DVD Corner

First Love Blu-ray Review

“First Love” will appeal to fans of Takashi Miike.

A drug deal gone south, a crooked cop, a vengeful lover, a boxer (Leo) who may have a tumor, a screw-up yakuza (Kase), a drug addicted call girl (Monica), warring gangs. What does all of this have in common? They’re pieces of a messy situation that spirals out of control.

For decades now the prolific Japanese director Takashi Miike has delved into just about every genre possible, but he is perhaps most well known for his gangster films. Miike returns to the genre with a new film titled “First Love.” As someone who has seen a fair amount of his work, this new entry feels rather tame for Miike. Don’t get me wrong, there are some odd moments involving decapitated heads, a hallucination/haunting, cartoony violence, death galore, and even an animated sequence, but as a whole, it feels, well, ordinary for him. 

The slow-burn story comes across like a combo between a Tarantino movie and a throwback Japanese gangster flick. To some, this may be exactly what the Doctor ordered, but I’ve always been more attached to Miike’s stranger and more original fare like the warped “Visitor Q” or “Dead Or Alive” which has one of the craziest endings of all time. With that said, “First Love” is a perfectly solid movie in its own right. It’s jam packed with character and story, it has heart, and it sure has plenty of violence.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 16:9 1080p. How does it look? It’s not the most glamorous transfer, but it’s adequate.

Audio Tracks: Japanese and English 5.1 DTS-HD MA and Stereo. How do they sound? The Japanese track is the way to go here as the English dub is passable at best. 

Extras include a DVD copy, a teaser and a trailer for “First Love” and trailers for other Well Go USA titles.

February 10, 2020 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | First Love Blu-ray Review, Takashi Miike