Movie Digest
Japan’s economic conditions worsen in the aftermath of the Olympics in the year 2020 hosted by the country. The condition had deteriorated so much that except for the rich and the powerful, with inflation skyrocketing every person was pushed into poverty and relied on extremely meagre means to survive. The way of living had gone down drastically. Our main character kaiji Ito is also one of the people that have to live on scraps to survive. Kaiji however is presented with the opportunity to resolve the issues faced by people like him around the country of Japan. It’s now up to Kaiji and his gambling prowess to win the game in the ‘Tower of babel’.
The Feel-Good Part
If you are someone who enjoys watching entertainment media like squid games, or Alice in borderland, this movie will definitely be right up in your lane. The film does a good job of portraying the class difference and the struggle to survive in conditions where the stakes are so unfair and constantly raised against you to put you down. Kaiji Ito’s character has been really fleshed out in this sequel. The side characters’ subplots make the movie exponentially better for example the scene where the president is confronted by his secretary and the revelation unfolded beautifully. Moments in the film really help you empathize with what the characters have to go through.
The Disappointing Factor
This movie was written by the same author who created the manga with the same name. However, the premises of this movie is a changed so fans of the manga might be disappointed upon knowing this. As opposed to the prequel of this movie, the latest installment had not come as close to the blockbuster the previous one had. Although the premise was promising and extremely grippy the plot midway fell through and started to drag pointlessly.
Fans of the previous prequel will be disappointed with this; the movie also has a twist at the end that was supposed to come as unexpected but turned out to be more amusing. That is another point, in order to completely enjoy the main characters’ gambling prowess, it would be recommended to watch the prequel and then come for this movie. Not entirely necessary but if you are someone who likes to be in the know this would be recommended.
In-Depth Analysis
The film is very good at using techniques like Chekhov’s Gun and Chekhov’s Gunman tropes in its storytelling. There is subtle foreshadowing throughout the duration of the film right from the onset of the Tower of Babel game. The main character’s convictions are stable and easy to fight for as a viewer, The story follows a similar trope of class struggle showing the end of each side as a rich man and a poor man in most realist genres.
Star Power
Tatsuya Fujiwara has previously worked on the death note films as the protagonist and his work in the Kaiji series is proof of his mettle as an actor in the competitive industry. Mackenyu proves with every single role his dedication to his art and that is something enriching to see especially coming from a family that is also invested in the industry as various other artists. Overall, the cast is a perfect fit for their roles and works their characters well.
Overall Opinion
If you are someone who loves to watch gripping movies that have elements of fatalism in their storytelling mixed with the usual class struggle drama then this movie is for you.
