Review of Detroit Metal City (2008) by Dustin L — 29 Mar 2009

You don't need to appreciate Japanese humour to enjoy this one.

The manga this movie was adapted from is rather plain to be honest, but an outstanding cast manages to make even the most one-sided characters interesting to watch. I was particularly impressed by Yasuko Matsuyuki's complete transformation from frail housewife in Suspect X (which I had only watched a week before) to vulgarity-spewing groin-kicking band manager. Then there's also the hauntingly cute Rosa Kato, an extraordinary mix of Italian and Japanese blood.

The writers deserve credit for being able to mix up a story that feels reasonably complete, which is often not the case for most book/game/comic adaptations. They obviously did their homework by rearranging bits from the manga and patching it up with their own content to make the entire story flow comfortably.

I thought they could have been more creative with the climatic showdown featuring Gene Simmons though. Everyone loves big explosions but the way they were abruptly slipped in felt... lethargic.

Overall a very entertaining movie, perfect for laughing session with a bunch of buddies. A warning though, those who are sensitive to vulgarities and crude humour with mild sexual references will want to avoid this movie since there's a very generous dose of that in this film.