci-fi movie, but it's just more evidence that it's Marvel or bust for the Russo brothers Netflix cancels spy thriller The Recruit, and I know which show to blame Running Point is a Netflix slam dunk here are 3 more sports comedy shows with over 80% on Rotten Tomatoes to enjoy next



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/streaming/netflix/demon-city-on-netflix-is-japans-an swer-to-john-wick-with-a-dash-of-oldboy-and-it-rocks


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