Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Two years
after leaving the grungy cyberpunk calling card Tetsuo: The Iron
Man, Shinya Tsukamoto reenters the world of flesh and metal
metamorphoses with a more narratively ambitious film that is neither
sequel nor remake, but a rethinking of the ideas on a bigger scale with
more impressive effects. The film begins in the recognizable world of the
thriller, where a young middle-class couples see their son kidnapped by
mysterious hoodlums, and then takes an abrupt turn into an underworld of
cybermen led by a mad scientist performing twisted experiments. The father
(Tomoroh Taguchi, returning from the first film), filled with rage and
shame at his powerlessness, suddenly transforms into a robotic warrior and
becomes overwhelmed by the power, simultaneously terrified and ecstatic.
Unlike in the original, Tsukamoto offers an explanation, for what it's
worth, but the power lies not in the story but the nightmarish imagery and
the themes of the marriage of flesh and technology, metal and magic. With
an ample budget at his disposal (not to mention color), Tsukamoto ups the
conflict to a battle of biblical proportions while maintaining the
brooding, terrifying, nightmarish quality. Tsukamoto's gory, violent
vision of technology run amok is not for everyone, but fans of David Lynch
and David Cronenberg will find his dangerous visions just as creatively
disturbing. --Sean Axmaker
chaotic story of one man's fight with sanity,
March 30, 1999
Reviewer: sleeper13@pgh.net from pittsburgh,
pennsylvania
this is one of the most intense films i've ever
seen. it is more or less the same story as tetsuo: the iron man, but it
goes much farther, and much more completely insane.it's definitely not a
film for everbody, as many japanese films seem to have a hard time hitting
home with western audiences. but if you enjoy eclectic, chaotic, and
definitely too intense film, i'm sure you'll enjoy this manic trip through
one man's evolution into mechinization.very visual in nature, and the
sound is unbelievable. very truly one of the most effective and memorable
films i've seen to date.
Cinematic masochism at its best!, October 9,
2000
Reviewer: Josh
Leman (see more about me) from Boulder, CO United States
What a crazy, crazy, crazy movie. Everything you think you've
heard, everything you think you know about this movie is irrelevant if you
haven't seen it. I think Shinya Tsukamoto is genuinely insane. Tetsuo II:
Body Hammer is a nightmarish ride into hell and beyond, terrifying in its
simplicity and intriguing in its complexity, and you absolutely will
never, ever forget it. There's something hard to explain about this
movie-- I'm kind of afraid of it, but nevertheless I feel like I have to
watch it again and again and again. Watch it and you'll see what I mean.
As for the DVD, it seems okay to me for a movie like this. It's a Japanese
cult movie, so you can't really expect a pristine transfer, but what's
there seems generally okay. I don't see the pixellation the other
reviewers mention, and the movie is really dark and murky but I think that
may have been what Tsukamoto wanted. As for the comment about the trailer
looking better than the film, I really don't think it does. Parts of the
trailer are in normal, full color, whereas most of the actual movie
(including the exact same shots shown in full color in the trailer) was
processed by its makers to make it appear in a somber shade of purplish
blue. Other than that, it seems to be pretty much the same quality as the
film itself. But I didn't see this film in theaters and I've never seen
the VHS version, so I'm not much of an authority. But at any rate, Tetsuo
II: Body Hammer will change your life. It will forever alter the way you
think about movies and about yourself. Just go see it. --This text
refers to the DVD
edition.
Creation and destruction, October 25, 2001
Reviewer: Jos? from Bsb, Brazil
Although its
ideology is creation, the modelling of a world, industrial society is
really based on destruction. Much more impressive than the benefits of our
economic system are the high number of victims it demanded to survive (WWI,
WWII, the cold war, with massacres sponsored by both sides), much
more impressive than the technology that makes our live simpler is the
fact that it was born in the battlefield. All we created can be used as
weapon, just because it was its primary function.
That´s Tetsuo II. Death inside life. Doom as the most essential part of
love. Security created by terror. Peace made by war. --This text refers
to the DVD
edition.
Good, but too slow, October 23, 2001
Reviewer: Robert
Stotzky (see more about me) from Gothenburg, Sweden
After trying to get this video for quite a long time, I found
it in a pawn shop of all places, ..., and at that price it's a good movie.
I would be hesitant about paying [full price] for it, though.
The main reason for this is the pace: it's just much too slow. I
haven't seen "Tetsuo - Iron Man" yet, but it's shorter (only 67 minutes)
and I've heard that it's also faster paced that this sequel (or remake, if
you wish.) While watching this movie I kept wishing for more parts like
the one appearing right at the end of the film, with consists of nothing
but a lot of still images flashing on your screen - japanese bondage
stills, metal, weird colours and what looks like photographs taken through
a microscope - all blending together to form a massive attack on your
neural network.
If the movie had contained more scenes like that it would have been
great. If it had been 20 minutes shorter and if it had had MORE of that
cool music it would have been even greater.
Perhaps the mistake is mine - I wanted a movie that progressed at the
pace of a music video, and this doesn't. Still, I can't help but think
that it would be a truly great movie if it did.
Some of the good things about this movie are things like the colours -
lots of cold blues and silver are used, giving the viewer a sense of
something very naked; a city stripped of emotion and feeling. This is also
the basic theme of the movie - a man who can not evolve unless he gets in
touch with his emotions and accepts himself for what he is.
Japanese movies are usually strange to Western eyes and minds. "Tetsuo
II - Body Hammer" is no exception. --This text refers to the VHS
Tape edition.
From amazon.com
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