For a gangster movie, Brother isn't quite part of the family.

The newest film by director Takeshi Kitano, Brother is the chaotic story of Yamamoto (Beat Takeshi), a Japanese gangster who moves to Los Angeles in order to escape troubles in his homeland.

Once in L.A., Yamamoto and his half-brother Ken (Claude Maki) quickly establish themselves by killing off gang leaders and taking over their turf.

From there, Yamamoto builds up his empire, eventually joining with a rival Japanese gang. Everything is going well until the Italian Mafia demands half their profits and, in refusing to pay, they end up at war.

Brother is a poor attempt at detailing relationships, mainly the one between Yamamoto and Denny (Omar Epps), an American he becomes close friends with, although onscreen, the connection never seems to be made.

The film is plagued with long, pointless scenes and missing information that seems vital to the plot, as well as dramatic moments that make you want to laugh, and action scenes that play out so poorly you'll want to cry.

At some points, it's evident what the director was reaching for, but the movie comes across as a confusing mess, lacking in substance and entirely missing its goal.

It's an attempt to touchingly portray honour and brotherhood, but in reality it ends up as a laughable work which leaves the audience asking, 'What was the point of that?' 'Who are these people?' and 'Why on earth did that guy just shoot himself in the head?'

More Movie Reviews