First Love A Fun Packed Crime Drama Film Grade: B+

Source: IMDB

First Love tells a story about a boxer named Leo (Masataka Kubota) whom recently been diagnosed with a tumor. While Leo was soaking in sorrow in the streets, a young sex worker Monica (Sakurako Konishi) was running in fear from a man. Leo knocks the guy out, as now Leo is involved in a crazy fiasco with Monica, that involves drug dealing, a hit, guns, and even swords.... HERE WE GO! So what inspired me to see First Love?! A couple well known critics really like this film, without me knowing anything about the film, I gave it a try before it left my theater. The Cinematography was pretty good, lots of cool unique shots in this film. The Score was solid as well. The cast of this film was pretty darn good, I like how the cast played along with the films over the top goofiness very well, to make it fun for the audience. Masataka Kubota playing our lead character Leo had a pretty good performance, really enjoyed Leo as a character. When Leo receives devastating news that not only his boxing career is potentially over, but his life is potentially going to end very soon... Leo sorrows in the streets in disappointment. Although what inspired Leo to make a change in his life may sound corny: A Fortune Teller. He tells Leo to start fighting for others, rather than fighting for him... Ironic enough Leo is a boxer, so he can come reason with this theory. It’s corny it takes a fortune teller to inspire Leo this change, but hey the fortune teller was telling the truth Leo needed to hear at the moment. While you only have a limited amount of days left to live, you might as well make it count by helping others and that’s what Leo does for Monica. Not only does Leo help Monica once and goes forward with his life, he stays with Monica the entire night, making sure she’s not harmed by anyone as now Leo receives a friend out of Monica, to help him cope with his pain of knowing his life is going to be over soon. I found the other characters to be enjoyable as well, I loved the antagonists of this film and found them extremely entertaining. I do have my flaws with First Love. I thought Monica seeing her past demon was presented in the most goofy way possible, when it should be shown in a much more darker tone. Especially when her past demon at one point started to dance.... It’s never taken seriously. Though the third act was epic, you can certainly say it over stayed it’s welcome, it felt longer than it should have as you can grow tiresome at some points. Oh I almost forgot: The flashback scenes were unnecessary as well. Other than those flaws, First Love did not disappoint as I found this to be an extremely enjoyable film. I found the story to be quite thrilling as it offers more than just a basic crime drama, you can also call this an action/thriller as all elements blended together makes it a fun film. I like the fact this film can be funny at times for the right reasons, rather than being unintentionally funny, it’s got a nice sense of humor. The way characters facial expressions are in scenes and how they react in some situations is just hilarious, like I was laughing my ass off at a couple parts. The film can inspire to those whom feel their life is over, as all they can do for the remainder of their time here is to be miserable and soak in sorrow. When in reality: There is so much you can do with your life, whether you have a lot in general or barely any time left on this life, you can do so much good and that’s just lending a helping hand, to one whom needs it. If you’re looking for a film that’s going to make you feel something, makes you laugh, or certainly have a good time with... First Love will do all those things for you. Overall, First Love is a pretty damn good film. I highly recommend this film, it does kick some major ass so do give it a try when you have a chance to. Mitch Smietana