Hydra is a Japanese action drama from director Kensuke Sonomura and tells the story of an assassin for a secret organization keeping Japan safe from underworld threats who finds himself targeted by evil forces aiming to unleash an unstoppable criminal syndicate upon Japan.
While it takes a little while for the action to kick in Hydra gives us time to get to know our main characters – Takashi (Masanori Mimoto) is a quiet but deadly chef for a local restaurant called Hydra. He may be a man of few words but he has a particular set of skills and is someone you want on your side when things go sideways. His colleagues are all immediately appealing and go about their everyday lives with no idea who Takashi really is but they all eventually bond and become like family.
The Hydra restaurant is run by Rina Kishida (Miu) and she inherited it from her father who disappeared several years earlier. Takashi always seems to be there for her when she needs him but is there more to this mysterious individual? Well I’m not going to spoil anything for you but let’s just say there are a few twists to the story climaxing with several vicious beatdowns.
Now as I say this movie isn’t exactly packed with action but the slowburn is worth it as the fight scenes are unique and brutal using moves I’ve never seen before. Masanori Mimoto is a genuine talent and his fighting style is a little similar to Tak Sakaguchi where he can use his whole body as a weapon.
There is also a nice sense of style and I love the synth music over the opening credits and synthwave style font for the title.
When Hydra is released here it’s worth seeking out as the fights are some of the best of the year and I look forward to seeing what everyone involved with his project does next.
