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Redundant and unnecessary.

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Viewed on DVD. Cinematography/lighting = eight (8) stars; other major production values = eight (8) stars; subtitles/credits = ten (10) stars. Director Dave Boyle's tale of four-legged contraband and deadly serial identity theft is a classic edge-of-your-seat thriller. Packed with red-herring subplots and many moving parts, it really requires multiple viewings to understand all that occurs and why as well as to tie up a multitude of what seem to be (but really are not) loose ends. There is no happy ending. It also lacks (thankfully!) the usual Pro Forma car chases up and down the very hilly streets of San Francisco. Acting/direction is very good with bilingual leading actress Ayako Fujitani delivering a scene-stealing, radiant, and intelligent performance (it's a pure pleasure to see her in action!). Cinematography (wide screen, color), scene lighting, and other productions values (such as choice of exterior/interior locations and set decoration) are all excellent. Score is a bit uneven with themes that range from creative use of one or a few instruments to an overriding (and irritating) scrapping-like buzz apparently meant to signal that danger lies ahead. Surround sound field is good when fully deployed. Subtitles (which can not be turned off) are excellent and almost mandatory due to the heavy use of Tokyo dialect/slang. Everyone and everything (even if only mentioned in the dialog) is given on-screen credit including the supplier of Kame (turtles). Since initial funding came from crowd sourcing, several hundred contributors are also listed. Highly recommended for multiple viewings! WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.

I really wanted to like it - so I did. A murder mystery with a worn premise. Strange combination of 60% Japanese with subtitles and 40% English. Liked that too. Main character, Ayako Fujitani, is very good and takes a mean close-up. Very cute.People keep disappearing and identities are always in question. Nothing new, but with the conflageration of characters it was hard to follow, especially since most of the characters were Japanese. The protagonist was developed, but the antagonist could have been a whole movie.The problem was that this could easily have been a six part mini-series. There were so many characters and sub-plots, all introduced and abandoned. Each of these could have been a one or two hour episode instead of just dropped. In the end - it just ended. Then I saw the credits. 'Gofundme'. Apparently they were moving along at a brisk pace and suddenly ran out of money. 'Well, I guess that's a wrap, folks.' As the lawman stands on a dock with no visible means of escape, but the bad guy gets away anyway. Wheredidhego? After more funding? I enjoyed it anyway, just wish it had been 'finished'.

Man from Reno was my first foray into the films of Dave Boyle, and from what I hear, it is quite different from what he has previously made. But if any of his other films do resemble this one, I will definitely make the effort to seek them out. Man from Reno felt at once like a throwback to great 1940s noir mysteries like The Big Sleep, while also being remarkably relevant in 2015. The opening scene - driving through fog so thick you can't see three feet in front of you - sets the tone for the rest of the movie; the plot twists and turns so much it's nearly impossible to keep up with all the new information, but it still manages to stay coherent enough that you stay on the edge of your seat, trying to grasp whatever details may stick. And through all this, a set of richly developed characters connect with you, keeping you invested in their story, even if you may not fully understand it. I left turning over the details of the movie in my head and will continue to do so for some time - hopefully a second viewing will reveal much of what I missed the first time around!

An expertly crafted throwback to film noir with the unique twist of being dual language. I was fortunate enough to see this during the LA Film Fest and immensely enjoyed following the twists and turns of the story. It begins with an enigmatic man and separately, a crime fiction novelist that seemingly have nothing to do with each other and only deepen into other mysteries as the film progresses. Hidden secrets about the characters come to light and slowly the two stories begin to interweave with each other. Well written, directed and acted it was definitely a stand out on the film festival circuit and the location of San Francisco serves as another character within the film.