Baby Assassins 2 Babies (2023) [Fantaspoa 2024]

by Joseph Perry

Normally here at “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict”, both Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. However, here and there they will be taking the reins in a solo outing. For this installment, it’s Joseph with a solo review of Yugo Sakamoto’s Japanese action comedy Baby Assassins 2 Babies.

Synopsis

Young assassins and roommates Chisato (Akari Takaishi) and Mahiro (Saori Izawa) are banned from performing tasks because they violated the Assassins Guild's rules. Needing money to make ends meet, they become part-time workers. Suddenly, two other assassins (Tatsuomi Hamada as Makoto and Joey Iwanaga [of Lion-Girl, reviewed here] as Yuri) are after them.

I haven’t yet seen Baby Assassins (2021), so I’ll be reviewing this sequel on its own merits.

The Good

If you enjoy Asian action cinema with super fight choreography, especially with some humor on tap, you need look no further than Baby Assassins 2 Babies. Chisato and Mahiro are two sugar-loving protagonists — the former a high-energy, emotionally charged personality and the latter a more measured introvert — who live in that magical, elusive sweet spot of bordering on annoying and charming, so it’s fun to watch them both quarrel and work together swimmingly, as well as bonding over ice cream sundaes and cavity-inducing drinks. Takaishi and Izawa embody these two bratty characters wonderfully. Writer/director Sakamoto also wisely gives antagonists Makoto and Yuri plenty of buddy-bonding screen time so that their outcomes are important to viewers, too. Hamada and Iwanaga provide great supporting-roles work. A great deal of credit goes to action director Kensuke Sonomura. From close-quarters action inside an apartment — heck, a closet even! — to wide open gunplay sequences, impressive-looking thrills aplenty are on offer. One of the humorous highlights of the film is a face-off between Chisato and Mahiro as they sport furry animal mascot costumes on a part-time job as stunned children look on.

The Bad

As entertaining as Baby Assassins 2 Babies is, it's hard to knock much, but for the sake of mentioning something in this section, I would imagine that viewers unfamiliar with sullen and hot-tempered characters not far removed from a comedy anime might not be entirely enamored with Chisato and Mahiro’s antics.

The Verdict

Baby Assassins 2 Babies is a great deal of fun. Sakamoto balances the fights and the funny splendidly while addressing the current workforce problems of the gig economy, without overdoing the latter. I give the film a hearty recommendation, especially for action comedy fans and Japanese comedy aficionados.