After the successful version by Philippe Lacheau released in 2019, a new film “Nicky Larson” is arriving on our screens, available since April 25, 2024 on Netflix. An ambitious action comedy with a duo that works wonderfully, and which offers (for the better) some changes compared to the original work.
The return of Nicky Larson
At the heart of a week of light programming on Netflix, a big new feature is available since April 25the new live action film Nicky Larson. Logically titled City Hunter in the original version, this Japanese action comedy directed by Yuichi Satoh is carried by actor Ryohei Suzuki. He is a multi-awarded star in Japan, seen as well by Takashi Miike (The Lion Standing in the Wind) and Hirokazu Kore-eda (Our little sister) than at Sion Sono (Tokyo Tribe).
It is thus he who lends his features to the famous and delusional shadow detective Nicky Larson, Ryo Saeba in original version, fighter and lover of pretty girls. Not to say obsessed and sexually perverted in the original version…
This new film Nicky Larsonafter four feature film adaptations and live action shots of the famous manga created in 1985 by Tsukasa Hojo, including that of Philippe Lacheau released in 2019, is the first live action adaptation in Japanese. It takes up Nicky Larson’s original idea:
Sniper and eternal seducer, private detective Nicky Larson reluctantly teams up with his former partner’s sister to investigate his former partner’s death. They will together take on challenges in the world of the underworld, and put themselves on the trail of a drug that is as dangerous as it is mysterious…
In the film’s casting, Ryohei Suzuki plays Misato Morita. She plays the role of her teammate Kaori Makimura (Laura Marconi in VF), adoptive sister of Hideyuki Makimura (Tony Marconi in VF), the former partner of Nicky Larson played by Masanobu Ando.
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Humor, action, and less sexism
Darker than the anime series that we could see in the show Le Club Dorothée, this Netflix film plays the action comedy card to the fullest, with a hero who is funnier and more surprising than ever. But the film also features a plot that is not exactly light, with revenge to be accomplished and serious stakes. Concerning the often gritty and sexist humor of the original creation, it is muted here. Actor Ryohei Suzuki explained to AFP:
We established a rule that the character, in our version, would not touch someone’s body without their consent (…) (Regarding the explicit sequences in the manga) we revised them again with a contemporary audience in mind.
Furthermore, the actor praised Philippe Lacheau’s film, explaining: “At the time, the fans, including myself, thought that the French version was really well done, I said to myself: “Thank you Philippe Lacheau!“
With its action, its humor and its moments of seriousness, as well as its staging which sometimes allows itself some flashes, this Nicky Larson modernized has everything you need to be successful on Netflix.
