Chisato and Mahiro finally are on vacation, things relaxing (maybe), but not for long. Soon, colleagues show up and they learn that they now need to go back to work.
Written and directed by Yugo Sakamoto, this third entry in the Baby Assassins series is a whole lot of fun. While it is perhaps not as fun as the first, it’s still a solid entry in this series where two teenage girls are contract killers through an agency, leading them adventures with lots of violence and comedy. This entry is no different in that it is fun, funny, has plenty of action, and really is a good vehicle for the two leads. There is something about these two and their hijinks, they bring the viewer in, make them tag along, and don’t release them until the very end. The story here made the right move of changing locations, bringing the girls to Miyazaki for vacation and adding new characters to create new dynamics and stakes. The writing here works, and the direction is solid.
The leads, returning from the first two films, are played by Akari Takaishi as Chisato and Saori Izawa as Mahiro and they are the center of everything, the best, the reason to watch this film and the others in the series. Their performances bring the fun while giving us an evolution of their characters that is logical and works. The two of them are this series and they make it all that it is. Their performances are more subdued at times here, giving us a bit of a different perspective to their characters. They also bring the action when needed, and the humor of course. They are the best part of the film. The rest of the cast is also good, but they do get a little eclipsed by the leads at times.
The film here is about the girls, fun, but also action. There is something about the action here. It’s done quite well and with Saori Izawa being a stunt person most of her career, her work here feels natural, like it’s meant to be. The fights are fun, the gunplay works in a bit of a goofy way, there is a lot here for action fans to enjoy.
Baby Assassins: Nice Days is an entertaining, fun continuation of a series that seemingly came out of left field. It’s one of those that is a must-see for fans of action, action-comedy, and ladies kicking butts. The performances work, the new characters brought in are the right ones for the story, the way things evolve both in the story and for the leads keeps with the spirit of the films so far and really make it interesting to watch more adventures of these ladies. A quick look online and it seems like we are going to get a fourth entry in the series shortly as it is already in post-production.
This year the Fantasia International Film Festival runs in Montreal from July 18th to August 4th.