Hard Revenge, Milly:  Bloody Battle

This time half an hour longer and with a more complex story, the sequel “Hard Revenge, Milly: Bloody Battle” (original title: "Hâdo ribenji, Mirî: Buraddi batoru") can’t be fully enjoyed without understanding the dialogue. I’ve watched both films without English subs as the official English release is set for January 26th, 2010.

With that said, I can only assume the basic plot: After getting rid of Jack, Milly tries to live a peaceful life. Turns out, she's the one being targeted now by brothers Ikki and Hyuma whose are here to avenge Jack and whose relation to him I did not catch. There’s also a hottie vagabond Hal (Nao Nagsawa) who wants to get revenge for her boyfriend's death. As you can see, there's quite a lot of revenges going on here.

Not fully understanding the story was somewhat of a handicap of course, and I’ll be seeing the film again with subs. However, from a technical point of view the film has evolved. There’s more action, a little more gore and more locations, although again mostly interiors so the post-apocalyptic part of the setting still doesn’t really mean much. The visuals overall look better, partly because of some good colorization and contrasts. The only thing that hasn’t improved is the soundtrack which is even worse than before.

Miki Mizuno reprises her role, and Milly’s fights are again quite lengthy. This time she adds some more hardware to her arsenal. The other characters are also fairly interesting, especially Ikki who has one totally awesome and funny kill. Oh, and by the way - that "She likes it hard" tagline is totally out of place because there isn't any nudity nor sex in the flick.

The “Hard Revenge, Milly” series has some potential, and I'm positive we’ll see more of her in the future.

Rating: 7/10

- review by Ventilation Shaft