Starring Nicolas Cage, Bill Moseley, Sofia Boutella

Directed by Sion Sono

Elysian Film Group, out September 17

FrightFest 2021

In frontier city Samurai Town, a bank robber is sprung from jail by a wealthy warlord and offered freedom in exchange for finding his adopted granddaughter. Strapped into a leather suit that will self-destruct within five days, the bandit sets off on a journey to find the young woman and his own redemption.

This English language debut of Japanese auteur Sion Sono arrives with a quote from star Nicolas Cage describing it as ‘the wildest movie I’ve ever made.’ Considering his back catalogue of work, that should give you some idea of what to expect from this colourful, noisy fusion of genres.

Hero (Nicolas Cage, Mandy) is anything but, a violent criminal with plenty to atone for. The Governor of Samurai Town (Bill Moseley, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2) straps him into a suit with explosives around his testicles and a ticking clock. Rescue Bernice (Sofia Boutella, Star Trek Beyond) from bandits in good time or the suit will detonate.

A bizarre combination of 1980s Italian Mad Max rip-offs, spaghetti westerns, Kurosawa and Americana follows, replete with required swordplay and spurting blood to the accompaniment of a witty score by Joseph Trapanese. It’s an assault on the senses, with subtlety not being a consideration of the director, who conjures up colourful tableaux  and inventive action scenes, while the cast look semi-stunned as they make their way through this adult fairy tale.

Verdict:  A vibrant, kinetic cult movie in the making – it won’t be to everyone’s taste, but you can’t deny its lofty ambitions. 8/10

Nick Joy