Unlucky Monkey  (1998)

Theatrical Release Information:
Unlucky Monkey

Following up on his kinetic action-comedies Dangan Runner and Postman Blues, actor turned director Sabu spins this tale about a bank robbery gone laughably wrong. Yamazaki (played by Sabu regular Shinichi Tsutsumi) has spent days plotting a hit on a local bank, but when the time comes to do the deed, he finds some other guy sticking up the joint. Yamazaki promptly flees, but after a series of improbable accidents, the bank's money is literally dumped into his arms. As he flees, he accidentally runs into a comely beautician. Unfortunately, he was carrying a knife at the time; the woman kneels over dead as the bank's rent-a-cop bears down on Yamazaki. Meanwhile, a pair of mid-level thugs -- Kamada (Hiroshi Shimizu) and Matsuda (Akira Yamamoto) -- are looking to join a rival gang after their boss was recently jailed. Things appear to be going swimmingly for them until their bumptious colleague Kaneda (Ikko Suzuki) bursts in sporting the ski mask worn by Yamazaki. A freak act of fate renders Kaneda dead on the yakuza boss' floor, and Kamada and Matsuda in a situation that requires some serious explaining. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide