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ASSESSMENT COVER SHEET
Student’s name Lim Sue Roe
ID number 25359118 Phone 04-31031288
Unit name ReportingtheArts circuit Unit code ATS3113
t
Note: If this is a group assignment,please include the names of all other group members.
Title of
assignment
Task 1 Film Review
Lecturer/tutor Andrea Baker
Is this an authorised group assignment? Yes No
Has any part of this assignment been previously submitted as part ofanother unit/course?
Yes No
Tutorial/laboratory day &
time
Tuesday 3pm
Due date 21/8/15 Date submitted 21/8/15
All work must be submitted by the due date. If an extension of work is granted this must be specified with the
signature of the lecturer/tutor.Extension granted until (date) ................................ Signature of
lecturer/tutor .................................................Please note that it is your responsibility to retain copies of your
assessments.
Intentional plagiarismamounts to cheating in terms of Monash University Statute 4.1 – Discipline.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism means to take and use another person’s ideas and or manner of expressing them and
to pass these off as one’s own by failing to give appropriate acknowledgement. This includes material from
any source,staff, students orthe Internet – published and unpublished works.
Collusion: Collusion is unauthorised collaboration with anotherperson or persons.
Where there are reasonable grounds for believing that intentional plagiarism or collusion has occurred, this
will be reported to the Chief Examiner, who may disallow the work concerned by prohibiting assessment or
refer the matter to the faculty manager.
Student Statement:
 I have read the university’s Plagiarism Policy and Procedures [http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-
bank/academic/education/conduct/plagiarism-policy.html.].

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 I understand the consequencesofengaging in plagiarism and collusion as described in University
Statute 4.1. Part III – Academic Misconduct
[http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/calendar/Statutes/Statute04.html#Heading110].
 I have taken proper care of safeguarding this work and made all reasonable effort to ensure it could not
be copied.
 I acknowledge that the assessorofthis assignment may for the purposes ofassess ment,reproduce the
assignment and:
i. provide to anothermember of faculty; and/or
ii. submit it to a plagiarism checking service; and/or
iii. submit it to a plagiarism checking service which may then retain a copy of the
assignment on its database for the purpose of future plagiarism checking.*
 I certify that I have not plagiarised the work of others or participated in unauthorised collaboration when
preparing this assignment.
Signature ...............Sue Roe.................... Date……21/8/2015………………………………
* delete (iii) if not applicable
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privacyofficer@adm.monash.edu.au

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Yakuza Apocalypse review
A newborn yakuza vampire fighting a frog-man in a fluffy frog mascot costume, that’s
Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War of the Underworld, a film that screened at this year’s
Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). Metaphorically, Yakuza Apocalypse is an
alternative to being high on drugs.
Despite the violence and gore, Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War of the Underworld is just about the best
fun you can ever get. Photo: Youtube.com
Screened under the category of Night Shift, the film reflects the craziness of Japanese.
It is a laugh-out-loud film that balances action with comedy. Prolific Takeshi Miike (Crows
Zero, Gozu, Ichi the Killer), is back again directing yet another action film surrounding the
Japanese mafia, or better known as the yakuza, but this time, with a comical twist. The theme
of the film is simple: the yakuza thrives on the civilians as much as the civilians rely on them,
but that simple idea is presented in the wackiest ways possible.
Set in a small town in Japan, Kageyama Akira is a yakuza member who worships his
boss, Kamiura and dreams of becoming like him. In truth Kamiura was a yakuza vampire, a
vampire with natural mafia characteristic. Then, Kamiura is assassinated in corkscrew-style

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beheading in front of Kageyama. At his dying breath, Kamiura bites Kageyama, turning
Kageyama into a yakuza vampire. From there on, things got really crazy. Whether it is lessons
on Kageyama’s new powers or the appearance of the much-feared modern terrorist, Yakuza
Apocalypse constantly surprises audience with ridiculous plot twists and awesome actions.
There were many crazy events that were unexplained, but is probably better left hanging as
senseless, absurd jokes of the film.
Yakuza Apocalypse is funny and bold, and delivers the theme of yakuza in a
straightforward yet hilarious style. Ichihara Hayato (Rookies), returns as a character of shouting
and fighting, and fits the role of Kageyama perfectly, showing Kageyama’s growth from a
vengeful young protégé to a potential yakuza boss. However, skills of emerging martial artist,
Yayan Ruhian (The Raid), was slightly unexploited, especially in the final battle scene with
Kageyama. The camera techniques at the beginning of Yakuza Apocalypse is messy trying to
keep up with the action, but it gets smoother and steadier as the film progresses.
There are honestly no deep message or enlightening moment in this film, it is purely a
crazy action comedy that may appear too outlandish for audience who are unused to the
Japanese style. Although there is a high level of violence and gore, the lightness of its humour
may disappoint fans of Miike’s dark style. As long as you abandon any sense of logic and
expectations, you are in for a fun rollercoaster ride.

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Critical Reflection
Before deciding which movie to review, I watched 3 films at MIFF. The first one was
documentary Thank You for Playing, then next gen category Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, and
lastly, night shift category Yakuza Apocalypse: The Great War of the Underworld. The two
films before Yakuza Apocalypse were both educational and tear-jerking films, which may
explain the reason my choice to review Yakuza Apocalypse, because it gave me a different,
thus stronger feel.
Before this, Takeshi Miike, one of MIFF’s favourite minds, had mostly directed movies
with extremely dark, violent and serious tone. His famous works like Crows Zero and Ichi the
Killer are the best examples of his dark style. Yakuza Apocalypse is very different from his
previous works. Going into the theatre without any expectation was probably the key to
enjoying the film.
I went through a few other reviews of Yakuza Apocalypse (Variety, The Telegraph,
The Guardian) to aid my writing, but there were poles apart opinions, which mainly come from
two causes. As I mentioned, the film might be too odd for audience unused to Japanese style
comedy. Personally, I had some experience with Japanese comedy films, and honestly, Yakuza
Apocalypse is actually less crazy compared to many other Japanese comedies, but still remains
overly odd for the mainstream standards. Secondly, because this film is very different from
Miike’s usual style, and fans might feel the action and gore of the film does not live up to
Miike’s usual standards. Despite reading all the different opinions, my stand for Yakuza
Apocalypse never changed: I love it. The laughter and clapping of the audience at the screening
of MIFF only reinforced my stand.
For the review, I followed the Film Review Tips by Michael Dwyer and Andrea Baker,
separating my article to intro, vision, story, verdict and conclusion. The theme of the film was

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simple, and was difficult to elaborate without much spoilers. I did most of the research only
after I saw the film, which helped prevent my mind from having any expectations, other than
it will be wacky and crazy, prior to the screening (Danesco, 2010). I referred to other reviews
to decide what spoils the movie and what does not while summarising the film (Danesco, 2010).
Despite some bad reviews for the film, Yakuza Apocalypse was screened at the Cannes Film
Festival and is chosen to be screened at the coming Samuel Goldwyn Film Festival and Toronto
Film Festival, once again supporting my stand that Yakuza Apocalypse is definitely worth a
watch.
References
Danesco, B. 2010. How To Write a Film Review
Dwyer, M. & Baker, A. 2015. Film Review Tips
Amulya, J. What is Reflective Practice?
Author Unknown. How to Write a Film Review