Perfectly adorable

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

'Bayside Shakedown 2' is something of an opposite to its predecessor. Its opening is action-packed and fun, but the meat of the film doesn't hold up quite as well. Once again the film is a successful blend of serious cop drama and comedy with the less serious parts evening out the more serious ones.Over-all the film just isn't as intriguing as its predecessor. The plot-twist comes a tad too early at which point the viewers stop caring about the badguys who weren't all that interesting. Of the side-plots, the vampire one is my favorite but otherwise the setting of the film didn't impress me as much as the predecessor.The film is not bad by any measure, however, and is ultimately recommendable. It simply didn't give the same feeling of fulfillment as the first one did.

Went into the cinema with absolutely no preconceptions of the show - hadn't heard of it, or its sequel, and chose it because it looked like it might be good, brainless entertainment.In the end it was just brainless. It really was. Plot loopholes aplenty. Illogical logic. Lame, flat humour, cheesy lines, uninspiring action. Everything was so obvious, so run of the mill, so pointless. Really, I couldn't figure out why this show was even made, let alone how it came to be "Japan's biggest live action box office hit".Maybe the ending would've redeemed it - I wouldn't know. From about 15 minutes in I knew the movie was a bad idea, and despite valiant attempts to fight the urge, good taste prevailed and I walked out about 70 minutes in. I've only ever walked out on two movies before in my life, mind, so I'm not the type to often vote with my feet.Looking at voting here people seem to think better of the show, but I know my friend and I who were both watching the show thought the same of it - very little indeed. This was a -1/5 (yes that's negative one) on my personal scale - not just a waste of money, I almost feel like writing to the show's producers for a refund.

I've watched Bayside Shakedown 1 a few years back, and enjoyed it thoroughly, so there isn't any reason not to catch the sequel when it's in town.For those who do not know, this show is set in a small Tokyo police precinct, where cops actually perform routine community policing without arms, and the sexy investigative stuff are always handled by the Metropolitan police. This devision of course gives rise to the exploration of politics within the police force, some of which are not subtly put across in the movie - which provokes thought.However, the movie doesn't come across as preachy or heavy, as it's always lightened by the (sometimes one dimensioned) characters, the light hearted moments, and camaraderie amongst them.As always, the movie starts off with its regular catchy theme song interspersed with footage of current going-ons. With murder being the main anchor of investigations, other sub-investigations include the biter, the family of pickpockets and a secret lover of the commander of the precinct. Naturally, all the loose ends will be tied neatly when they all come together at one point in the show.Amongst the politics discussed here is on women leadership, in the name of equal opportunity - could we be biased and blinded by policy to allow the inept to lead? Even though in my opinion, this is a Japanese movie, and the culture at times may be chauvanistic, it does provide some thought provoking moments during the show, or did the producers/writers cop out at the end of it all? For those who do not understand Japanese, no worries, there are good subtitles, and it doesn't matter if you have watched the first part, or the drama serial - the good looking cast (male and female) should be able to sustain you through this enjoyable flick.

The same cast is back with a much bigger budget with their success on the first blockbuster movie! You can tell right off the start they spent a lot of money on this. It has the same style as the first with yet another awesome title intro and music score. I thought it was well crafted and much bigger than most Hollywood movies. I believe this movie was out in theaters in Japan while Battle Royale 2 was. And I can see why this movie was #1 and Battle Royale 2 was lower down the rank. Battle Royale 2 was a major disappointment, and was stressing to watch with the constant screaming and random shooting, a total Saving Private Ryan rip-off, and ridiculous ending! Well, I guess that is a totally different review but I can see why this movie was #1, as it was MUCH MORE enjoyable to watch. The pace of the movie moves pretty fast. I wanted to see more! But it had to end. The story wasn't completely mind blowing but it definitely had its moments and kept me focus all the way to the end. I don't know why but I actually got a bit teary in this one scene!What was sort of a letdown was the criminals in this one did not stand out much. The idea of the criminal type was cool but I expected them to do more and be a little more strong and threatening. But this is more of a comedy so I guess they can't really go deep into that direction? Well, comedy and drama is a hard mix but they do a pretty good job.If you plan on watching this movie with English subtitles, just be warned, they aren't done that great. Especially the subtitles in one scene, I guess isn't much of a big deal there, but the subtitles says apples when it's really suppose to be pear! That mistake stood out the most but there were others.Bayside Shakedown 2 has an awesome soundtrack, fun and likable cast, great cinematography, and it's just a fun movie to watch that is not to be taken so seriously. It is mainly a comedy after all, not the "Dumb and Dumber" kind though. The making of the film was quite interesting to watch too!Definitely worth a watch, especially if you've seen the first one.Overall Rating: 7/10