Popular reviews

• 

  Review by More_Badass ★★★★

  Compared to the previous film, The Fable 2 - aka The Fable: The Killer Who Doesn’t Kill aka Rurouni Kenshin with guns (I mean, is it not? legendary assassin in hiding, no-kill rule, adapted weapons, kinetic creative action, etc.) - tones down the comedy of its action-comedy style quite substantially. In fact, I was surprised by how much I missed that goofiness in its absence. The sequel’s shift to a more intimate tale of revenge and redemption did seem to loose some identity in the process.

  Junichi Okada is just as awesome though, getting to play the titular role with a bit more edge and guilt amid the social awkwardness. Fumino Kimura’s Yoko gets more of spotlight too; I’d say…

• 

  Review by Grant McLanaghan ★★★★

  ”Success!”

  An ace action flick with comedy leanings featuring a cool, empathetic (and possibly on the spectrum) protagonist possessed of slick fight moves. And he’s up against a charismatic and outwardly kind individual (who can sign to the deaf and whose ostensible job involves keeping young people safe). But inwardly, he's quite twisted (he has a very weird relationship with his wheelchair-bound ‘daughter’). Oh, and he’s an extortionist and murderer.

  The story’s involving, the stunt work is stellar and the antagonist’s perversity, while clear enough, isn’t too overstated. And the whole cast is just dandy. But as implacable, unselfconscious and wholly likeable Sato, it’s Junichi Okada who gets my MOTM accolade.

  While watching, I wasn’t aware this is a sequel to a 2019 film (Fable). But my not having seen the original didn’t affect my enjoyment of this one bit. It’s perfectly easy to follow, although there are strands that might be cleared up by watching the first film.

• 

  Review by Sean Gilman ★★★½ 1

  Not as much fun as the first as instead of wacky yakuza gang murder hijinks it just focuses on one really terrible guy and a girl in a wheelchair who learns to overcome her trauma thanks to our loveable hitman who can't kill anyone. The action is still terrific though, so it's worth the schmaltz.

• 

  Review by Cinema_Strikes ★★★½ 4

  A little darker but still as fun as the first one, as Fable gets mixed up with a murder and extortion gang led by the always delightful Shinichi Tsutsumi (Monday, Postman Blues). The high point is a manic action set piece in an apartment complex covered in scaffolding - definitely one of the best action set pieces of the year. And it’s a Christmas movie too!

  I hadn’t realized these are based on manga - will need to check that out.

• 

  Review by maria ★★★½

  Kimura Fumino is a goddess. That scaffolding scene was insane.

  Does this count as a Christmas film...

• 

  Review by James Atkinson ★★

  An elite assassin who has been ordered not to kill anyone while on hiatus runs into trouble when trying to help a girl who lost the use of her legs due to one of his hits gone wrong.

  I decided to skip the original and check this sequel out because I've heard a lot about how epic the action is in this one and while it starts strong with a car chase where the hero is steering a car from the outside it quickly changes into a quirky drama that is neither exciting nor interesting and the humour is more miss than hit. The movie carries on like this for two hours with barely an action beat until the last act where we are treated toa great scaffold action scene with some unique moments and fun action but in the end wasn't really worth it.

  Academy Award goes to the distinctive smell of a hitman.

• 

  Review by Noah Thompson ★★★

  You're so passionate, Jackal!

  Definitely better than the original, but still didn't really connect with me in the way I wanted to. Couldn't fully decide if the more outright dramatic tone this goes for is something that was more positive or detracting. Maybe just in the middle with that, for now. At the very least, I can say that The Fable: The Killer Who Doesn't Kill has some more than solid action and impressive death-defying choreography to its name. It's the kind of action where it's still infrequent enough in the film that I would more so recommend watching clips of it on YouTube instead of spending the entire two hour plus runtime with it to get the goods. I…

• 

  Review by Joanne ★★★★

  Ok, I’m going to be needing a third, fourth and fifth of these please 🙏  I was already fully onboard with this character, but after two movies with him, I just need MORE! There are less jolly japes in this one, but when the humour appears, I felt very in on the now familiar jokes….TOO in! 😂 I have a strong feeling I am the only one crying with laughing as Sato, worried but determined, brings hot food to his mouth. 
  In replacement of the humour is a story that is aiming more for the feels this time. I appreciate this sequel having a different, more emotionally invested feeling to it, than the first.
  The action though - woomph!! Like…

• 

  Review by NECC_ ★★★★

  The Fable: The Killer Who Doesn’t Kill doesn't have as much comedy as its predecessor, but it's not lacking in superb action sequences. This second entry has some good emotional moments, more development for Junichi Okada's character and more of Fumino Kimura (something that was missing from the first movie).

• 

  Review by DonnieDarko666 ★★★★ 3

  Even better than the first installment

  Supreme and extreme cool modern japanese cinema for people who are not stuck in the past.

  The film is full of quirky characters, funny situations, awkward moments, good fights and spectacular action scenes.

  One thing is for sure though the fable is the most legendary killer of all times!

  Want some mapo tofu? :)

• 

  Review by Xander • 蔡光熙 ★★★★★ 1

  Every film should just set there climax in a Forest, it makes it insanely much more fun to watch.

• 

  Review by Saputra ★★★★

  Definitely better than the first one, especially the action sequence is well choreographed and even refreshing on some parts. The story choice itself is understandable, bcs the material from manga was more detailed and wont fit into a 2 hours movie. Overall this is a satisfying adaptation, I'm grateful to everyone making this movie, hope there will be a 3rd hahahaha