Baby Assassins: Nice Days (2024) Film Review – Children are the Future [Fantastic Fest]

Posted on by Jim Cox

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Baby Assassins: Nice Days is a 2024 Japanese action buddy comedy film, written and directed by Yugo Sakamoto. The film is the third installment of the Baby Assassins series of films, also written and directed by Saksmoto.

Whilst on vacation in Miyazaki, Japan, Chisato, and Mahiro’s downtime is interrupted when tasked with eliminating a target. As they arrive, they are greeted by an assassin from a rival guild, Kaede Fuyumura, after the same person. After failing to kill either the target or this rival professional, the rest of the feisty pair’s vacation is on the line as they are assigned to remove this problem, with assistance from guild members Iruka Minami, and Riku Nananse.

Providing a more streamlined narrative than the previous entry, Baby Assassins: Nice Days distills the superlative aspects of the series and delivers a refined, serious narrative throughout. While Baby Assassins 2 was an enjoyable sequel to Sakamoto’s micro-budget original, its narrative was torn between the conflicting aspects of action film, buddy comedy, and teen drama. However, in this new release, these character-driven moments are more naturally implemented in conjunction with its fast-paced, high-octane fight scenes–maintaining a constant fluidity between the three. However, while still present, these elements take a backseat to the film’s impressive action set pieces, providing an earnest entry in the series

Presenting a vastly methodological display of fight choreography compared to the previous entries, Baby Assasins: Nice Days is certainly a whirlwind of punches, kicks, and bullets. With a stronger focus on “Gun-fu” over hand-to-hand combat, the influences from the likes of directors such as Donnie Yen, and, of course, John Woo are easily discernable throughout. The mix of super-human reflexes, fantastical gracefulness, and adrenaline-fueled pacing, each actor delivers an incredible display of martial arts and gunplay. However, the real standout throughout these scenes is Saori Izawa, who, at only 28 years old, is making a name for herself in the international film community with her impressive stunt work skills and unwavering dedication to the craft.

Supplementing this break-neck pacing of rapid fight scenes is an equally expeditious level of cinematography, effectuating an exceptionally kinetic experience through both the choreography and visual design. With a sleek blend of framing techniques, camera movement, and angles, in addition to some stylistic editing, translates into an electrifying flurry of flying fists. Outside of these frantic action sequences, Baby Assassins: Nice Days makes fantastic use of the beautiful setting of Miyazaki, known for its picturesque beaches and stunning food, with plenty of wide establishing shots–undoubtedly capitalising on this luxurious location.

By far one of the best action films of the year, Baby Assassins: Nice Days is an exhilarating escapade of meticulously crafted combat and sets an incredibly high bar for the next (if any) entry in the series. While its elements of buddy comedy and character development are still an important part of the narrative, Saksmoto’s shift in focus to a more combat-heavy portrayal unequivocally elevates the series from a micro-budget love letter to reside with the likes of some of the best of the genre.

We watched Baby Assassins: Nice Days (2024) as part of Fantastic Festival 2024

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