Wild Criminal (Japan 1999)

Rating: **
Review Date: 2/14/02
Cast: Miho Nomoto, Aya Nakamura, Riki Takeuchi, cameos by Chieko Shiratori, Mai Tachihara, Kumiko Takeda

Well, there's only one reason to watch this violent and misogynistic Yakuza film: Miho Nomoto. It's just a damn shame that she's wearing a hideous blonde wig throughout the entire film - it seriously spoils her otherwise tough-as-nails presence. Plotwise, this is your typical gangster movie where some dirty rat (Riki Takeuchi) steals some stock certificates from his own syndicate and attempts to get rich by selling them to rival gangs. His lovely girlfriend Tomoyo (Aya Nakamura) is caught in the middle of the whole mess, and takes an unbelievable amount of abuse from nearly everyone in the film. Tired of being beaten and whored out to the entire cast, Tomoyo hooks up with a mysterious outlaw named Yuki (mesmerizing glamour model Miho Nomoto) and the two of them conspire to pull their own heist - if they can trust each other long enough, that is. Fortunately, these two hotties share a certain amount of sexual attraction towards each other and have forsaken men in order to find comfort in each other's arms. Hubba, hubba! After everyone double-crosses everyone else, the two women face off at gunpoint. Will their love and trust triumph over their greed and lust?

Average B-movie silliness that's well made and fairly entertaining throughout. As I mentioned before, Miho Nomoto is fantastic in everything she does. Her graceful beauty, devastating gaze, seductive mouth, super-sexy voice, and undeniable presence are absolutely riveting. If only they'd gotten rid of that awful blonde wig!!! It's awesome to see her in such a dominating role, and it's a female action lover's delight to see her in action with a gun. It's also a real treat to see her playing something other than the helpless victim for a change - that role goes to her co-star Aya Nakamura this time around (who has her own bizarre hair issues to deal with). The action scenes are a bit sparse, but Ms. Nomoto handles them with unwavering authority. It's also interesting to note that three "Zero Woman" veterans, Kumiko Takeda ("Zero Woman 3"), Mai Tachihara ("Zero Woman 4"), and Chieko Shiratori ("Zero Woman 6"), show up as special guest stars. I'm hoping that Miho Nomoto continues to develop her action persona and that we can look forward to further greatness from her.