High & Low The Worst X

Norihisa Hiranuma's 2022 Japanese film is an entry in the fight-driven High and Low universe and follows the conflict between Oya High and an alliance of three schools. The story is crowded: dozens of characters, each with their own gang and their own score. The series uses story as a pretext and invests in fight choreography, and the sequences here really are well designed: long takes, mass brawls, use of space. Against that, most characters arrive without introduction, and a viewer who does not know the universe cannot follow who is who. The violence is constant but not bloody; fighting is presented here as a language of honour. Who it's for: viewers who like Japanese action cinema and fight choreography. Who it's not for: anyone unfamiliar with the series, or who will find constant brawling wearing.