★★★ (3 out of 4)
Lots of folks were taken aback with this animated action movie, based on the Japanese manga series, hit No. 1 at the box office on its opening weekend, kicking everything from Springsteen to a “Black Phone” sequel to the curb. My reaction was: what the hell is this thing?
Now I know. And you will to if you head to theaters to see “Chainsaw Man—The Movie: Reze Arc,” an eye-popping cinema spectacle with an English voice cast, derived from the manga and the hit 2022 animated television series adapted from it. Oh and yeah, it’s also a bittersweet teen love story that you were probably not expecting. Watch out Colleen Hoover; “Chainsaw Man” is coming for the soap opera gold you’re mining from “Regretting You.”
This anime powerhouse delivers where it counts, underlining the mirth and relentless menace with emotional beats that give it staying power.
To play quick catch-up, the movie follows our teen hero Denji (voiced by Ryan Colt Levy), an emotionally abused orphan who sells his organs for quick cash. Denji is a killed by the yakuza. As one does, Denji is reborn with the power to transform parts of his body into chainsaws. OK, Denji did have help from the Chainsaw Devil dog Pochita (Lindsay Seidel), which is odd since his job with the Public Safety Devil Hunters agency requires him to rid Japan of devils.
Stay with me. Here comes the lovey-dovey-sex stuff. Denji meets and falls hard for Reze (Alexis Tipton) at the café where she works. So sweet, right? Nah. Reze is secretly a Bomb Devil hybrid and a Soviet-trained assassin, the kind of girl parents warn you about. And get this—Reze is a femme fatale on a mission to control Denji by stealing his heart. The actual heart. Yuck.
You should know that horny Denji is girl crazy. He’s been flirting outrageously with his boss Makima (Suzie Yeung), an avid film buff who tells him that only one in ten movies is worth watching. She’s not wrong. Note to Makima: hang on till fall when the Oscar contenders come out. The two do share a good cry at the movies, as if they’ve just seen “It Ends with Us.”
It sure looks like Denji and Reze will be finished when he finds out she’s betraying him. And so the lovers go to war with each other, just like this movie goes to war with itself as its soft, slowing-burning first half collides with its blood-and-guts finale with real fight-to-the-death stuff that manga fans live for, combining crazy action (there’s a giant shark) with a killer soundtrack.
Tatsuya Yoshihara, who previously served as action director on the TV series, really takes the gloves off. This R-rated bloodbath, which is definitely not for kids or sensitive adults who the mocking Reze would definitely laugh at.
Sure, I can bitch about the sameness of the action and how constant repetition dissipates the fun. But the anime powerhouse that is “Chainsaw Man—The Movie: Reze Arc” delivers where it counts, underlining the mirth and relentless menace with emotional beats that give it staying power. Even “Chainsaw” newbies can appreciate that. I did. Those who play chicken will have to face the wrath of Reze. You sure as hell don’t want that.