©Courtesy of the NYAFF
Including humor between mismatched protagonists can often make their battle to survive emotionally-charged, physically demanding obstacles easier in a film. The new Japanese martial arts-driven feature, Baby Assassins: Nice Days, is one such intriguing example. The crime movie intertwines alluring slacker comedy with extreme action beats.
The feature serves as the third entry in the Baby Assassins trilogy; it follows 2021’s Baby Assassins and last year’s Baby Assassins: 2 Babies. Like its predecessors, Yugo Sakamoto wrote, directed and produced the new sequel. The franchise’s latest installment is presented in Japanese with English subtitles.
Akari Takaishi and Saori Izawa star in the series’ second follow-up. The two actresses reprise their roles as the titular characters of Chisato and Mahiro from the first two movies. Sosuke Ikematsu, Atsuko Maeda and Sôsuke Ikematsu also star in the comedy in supporting roles.
©Courtesy of the NYAFF
Baby Assassins: Nice Days follows the continued bond between teenage assassins Chisato and Mahiro. The duo travel to Miyazaki, Japan for a well-deserved holiday. They have been through a lot together, but always support each other, like true friends and roommates should.
However, while the duo are preparing to celebrate their imminent 20th birthdays, their anticipated dinner plans are interrupted. The Agency calls them in to take on a seemingly easy local job, which involves taking out an embezzler.
However, Chisato and Mahiro quickly realize the job won’t be as effortless and straightforward as they initially believed. An unpredictably vicious freelancer, Kaede Fuyumura (Ikematsu), has double-booked the gig. The merciless hitman isn’t going to make the job easy for the killer teen duo.
Mahiro and Chisato are now forced to work with adult Agency supervision, Iruka Minami and Riku Nanase (Maeda and Otani). As a result, the two teens will find their friendship – and killing skills – tested in unexpected ways.
Like its predecessors, the second follow-up thrives on Chisato and Mahiro’s absurdist humor to survive the obstacles of their job. The protagonists are committed to carrying out their serious duties as assassins. But Takaishi and Izawa infuse their characters with the ability to see the humor in every situation. That banter eases the story’s genuine emotional tension.
©Courtesy of the NYAFF
Sakamoto and action director Kensuke Sonomura, the visionaries behind the series, once again prove why they’re among the forefront leaders of the hitman-comedy genre in Japan. Their work takes advantage of the space the scenes take place in, as well as the performers’ physicalities and abilities.
The filmmakers once again champion the skills of female protagonists in crime movies. The duo crafted amusing, engaging action sequences for Chisato and Mahiro. The protagonists not only physically battle Kaede for their lives, but also clash with Iruka and Riku with their wit.
Baby Assassins: Nice Days also thrives in its approach to serving as a quirky character dissection. The franchise’s latest installment once again keeps the characters’ adrenaline pumping. Whether Chisato and Mahiro are taunting Kaede over his skill set or scoffing at Iruka and Riku‘s strict rules, the teens show that they still don’t think about long-term consequences.
Takaishi and Izawa have effortless chemistry as their unique but equally relatable protagonists in the new sequel, like its predecessors. The dynamic actresses are synchronized as co-stars, whether they’re telling jokes or engaged in tandem combat. The duo’s free-spirited bond infuses the series’ dangerous world of assassins with charm when they’re dispatched to kill their opponents.
©Courtesy of the NYAFF
Besides their stellar portrayals of Sonomura‘s stuntwork, the actresses also play well off of each other in their characters’ different personalities. Takaishi once again plays Chisato as bubbly and goofy, while Izawa plays Mahiro as more sedate and sensible.
While Chisato and Mahiro serve as the feature’s protagonists, Baby Assassins: Nice Days is ultimately an ensemble comedy. The rest of the cast is equally strong in their comedic and physical performances. Maeda and Otani portray Iruka and Riku as likable, despite their impatience over the girls’ ambivalence towards their job duties.
Baby Assassins: Nice Days proves its worth as a comedically stellar, exhilarating action-packed third entry in the franchise. As with the series’ first two installments, Izawa and Takaishi slay in their performances as the protagonists. Chisato and Mahiro struggle with not only protecting themselves from Kaede’s wrath, but also following Iruka and Riku‘s rules.
Both actresses take their protagonists’ over-the-top humor and Sonomura’s awe-inspiring fight choreography to even greater heights in the second follow-up. They do so by channeling realistic, relatable millennial existentialism – including questioning their worth at their jobs and where they belong in overall society – into the everyday lives of the movie’s low-level assassins.
Overall: B+
Baby Assassins: Nice Days had its World Premiere yesterda, Saturday July 27 at 1:00pm at the SVA Theatre during the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF).
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