Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on April 2014

So many thrillers these days try to hide the fact they want to be a Tarantino film but have nothing new to say or add to his oeuvre. The latest joyride by comedian, novelist and filmmaker Hiroshi Shinagawa takes a different approach—it doesn’t even try to hide the imitation. Maria (Mika Nakashima), a hostess at a men’s club, starts the proceedings by asserting that one of three bank robbers has killed her. She goes on to set the scene, based around her club Honey Bunny (get it?). Three men are holed up there after pulling off a bank heist that might have gone wrong (sound familiar?). They are the deep-in-debt manager Shuzo (Tatsuya Fujiwara), the waiter and martial artist Koji (Koki Tanaka), and the bumbling restaurant chain owner Ken (Ryuichi Kosugi). While the argue over splitting up the loot and avoiding the cops the film employs numerous flashbacks to set up the crime, introduce many more characters (mostly baddies), and constantly change who is scamming whom. Crime bosses are playing the robbers, or getting played. One second the characters are ripping each other off the next they’re in love. Every three minutes a new victor for the loot, and morally incorruptible hero, emerges and then is shot down to the point of silliness. Mix this with a climax that is so ridiculous it smashes any suspension of disbelief and a tone that does things like play an anal rape scene for laughs and you have a film so bad it’s painful. (English title: One Third; 120 min.)