Spoilers
The movie starts off almost seemingly to easy, well with the new edition by Media Blaster's Tokyo Shock line get prepared from a special introduction by Jason Eisner, director of Hobo With A Shotgun, being beaten to death while explaining the movie.
After Jason's demise, your movie will begin, and seemingly enough seems to be an allegory about society and the privatization of businesses like prisons. In the first few seconds you think, oh, this won't be to strange. Then a man in a prison shower will fall and land on a piece of wood with nails sticking out. Now this scene has mesmerized me, because there's a toy wooden train in the same scene, that easily could have set up the reason why a piece of wood with nails sticking out would be in a prison shower, but no it isn't used. Why? Oh, Why? Why is that in the prison shower? There is no reason. The prisoners shouldn't have had that, it shouldn't have been laying around. I think another prisoner would have just put it away as a safety concern. Think about just having a plank of wood with nails sticking out on your bathroom floor. Would you not just pick it up and toss it outside or in the garbage? Hhhmm, just for if you have to night piss.
This is one of many thoughts, you won't get to dwell on as a new, more horrible, how is that possible event will occur.
To get back to what really happens, Riki is sent to jail, Riki is the ultimate bad-ass who can play the flute/piccolo/leafs. Riki is in the worst and perhaps most bat-shit insane prisons ever. It starts off with the crazy with six bullets in Ricky setting off the metal detector that leads to the x-ray scanner. Which makes you question, why doesn't everyone go through the X-ray scanner anyway... sorry it's just one of those questions that will be put in your mind with another question.
I don't wanna go for a play by play, but Riki-Oh is not that much different from a video game. He starts off with a fat boss enemy who is immediately replaced, by another boss enemy who is replaced by another boss who was just behind a door you didn't see.
This boss fight is put on hold or won't take place until another boss enemy is introduced. Now that I think of it, Riki's video game would only be Boss Fights, he's that much of a bad ass.
Anyway, the next boss Administrator Sugiyama or Vice Warden is one of the best bad guys ever. You love to hate him. He's a bond villain with a porn addiction. I nearly laughed my ass to Heaven when I saw he's poor collection behind him in his office, just in plain sight. He just has this huge porn collection for show. The dude is fat, has one eye, and a claw for a hand. Did I mention his false eye? He uses it for mints, an ice cube,and to lightly salt treats. I hated him so fast, he starts off with this glamorous spread of food all over his desk, just to insult you, that you don't have it. His office too makes no sense, if you pause the DVD you'll notice how awkward the office is and the lack of space used. I thought he would be the main boss, but no, wrong there's so many more bosses.
Bosses and more bosses Riki has to take on the Gang of Four. Each is a boss of the North, West, South and East cell blocks. Each has there own ridiculous skill set of instant kill techniques, that Riki will just shake off. All of the bosses quiver and fall under one man. Enter the Warden. The Warden and his brat are so annoying and the instant they come to the prison you will hate them. You will love hating them. The Warden is such a bad ass all the other bosses cringe, Administrator Sugiyama is a little baby in comparison. His stupid little brat can get you killed and is such a fat spoiled little hog, you'll hate him all much as Harry Potter's annoying fat cousin he has to live with.
Frankly, I could write a thesis paper on the film, breaking down every moment and questioning everything, the surreal jumps in logic. Scenes like desecrating a graveyard by throwing tombstones to just killing a dog by kicking it once in half. Skinning a human being and the use of an elephant gun. Wrapping your own intestines in attempt to kill someone.
The ending is so surreal I have no idea how the Hell... they must of gone f it let's just go beyond what any living, breathing human being will think is logical. Think Power Rangers monster, that's all I say.
This has mountains of violence, lakes of blood, a sky filled with boss fights, all grounded on one man's martial art skills and superhuman strength that paints a portrait of revenge so silly it could only be done on black velvet with a gold frame. Uhh, than you, very much!
Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky is a must have for any fan of B-movie Martial arts, video games, super gore and having a good time with your friends yelling "What! No, that's not. What?!" Pick it up now, the Blu-ray comes out in January.