FANTASTIC FEST: The Girls Continue Action Domination In ‘Baby Assassins: Nice Days’

The third film in writer-director Yugo Sakamoto’s Baby Assassins series of films, Baby Assassins: Nice Days (Baby Walkure: Naisu Deizu), continues Chisato Sugimoto (Akari Takaishi) and Mahiro Fukagawa’s (Saori Izawa) stories. Only now in Baby Assassins 3, we get some background and context for who they are and how they fight and see how their deep bond keeps them resilient in the face of a villain (Sôsuke Ikematsu) that beats the ever-living crap out of them.

In this film (which mostly works entirely standalone), Chisato and Mahiro hope to go on vacation. As Mahiro’s birthday approaches, Chisato just wants to make it something special. But those plans take a back seat when their new manager assigns them to a new hit on a highly well-guarded target that may just be in another assassin’s crosshairs, too. While the two have to manage their reputation with the new boss, they also uncover that there is a traitor to the organization and attempt to fulfill their mission, celebrate Mahiro’s birthday, and snuff out the competition.

The important shift in Baby Assassins 3 , though, is that while the humor may still be there, the dynamic duo must come to terms with darker elements of life. Most pertinently, it is fragile as they come up against a villain they may not be able to take on without losing something. That added balance of seriousness tampers down some of the high-camp elements that the last film leaned in hard on. It grounds this addition to the series and adds more to the world of the films. Mahiro and Chisato have their relationship tested both physically and mentally, and hopefully, they will emerge stronger.

A perfect blend of the sincerity of the first film and the camp of the second, Baby Assassins 3 is expertly moderated. Its violence is extravagant without ever being unbelievable, and the emotional moments layer into physical ones. Action director Kensuke Sonommura is able to highlight Chisato and Mahiro as a unit, independently, with guns, in hand-to-hand spars, in one-vs-many situations, and in one-on-one battles.

Sonommura highlights the depth that he has when it comes to fight choreography and direction. Still, more importantly, he sets Akari Takaishi and Saori Izawa up to succeed and push themselves as action stars. And with an expanded cast of Organization characters, the film is bigger and better than ever before, with a longer runtime to match.

I am a fan of actioners, but in the United States and the West, more largely, women aren’t given the depth of fight sequences that their male counterparts get on average. More importantly, it always seems as if they aren’t given the trust to perform their craft.

There are some exceptions like the Cathy Yan directed (with Chad Stahleski as second unit director) Birds of Prey or even the women in Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuerie’s Mission Impossible franchise and the action-defining John Wick (with John Wick 4 featuring Saori Izawa as Rina Sawayama’s stunt double). However, outside the first of those listed, women are not the center of those stories. When we look at women-led actioners in the US, the difference in the quality of the films above to others like The 355 or Charlie’s Angels is steep.

Films like Baby Assassins 3 (and its predecessors) or The Shadow Strays or Furies all work to showcase women in the center of their stories and never pull the punches to do so. For its part, Sonommura’s attention to body size differentials in the sequences allows for not only interesting framing devices but also dictates the kinetic and gun-reliant fighting style that Chisato and Mahiro use.

The duo are often substantially smaller than the men they fight and assassinate, and here, Sonommura shows us their weaknesses. They get injured and almost die, but they keep coming back, using their speed to make up for their lack of size.

Why is this important? It continues to show that Sonommura has Takaishi and Izawa at the core of his fight choreography. It’s meant for them, informed by them, and made special by their choices and charisma. It’s that attention to detail and care that has made the franchise an immediate favorite of mine. Baby Assassins 3 continues to present what women can do in the genre, and it’s better for it. However, Akari Takaishi and Saori Izawa aren’t just women action stars; they are action stars, period.

Baby Assassins 3 ups the action ante with louder fights, fewer angles to hide behind, and new innovative kills. Akari Takaishi is a certified action star as Chisato. Her ability to work a room and maintain a charismatic connection with every actor opposite of her is essential to her ability to execute difficult fight choreography. Additionally, her physicality is matched by her perfect comedic timing and ability to get the crowd laughing. It’s clear why Akari Takaishi has a solid action career, with Ghost Killer also screening at Fantastic Fest.

Saori Izawa is also amazing in just about every way as Mahiro. Carrying the film’s emotional weight, Mahiro’s exploration and evolution as a fighter mirrors her journey to learn about herself and the past. Her inability to quit gets her into deep trouble, but at the same time, it keeps her from falling for too long. Mahiro is the heart of Baby Assassins 3. Her narrative development highlights how action sequences with only action ADR and limited dialogue can tell a story just like a page of conversations.

Baby Assassins 3 is another stellar addition to Yugo Sakamoto’s assassination trilogy (although I would take even more of these if Sakamoto is looking to keep the train moving). Chisato and Mahiro belong in the action pantheon, and this film highlights why. This is the best Baby Assassins has ever been through and through.

Baby Assassins: Nice Days screened as a part of Fantastic Fest.