If I had to quickly draw up a list of my most anticipated movies to premiere at TIFF, top of the list would be Takashi Miike’s Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo. Not only does this appear to be the closest to a Hollywood thriller that we’ve ever seen from Miike, but it’s the third film in the Bad Lieutenant series that began with Abel Ferrara’s 1992 classic and Werner Herzog’s divisive spiritual sequel, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, from 2009.
Miike’s film stars Shun Oguri (Godzilla vs. Kong), Lily James (Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again), and WWE Women’s Champion Liv Morgan in her biggest role since 2023’s The Kill Room.
Oguri plays a Tokyo police officer and compulsive gambler who becomes involved in a complex investigation when a mysterious FBI agent, played by James, arrives in Japan following the disappearance of a politician’s daughter, played by Morgan.
Daisuke Tengan wrote the script, based on a concept by producer Edward R. Pressman.
NEON has dropped the first images from Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo via IndieWire. It will release the film in theaters at a later date, and my guess is that when will depend on early reactions from TIFF. You can look for my review then.
