I for one thoroughly enjoyed this Netflix film, which is rare. Not sure what th deal with Metacritic rating it so low because I found it to be above average compared to most streaming originals. If you don't know the story, go ahead and watch the trailer, and for me, I was immediately drawn in to it by the trailer, because I'm a big fan of Asian crime films. And this film was not a let down in nearly any way. I loved the story, such a unique one in the time of super hero garbage and needless remakes of classics. The story pulled me in and the world it creates is a well represented one, definitely channeling other very successful Asian crime films. The action was true to the genre and definitely satisfied me.

Unfortunately not all the actors shined. Don't get me wrong, some had great performances, but others just seemed to be playing themselves, which I hate. As I said before, the world is well put together, seems very authentic with pretty good cinematography. I didn't like the pacing at some parts of the film but that really had no effect on the enjoyable experience. So I would say this is a pretty decent breathe of fresh air to see on Netflix, better than the majority of bombs that they put out into the public.

I would highly recommend it.

THE OUTSIDER sees Netflix explore the darker side of Japan as it tells the story of a gaijin, or westerner, who finds himself enveloped in Yakuza society after helping a prominent gangster. Jared Leto plays the main role rather impassively and I couldn't help but wish for someone with a little more character to essay the part, but never mind. Generally this is serious, slow-burning viewing; the plotting as it plays out turns to be entirely predictable, and it suffers at times from having characters making ridiculous decisions for the sake of the story (such as a veteran crime boss walking nonchalantly into an ambush without a second thought). However, the cinematography is strong and the film looks good, even if the characters turn out to be wafer-thin, and it doesn't shy away from the violence either. Small fry when compared to personal favourites (like Beat Takeshi's OUTRAGE),but this still passes the time amiably enough.

Just because a movie has a snails pace, does not mean it can not be brutal and violent in spades. We got one of those cases right here. It's about honor and loyalty. A major part of the movie is in Japanese (with subtitles of course),but our main character is an english speaking one. Which is the old "stranger comes into town" kind of thing.

In this case his invasion into this culture that most westerners may not be that aware of, is really the driving force. He does learn fast, but he is also human, so he does have some urges and he has feelings too (even if sometimes you may think otherwise). Brutal, honest and without really taking compromises, this may feel too long for some, but will be a masterpiece for others.