Review: 'Parasyte Part 2' is an intense and grim ending for the franchise
A Parasyte attacks! (Encore Films)
Marcus Goh is a Singapore television scriptwriter. He’s also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. He Tweets/Instagrams at Optimarcus and writes at marcusgohmarcusgoh.com. The views expressed are his own.
Secret ending? No.
Running time: 118 minutes (~2 hours)
“Parasyte Part 1” is a Japanese science fiction film that is an adaptation of the manga and anime series “Parasyte.” It is the sequel to “Parasyte Part 1,” and follows the adventures of a boy whose hand has been possessed by a parasitic alien. It stars Shota Sometani (Shinichi Izumi), Eri Fukatsu (Ryoko Tamiya), Sadao Abe (Migi), Ai Hasimoto (Satomi Murano), Nao Omori (Kuramori), and Tadanobu Asano (Goto).
While “Parasyte Part 1” was a rip roaring, action-packed adventure, “Parasyte Part 2” seems to have lost that element of fun. It over dramatises the internal conflicts of all the characters, giving everyone something to angst over. While this helps in character development, it also lends a dark, jaded feel to this movie. If you like the grim and gritty, you’ll prefer this instalment of “Parasyte” over the first one.
Eri Fukatsu is Ryoko Tamiya. (Encore Films)
Highlights (Beware spoilers)
Touching performance by Eri Fukatsu
Eri Fukatsu plays the torn Ryoko Tamiya, who doesn’t understand the meaning of human emotions, but faces them for the first time. Her previously amoral stance towards human relationships has been replaced by a guarded and curious attitude towards the bond between parent and child. Ultimately, she learns what human love is and delivers a poignant speech on her discovery.
Fast-paced, complex plot
Events are constantly unfolding in this movie, with barely any return to status quo until the end. Characters quickly find themselves entangled in the machinations of the Parasytes, the protagonists are quick to react to threats, and the antagonists themselves have continuously evolving schemes. This ensures the action and reveals are plentiful, with nary a slow moment in the film.
Goto (Tadanobu Asano) is on the prowl. (Encore Films)
Letdowns
Climaxes and confrontations with little build up
Unfortunately, as a result of the frenetic pace of the story, epic confrontations often occur with insufficient build up towards the stakes. You know that the confrontations are grand and meaningful — but they don’t feel that way because there’s too little set up to elicit emotions from you. This leads to many exciting, but fundamentally empty battles.
Kuramori’s plot is particularly guilty of this. His transformation from altruistic journalist to desperate madman is not particularly stirring, when it should be, because there’s not enough time devoted to establishing his motivations and character. Again, this leads to a climatic confrontation that has little meaning to it, simply because there’s not enough set up for the audience to root for him.
Randomly inserted philosophical themes
While the first film devoted some time to the exploration of the deeper themes of “Parasyte,” this movie merely pays lip service the oft-quoted lines, before moving on to the next splendiferous death. The few monologues are inserted haphazardly to provide a break in the action than to provide any actual meaning. This causes the themes to feel shoehorned into the movie, rather than being the insightful takeaways they could have been.
Horribly awkward intimate scene
The movie is rated NC-16 for gratuitous violence, which is well executed. It’s also NC-16 for an intimate scene that comes out of nowhere and also when there have been no intimate scenes prior. It’s badly shot, ill-timed, and utterly unconvincing, creating a sex scene that is a million different types of awkward. This is one scene that could have benefited from a slow fade to black, rather than an unnecessarily detailed depiction of events.
Shinichi Izumi (Shota Sometani) & Migi (Sadao Abe). (Encore Films)
“Parasyte Part 2” is vastly different in tone and approach from the first movie, giving it more intensity and moodiness in its approach to the story. It’s literally a grim ending for the franchise, but it still manages to weave a complete tale about a boy and his unlikely friend.
Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? Nah.
Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? OK.
“Parasyte Part 2” opens in cinemas 21 May, 2015 (Thursday).
