Click Above To Buy NOW!

I know what you’re thinking, ‘Yo-Yo Girl Cop? That sounds retarded.’ I was thinking the same thing before I watched the movie. Yo-Yo Girl Cop is a Japanese movie based on a Japanese manga… how original. The film is about a girl who is deported from New York and recruited as a secret agent in the Japanese teenager police, in exchange for them helping to free her mom from prison. The police ask her to infiltrate a high school where they suspect a terrorist group is getting ready to do something dastardly. Her task, uncover who is behind the Enola Gay website, stop bullies, and kick some ass with her… less than deadly yo-yo that she barely knows how to use. I give it high marks for originality… but yeah, some of the movie is kind of stupid.

The film is directed by the same guy that completely butchered the Battle Royale sequel, Kenta Fukasaku, the son of legendary director Kinji Fukasaku. Kenta redeems himself with this film, as it is much more coherent and interesting. The visuals come in super cool chunks that are, unfortunately, interrupted by stereotypical Japanese high school bullying. The action in the film is electric and the fight sequences are actually pretty cool… except for some yo-yo on yo-yo action that seemed to just be a pretense to put the girls in sexy outfits.

The cast of the film is outstanding… in a Japanese film fan kind of way. Aya Matsuura is smokin’ as the super-cute, foul-mouthed, special agent Saki Asamiya. She plays the part well, even though at times she just seems like a bitchy teenage girl, but I think that’s all part of the character, so I let it slide. Miike veteran Riki Takeuchi (Dead or Alive, Fudoh: The Next Generation) shows up to play an old cop with a gimp leg who keeps trying to get Asamiya to down some beers with him. It’s always fun to see Takeuchi’s trademark facial expressions. I could be wrong but I think I even saw everybody’s favorite actor, piece of cardboard impersonator Tak Sakaguchi (Battlefield Baseball, Versus) in a bit role… luckily, he doesn’t stink up the film as he just a thug that is involved in a few fight scenes… the only thing he can actually do with any sort of skill.

Yo-Yo Girl Cop is a fun flick if you don’t take it seriously. It seems to be aimed at the teenage set as much of the film is about bullying (Can you see me making a jerk off motion?) and teenage drama. The fight scenes are fun to watch and they are filmed in an interesting way.

The only downsides to this movie are the boring drama in the middle of the flick which drastically slows the pace of the movie down, the terrible CGI explosions, and the horrible score, which just isn’t used properly. These are all minor inconveniences, but they still can be annoying at times. The movies strengths far outweigh its weaknesses.

Final Synopsis: This isn’t a perfect movie by far. It’s worth a rent, due to some cool imagery, cool characters… and uhh… lots of 20 year old chicks in schoolgirl outfits. Don’t expect to be wowed by interesting philosophy, this is strictly a popcorn movie with little more meaning than, “Hey! Bullying is bad.”

Points Lost: -1 for lame score, -1 for crappy pacing in the middle of the film, -1 for some poopy CGI explosions… I think I saw better explosions on my Sega Master System… yeah, I had one… Woody Pop, bitches!

Burning Question: If Yo-Yo Girl Cop had an arch enemy, what would he or she be called? I’m thinking Hula Hoop Boy.

Yo-Yo Girl Cop
7/10

Tags: 2006, action, adventure, asian, asian action, aya matsuura, cult classic, foreign, foreign action, foreign movie, japanese, japanese action, kenta fukasaku, latest movie review, quirky, recent2, riki takeuchi, tak sakaguchi