Dorathen
Better Late Then Never
Stoutor
It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.
FirstWitch
A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
Bob
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
jesko-malik
Indeed a nice vengeance flick, the director made it possible to make it interesting, stylish and very cold. The story is quite simple and not very fresh, but the style and strong violence (strong in my eyes cause it's against a woman) plus good camera work and very cold pictures make it a bit more special than a lot of the other Japanese movies. It reminds me of the earlier movie GONIN, witch is at any rate commendable if you liked the BLACK ANGEL and of course takeshi kitano). I've now seen a few of his films (ishii) and have to say that he's a good director in my eyes, but don't match to make every film interesting. I like his cold depressing style, but he's not a very good story teller. If you like the vengeance theme and the described style than you've got to check it out.
movieman_kev
As the daughter of a Yakuza boss, six year odd Ikko witnesses the slaughter of her parents. Hey dying bodyguard is able to whisk her away from the carnage and give her to Mayo, a hit-women who goes by the codename of "Black Angel" to send to Los Angelos, warning Ikko not to think of vengeance when she gets older, before dying in a fire ravaged car. Now as a young woman (Riona Hazuki of the less then stellar "Parasite Eve") she returns to Tokyo ,along with her boyfriend Zille, to seek revenge despite what she was told and takes the name of Black Angel in honor of the woman who saved her. The action is there, the story is there, but for some reason the film didn't really click for me. The pacing seems to be off a tad. It's not bad but I enjoyed Takashi Ishii's "Freeze me", and "Angel Guts" films a tad more.My Grade: C+ DVD Extras: Trailers for "Wild Criminal", "Blood", "Score", and "Reborn from Hell" Eye Candy: Miyuki Ono shows breasts an extra also bares fleeting boobage
Zor-2
I saw this movie at the 1998 Seattle Film Festival (like another IMDB user, apparently) and fell in love with it. I had already been charmed by Riona Hazuki in Parasite Eve, and was delighted to see her in this role. The characters of Zill (Dye-blonde blonde breakdance fighting companion) and Mayo (big time femme fatale with experience, guess what her name stands for) remind me of quirky one shot characters in a detective manga, something that translates surprizingly well to the big screen.This is an action filled story about a girl seeking revenge for her family, but in parts comes off as more of a dark comedy. Takashi toys around with many old cliches, combining them with his original ideas to create a memorable mix of drama and humor. If you can find this movie, by all means see it... and send a copy my way.
jmaruyama
Takashi Ishii's Kuro No Tenshi is a good action film but borrows too many themes and ideas from better movies such as La Femme Nikita, Leon:The Professional and Naked Killer. Reona Hazuki is perfectly cast as Ikko, the child turned cold-blooded assassin who is out to revenge the murder of her Yakuza father. Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi is 'Jil' her Japanese-American companion who helps her on her mission and steals the movie with his street dancing moves and peculiar Japanese-English mixed-up dialog. Ishii seems to borrow a lot from the Hong Kong school of gunplay action which keeps the movie interesting but the story and plot drag at times and there are many odd moments of fancy such as Ikko and Jil's dancing sequence in a hotel room which seem a bit out of place but I guess breaks the gloomy and tense atmosphere of the story. Viewers may recoil at a couple of scenes but the movie is very tame when compared to movies such as the Killer or Hard Boiled. Tenshii is an interesting entry from Ishii who has a unique flair for visuals and style but it isn't the best of the genre.
