First known in Japan as a comedian and television personality, Takeshi Kitano, is now an internationally respected filmmaker with a knack for turning gritty crime dramas on their ear. He began in 1989 with Violent Cop and the bodies kept falling through Boiling Point and Sonatine. Now, "Beat" Takeshi writes, directs and stars in his latest reinvention of the gangster-film genre, Fireworks (1997, 103 minutes).

The movie: Detective Nishi (Kitano) is a silent man, a broken cop. While Nishi is away, by the side of his terminally ill wife, his partner is ruthlessly gunned down during a stakeout. The wounds leave his partner confined to a wheelchair and without the continued wil...Read the entire review