Just got back from checking this out at the Two Boots indie theater in Manhattan. Missed my first chance to check it out a few months ago when the IFC theater had their Asian movie festival. Wow.
I haven't seen this much flagrant use of senseless guts and gore since the last time I watched
Dead Alive! Working on a more detailed review, but here's the jist of
TGP: In the future the Tokyo PD has been privatized and a new breed of genetically altered psychopath has shown up on the streets. These monsters are known as Engineers. They appear like any normal human, but when their bodies suffer excessive trauma (say, machine gun fire or a severed limb), the damaged area undergoes some radical evolution and develops any number of insane physical defense mechanisms like bio-mechanical blades, guns, and crocodile-like jaws!
In answer to the Engineers, the Tokyo PD has taken to training specialized "hunters" to fight the problem. The focus of the movie is an attractive young female hunter named Ruka (
Audition's Eihi Shiina) who's trying to get to the mystery behind where the Engineers come from and why her police officer father was killed when she was just a kid.
The story's pretty shallow, the focus shifts a little too much for extended periods of time when it should probably put Ruka in the spotlight, and the ending - though featuring a moment or two of beautiful absurdity - didn't seem quite over-the-top enough compared to other parts of the flick. However, the special effects are a sight to behold, not so much because they're "realistic", but because they're almost entirely done with makeup and prosthetics rather than with computers. Sure, there are a few moments of cgi, but only when it's absolutely necessary. Otherwise, the gore flows freely, the laughs are plentiful (the fake commercials and Tokyo PD public service announcements especially), and the shock value is through the roof. If none of this sounds appealing to you though, then stay away. As for the rest, open your arms and bathe in the red!
