A .50 Caliber Critique: My Black Lagoon Review (Part 2d)
And now, the part you have all been waiting for. Here, we will discuss what is ultimately the pedigree of the entire series, and what is most referenced regarding its quality … the action.
Up until now in this review I have been avoiding directly addressing the astounding galore of glorious gunfights that this show has to offer, as I frankly feel that its heavy focus on psychological drama and philosophical dialogue is what separates it from being another dumb popcorn flick. However, it is the action that punctuates the series and keeps the entertainment factor high. After all, if the show only consisted of a downpour of drama and dialogue, it would become stale and repetitive, as the scenes of emotional weight would likely weigh too heavily on the consciences of the audience without some action to contrast them.
Similar to part 2b, I will be splitting this part into sections, as I feel there are a multitude of different components that make the action compelling for this show.
So without further ado, let us take a thorough look at the scenes of pistol-toting badassery that this show has to offer.
Style
Gun Fu is a cinematic style of gunplay that has had a rather consistent track record of success when it comes to action filmmaking. Originally popularized by director John Woo with his slew of Hong Kong action films in both the 80’s and 90’s, including The Killer (1989) and Hard Boiled (1992), it was a style that would later be replicated with The Matrix (1999) and rather recently with John Wick (2014) and the subsequent releases in its trilogy with John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) and John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum (2019).
While many misgivings can be had in regard to its potential commitment to authenticity (that simply being, there is none), it nonetheless makes up for its lack of realism through sheer spectacle, if executed well enough.
And in this regard, Black Lagoon certainly delivers.
I think the best approach regarding a Gun Fu film is a ‘no holds barred’ philosophy, where the director fully embraces the escape from authenticity that the genre does provide. I think a fatal flaw that many Gun Fu films succumb to is a tendency to have a foot in both camps, where the filmmakers try to maintain some semblance of realism for the supposed purpose of making the film more relatable. This is a purpose that I find to be misguided, despite its best intentions. With the way I see it, by applying Gun Fu to your action sequences in the first place, you have already thrown authenticity out the window, and the best apology that you can provide is to be unapologetic. With a partial commitment to realism, you simply run the risk of making an inconsistent product. This is because when you inevitably make the transition to inauthentic action, as the genre demands, it is only that more jarring for viewers given the realism that came before. Your failure to fully commit to realism is only heightened and more pronounced to the viewer, given how incongruous authenticity is with the genre.

This is a failing that Black Lagoon does not suffer from.
Right from episode one, the show throws authenticity right out the window. In the very first gunfight of the show, we see Revy leaping from cover, performing shoot dodges with a sheer level of height and spectacle that would make Max Payne jealous, evading whole magazines worth of bullets and gunning down dozens of goons. The show is demonstrating right from the start that it is unabashed in its portrayal of violence. It continues this brazen attitude in subsequent episodes. In the second episode, we see Lagoon company shooting down attack helicopters in mid-air with their boats’ torpedoes. In the fourth episode, we see Revy take on an entire fleet of pirates. We see her leaping from boat to boat, engaging in close quarters with brutal choreographed kicks, and blowing up enemy ships single-handedly using a grenade launcher. There is no pretense of any commitment to authentic action, and by fully embracing this direction, these sequences are made all the more enjoyable.

Animation
Another prominent failing of action filmmaking is the use of fast and zoomed cuts, which has a become a cliche of cinematography usually used to hide poor choreography. Once again, this is a flaw that Black Lagoon avoids, and what I think is the key to its success.
Almost every shot regarding action in this show is wide, allowing the audience a comprehensive view of every bullet fired and punch thrown. There is also a lot of time and breathing room in between these shots, allowing us to process the hectic sequences of action taking place onscreen. And while the choreography is far from convincing when regarding its realism, as we discussed previously, it ultimately delivers where it counts in being brimming with stylized and satisfying violence. Like I discussed in my overview of Naruto, each set of moves, whether in close quarters or at a distance, has a lot of in-between frames so the audience is clearly able to see how one move flows into another. Each move is also usually done in a wide arc, giving a sense of weight and momentum behind each punch, kick and pull of the trigger.
There are no cuts of teleportation, where a character moves way more than they should be able to with the number of frames the shot provides. Each cut flows smoothly and seamlessly into the next one.
All of this effort in the animation department helps to elevate the already aggressive style of Gun Fu that is present in this show.
Sound Design
Last, but definitely not least, I would like to touch upon an aspect of action that I feel is often underappreciated by critics, that being the sound-work. When it comes to hand-to-hand fighting, poor sound-work can often be compensated for with solid choreography and cinematography. However, when it comes to filmic shootouts, sound design is really a necessary department to deliver on. Even if the firearms sound inauthentic, they at least have to communicate a decent sense of weight behind each shot. If the firearms are lacking punch, the kills will not be satisfying.
Once again, Black Lagoon delivers here.
The sound-work done for this show is excellent. Not only does each weapon have a satisfying bite to their shots, but they are also distinct in their audio. Even when two characters are equipped with a similar class of weapon, a lot of effort is made in the audio department to distinguish one from the other.
A great example of this quality can be found in episode ten, where we see a protracted shootout between Revy and Roberta. Both women are wielding paired pistols, with Revy using a pair of Beretta 92’s, and Roberta using a pair of Colt M1911’s. And while the artists and animators have made substantial efforts to detail the aesthetics that these weapons possess, we do not need to visually identify them in order to tell one from the other. There are many moments throughout the bloody firefight where Revy and Roberta are not visible onscreen, and yet we can still tell who is firing each individual shot based on the distinct sound of their firearms. It even communicates to the audience the unique fighting styles of the two combatants. Revy’s Beretta pistols have a light and brisk sound to their shots, which reflects her agility and temperament to use nimble acrobatics in combat. On the other hand, Roberta’s Colt pistols have a heavy and abrasive sound to their shots, which reflects her brutality and temperament to use blunt force in combat. The fact that the show details its characters right down to qualities as innocuous as the sound of their firearms simply speaks volumes regarding its quality, and is another reason for its action being so enthralling.
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