Watch Black Angel 2 For Free

Fresh and Exciting

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Takashi Ishii's Black Angel 2 follows a beautiful hit-woman on her descent into alcoholism and self-loathing. The first act is an unsurprising retread of numerous assassin/gangster flicks. When Ishii changes gears some will find themselves engaged; others will find it a deeply uncomfortable watch. The depiction of rape is potentially troubling but Ishii's women are ultimately shown to be more powerful than their aggressors. It's an uneven film but occasionally it borders on truly bravura film-making, with a handful of masterful scenes. Challenging, little seen and sharing only it's title with the inferior original. 8/10

This sequel to the first "Black Angel" can be watched without any prior knowledge to the first as the only connection they share is different hit-women who take the moniker of the Black Angel. Mayo, the Black Angel in this film, has orders from cross-dressing Mama (Shingo Tsurumi from "Freeze Me") to kill a powerful Yakuza syndicate leader, but doesn't get the job done because one of his bodyguards is the same man who saved her from a rape years prior, whom she has feelings for. This exceeds Black Angel 1 by leaps and bounds, with great characterization and an intriguing captivating plot. My Grade: B DVD Extras: Trailers for "Zero Woman", "Wild Criminal", "Score", and "Gonin 2"

I first came across Takashi Ishii through the masterpiece "Gonin," and it was a film that totally changed my perspective of action cinema. I was pleased with the sequel to Gonin, yet Black Angel Vol 1 never really impressed me. The story and direction were both excellently executed, but a lack of characterisation made it rather tedious at times. What made Gonin so brilliant were the different motivations and emotions of the main characters. Thankfully, with Black Angel 2, Ishii returns to creating good, solid characters. The main three protagonists in this film are each well designed characters that make this an superior film to its predecessor. What starts out as a rather simple film builds up to an excellent finish that will definitely satisfy fans of Yakuza thrillers. As with most of his films, Ishii is not afraid to include graphic scenes of rape and violence, but he is able to counter these with scenes featuring touching displays of love and humanity. While Ishii has a way to go before equaling the brilliant Takeshi Kitano or Miike Takashi, with this film he is returning to the form of Gonin, that could open him up to being amongst the best directors in Japan.

Beauty, emptiness, sorrow, absence - there is no way to describe this wonderful film. Just look and you will see. I have always liked films which images get into consciousness without need of thinking. Pure meditation. This film is all that I expected and will always expect from Japanese cinema. And there is always rain in my heart too.