# Miike's 'Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo' falls flat

> Takashi Miike's remake of the neo-noir classic can't get its story off the ground.
- Title: Miike's 'Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo' falls flat · Variety
- Summary: Takashi Miike's remake of the neo-noir classic can't get its story off the ground. Miike's 'Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo' suffers from a disjointed structure that…
- Keywords: bad lieutenant: tokyo, takashi miike, shun oguri, lily james, abel ferrara, harvey keitel, yakuza, neo-noir, remake, neon, film review, entertainment
- Source: Variety — https://variety.com/2026/film/news/bad-lieutenant-tokyo-review-1236863418
- Author: Siddhant Adlakha
- Published: 2026-09-16T11:57:13+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: bad lieutenant: tokyo, takashi miike, shun oguri, lily james, abel ferrara, harvey keitel, yakuza, neo-noir, remake, neon, film review, entertainment
## Second remake of a classic
This is the second re-imagining of Abel Ferrara's 1992 neo-noir starring Harvey Keitel.
## Miike takes it to Tokyo
Takashi Miike's version borrows the broad strokes of the original but tells its own Yakuza-centric story.
## The story never gets going
The film's Yakuza tale never fully takes off, leaving viewers with a baffling experience.
## Too many characters, too fast
A stop-start approach introduces numerous characters and subplots before existing ones can be resolved or even started.
## Overstuffed yet empty
The film is paradoxically overstuffed with elements, yet little of note actually occurs.

> a paradoxically overstuffed sequel where little of note occurs
## Key takeaway

Miike's 'Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo' suffers from a disjointed structure that introduces too many characters and subplots without resolving them.