Saturday, October 15, 2011

20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope (2009)

I should probably point out that there will be minor spoilers today and tomorrow in the reviews so if you don’t want to know. Stop reading.

Still here?

Don’t say you haven’t been warned.

A decade and a half after the explosive final events of the first film Friend is in firm control of Japan and much of the world. Kenji’s niece is living a somewhat underground existence watched over by the surviving members of her uncles friends. Through their loose network of informants they get word that Friend is planning something big, and very deadly for the population of the world. It all comes to a head when Friend appears to be killed by a sniper…but is this really the end or simply part of a nefarious plan.

I suggest you vote for the nefarious plan.

This film continues to crank things up for about half it’s running time until the film explodes in several wonderful sequences that will have you screaming when the end credits roll. Sure you know there is more to come, but if you don’t have the final installment handy you’ll be going crazy with suspense (I was).

As with most planned trilogies it’s hard to write about the second part simply because with any good trilogies the middle part is taking what was and what we knew and changing it so that it will become what it is in the end. That’s the case here, By the time the film reveals everything and you’re ready to follow it anywhere as the film moves into the final part. There is a final revelation (which I’ll reveal tomorrow because I can’t talk about the film without doing so) that sets everything up for the conclusion.

If you’ve seen the first film, you’ll want to see this one as well.

If you’ve not seen the first don’t think about watching this because you will be lost- even with the recap at the start.

Sorry this piece has been sparse but it a middle film and as such one that really doesn’t stand alone.

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