Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2009

This film is the final part of a trilogy that is based on a hugely popular manga of the same name. At ¥6 billion, the production has been one of the costliest in Japan’s history, and the first installment of the film series in 2008 was a huge success, raking in at least ¥3.85 billion. The finale is equally over-the-top, with multiple storylines all leading to the rise of a charismatic leader named Friend—who wants to slaughter the entire human race. The story starts in 1969 with a group of kids who are friends in rural Japan. In their grass fort they envision a future where they’ll have to save humanity, writing all their adventures down in a “Book of Prophecy.” Fast-forward to 1997, and the friends are all leading normal lives. Kenji (Toshiaki Karasawa), the leader of the gang, is a failed rock musician who now runs a conbini while taking care of his sister’s kid Kanna (Airi Taira). When the exact calamities he and his friends imagined start to happen, the friends realize they must act to save the world. The first film focused on Kenji and the second on Kanna. The third starts in 2015, when Friend has become the despotic ruler of Japan, committing mass murder in the country and around the world. While the project is influenced by Stand By Me and has some resonance with classic Japanese monster pics like Godzilla, this final installment is more than a little overblown. (English title: 20th Century Boys: The Final Chapter—Our Flag) (155 min)