Baby Assassins Review
Baby Assassins is punchy, clever, and oh so fun
Baby Assassins directed by Yugo Sakamoto and follows the lives of two teenage assassins Chisato (Akari Takaishi) and Mahiro (Saori Izawa) who have just graduated high school. The pair seem to be, on their face, completely incompatible. Mahiro is cute, bubbly and outgoing, while Chisato is introverted, shy and socially anxious. Both in their own way, effortlessly cool.
In a meeting with their handler, Chisato and Mahiro are told that 'upper management' are ordering them to blend into society to ensure their covers aren’t blown. In order to assimilate, their bosses make them move into an apartment together and get part-time jobs. The two are understandably annoyed that they have to include applying for crappy part-time jobs at convenience stores to their already very complicated lives as professional assassins.
The action takes off after they are given an assignment to take out a high level member of the Yakuza. This attracts the attention of a prominent Yakuza family which inevitably leads to chaos and some fantastic fast paced martial arts choreography.
Away from the action, the film follows Mahiro and Chisato's relationship as they attempt to adapt and grow up while managing their unusual selection of jobs. The film is very good at merging two distinct narratives. There is the story of a pair of stereotypical and slightly apathetic gen z's in the midst of growing up who struggle with basic things like job interviews and getting their bikes by the council. Then there is a classic (often overdone) story of highly skilled killers going up against a powerful yakuza family. Both stories have been done countless times before, but together they work to create a fun and punchy film. This juxtaposition between the narratives as well as the polar opposite personalities of the characters leads to some genuinely hilarious scenes.
The film is low budget and unfortunately, sometimes this fact becomes obvious. While the majority of the fight scenes are insanely well choreographed, in some scenes, the gun fire and gore seem to be poorly enhanced via CGI and quite literally 'miss a beat'. That said, it feels like Sakamoto is somewhat self-aware of this fact and plays into it. He takes time to ensure that each character, even those in the Yakuza, are a little messy and have a child-like vulnerability to them, ensuring all characters meld with the teenage psyche.
Delightfully, Mahiro and Chisato's dynamic is as exciting as the action scenes. The relationship goes from tense, petty to wholesome and sincere. The transformation of their relationship highlights the importance of finding friends that accept you for who you are (even if that is a sociopathic assassin).
If you watch the film for what it is, a fun, low budget comedic delight, you won't be disappointed.
Baby Assassins is playing as part of the Japanese Film Festival 2022 in Australia. Check out the full program and book tickets here.