Tetsuo II: Body Hammer

Director/Writer/Director of Photography/Editor:	Shinya Tsukamoto
Music:	Chu Ishikawa
Producers:	Fuminori Shishido, Fumio Kurokawa, Nobuo Takeuchi and Hiromi Aihara
	Manga Entertainment; NR; 83 minutes
Release:	7/97
Cast:	Tomoroh Taguchi, Nobu Kanaoka and Shinya Tsukamoto
	In Japanese with English subtitles

It's not fair to pan this film because of the stomach-turning bloodshed. The frenetic action is at times intoxicating and the stylized visuals recall Blade Runner. But it's hard to look beyond the gore. When Taniguchi's (Taguchi) son is kidnapped and killed by a group of techno-thugs, the Tokyo businessman morphs into a raging man-machine, with automatic weapons and cannons sprouting from his arms and chest. Taniguchi is then himself kidnapped and studied by the Guy (Tsukamoto). In a comic-book nightmare like this, there's no room for waxing philosophical, as Tsukamoto attempts.