Cops vs. Thugs

Fukasaku argues that the two groups in the title are the same thing. A detective and a gangster have a genuine friendship that survives right up until a crackdown forces them onto opposite sides, and the film refuses to grant the police any moral high ground over the criminals they pursue.

It is one of Fukasaku's sharpest films about the rot connecting authority and crime, with Bunta Sugawara excellent as the compromised cop. The cynicism about institutions is total and earned.

A crime film with a genuine argument, and one of the director's best.