Boxing has long been something of a cinematic comfort zone, being a fairly simple plot device for getting across character motivations and "overcoming the odds" tropes and whatnot... not to mention boxing matches being an almost impossible thing to NOT make exciting on the big screen. Tokyo Fist is instead a brilliant subversion of typical boxing movie clichés, offering a bleak, cynical and hyper- violent view of the sport in trademark Tsukamoto fashion - the gradual mental (and physical) disintegration of the main characters is in direct proportion to the total number of pints lost. And yeah, you better believe there's a lot of blood lost in this movie too, but don't walk into this expecting a gore fest. I'd say it's more perfectly paced than gory - it crescendos in violence beautifully without spending too long messing around. But much like Tetsuo: The Iron Man, the main attraction of Tokyo Fist lies in its imagery rather than its storytelling (which is fairly basic stuff, at the end of the day). Tsukamoto shows a lot of maturity and confidence in his direction and cinematography since Tetsuo too - General chaos and rapid camera movements is still the main course of the day, but there are a lot more creative photography and great lighting on display throughout the entire movie. The soundtrack (by regular Tsukamoto collaborator Chu Ishikawa and his group Der Eisenrost) is also worth a mention - it goes together with the imagery like white-on-rice, actively improving the film a lot. I would totally incorporate those pounding, aggressive industrial beats into my work-out regimen

I feel it's sort of a shame for such a movie to have less than at least 100 reviews on its page. So here I go, helping it out with this 22nd review, if I recall it correctly...First time I read a review on Tokyo Fist on another site, I didn't quite know what to expect from this movie. I was deep down in Cronenberg horror, but this title's plot and atmosphere (as described by a rather insipid reviewer, I guess) simply eluded my intuition. Luckily, I decided to give this a try, and it was one good decision. Tokyo Fist stands at a fine border between black comedy (and also really dry), surrealism, action and plain existential malaise. Tsukamoto's cam angles and effects act perfectly coherently with his intent, from emphasizing the ridiculous monotony and isolation in Tsuda's life to highlighting the irrational ferocity of his old "friend" that almost seems to turn night into day and day into night.Now, diving a bit into the predictable Fight Club comparison, Tokyo Fist is the severe, restrained, Eastern cousin of Palahniuk's novel's adaptation. There is no noticeable trace of emotion (maybe except anger), pathetism, or nihilist verbosity in the discourse of Tokyo Fist's characters. It's as if their existence and the duty of assuming various roles (and subsequent failures) squeezed their sentimental tendencies out of them and sent them into an abyss. There is no "love trio" in this movie, no matter how tempting it would be to call it that way. Its three main characters remain as insulated as can be, until the very end - a brilliantly open and non-conclusive end to a small, powerful drama of people not able to manage their remorse or lack of meaning without showering themselves in suffering. Beyond the plot, there are some really nice hyperkinetic boxing scenes in this movie, and the generous to parodic flows of blood and bruises might seem chuckle and nausea-inducing at the same time.I am afraid, though, that what I have said doesn't give this film the aura that it deserves. If you are not necessarily an adrenaline freak yet not an instant puker either, and want to see something done artistically indeed, you ought to give this at least one punch with the eye.

The comments of others comparing this movie to Raging Bull, Rocky and Fight Club could be misguided. This movie could have been about almost anything and the boxing is just a plot device . . . but a great one!!! . This movie is about people - most other movies are only about characters. The violence helps show just how angry a boring insurance guy (?) can get when something simple blows his world to pieces. It taunts the white-collar viewer by showing a white-collar man's wife getting easily tempted away by a physically muscular man. And the way she decends into perversity is a delightful rebuttal to the anodyne hold her husband had on her. Seeing a meaty, violent boxer intrude into a sterile, hideous modern existence/relationship forces us viewers to consider where our own humanist allegiances lie. The film says things about humanity that other films don't have the guts to say and rings totally true. If you can stomach the jagged aggressiveness of a movie but want the genuine article, see this film. I haven't had such a rough - but rewarding - ride since I last watched "In the Company of Men".

Shinya Tsukamoto is one of the most original directors to date. He's sick, he's twisted, and he's entirely original. I saw Tetsuo, his most famous film, this past January. Now I consider it a masterpiece. It was maybe the only movie that made me scream out loud because of the horror presented. Then this past week I found Tetsuo II: Body Hammer, and found it almost as ingenious as the first. Now I have seen the third of three of his films which has been released on video in the United States: Tokyo Fist.In plot, it is little different than Rocky. Just add a love triangle subplot. But in style, it is quite an amazing film. It's enough to break you. I don't think it's as good as the Tetsuo films, but it is an original and great film. 8/10