Yo -Yo Ninja!

It's funny--you just don't seem to get as many movies these days about undercover teenage girls who fight with yo-yos. So when I saw this, I was overjoyed. About time!

Sadly, even though Yo-Yo Girl Cop has a few moments of awesomeness, it doesn't shine as much as a good yo-yo ninja fighter movie should.

The biggest problem here is the script. Instead of just focusing on Saki(Aya Matsuura) as the titular hero, kicking ass with her yo-yo, the film uses teen suicide as it's core. This is a bit like using a gimmick of a tap dancing panda to discuss genocide. It doesn't fit, and seems inappropriate. As well, in the beginning of the film, Saki is apparently unstoppable as a fighter, so tough that she pops her shoulder out of its socket to escape a strait jacket, pops it back in, then proceeds to kick the living hell out of attacking policemen. But later? Gets clocked left and right by almost everyone she meets. If an old lady walked by and told her to 'hush!', she'd probably faint.

By film's end, though, we do get a battle between Saki and an evil yo-yo wielding hottie. It brings the awesomeness. But it really feels like too little, too late.

But it's not a bad movie, despite a rather patchy script. Director Kenta Fukasaku has made a very eye catching film, with some very beautiful shots. Aya Matsuura brings a fierce intensity to her role, saying so much with a glare and a narrowing of her eyes that any dialogue would ruin it. The look of Tokyo is very stylized, and has that techno fantasy look that is the modern Japan for many viewers around the world.

So all in all, Yo-Yo Girl Cop is worth a look. It is by no means 'action packed', but it still much better than Transformers. And it has yo-yos with spikes. And again--who knows when we'll get another yo-yo fight movie?