‘The Confidence Man JP’ movie review: Japanese heist film set in Hong Kong is light-hearted fun
Masami Nagasawa shines as a skilled swindler out to steal a legendary diamond from a Hong Kong triad boss
The Confidence Man JP is a big-screen sequel to the popular Japanese detective drama series of the same name. Led by the talented Masami Nagasawa, the film is an entertaining watch, but is unlikely to excite true fans of the genre.
Dako (Nagasawa) is highly skilled con woman whose prime targets are greedy businessmen.
The object of her next heist is Lum Lau, the head of a powerful corporation in Hong Kong, and a triad leader to boot. She possesses a legendary purple diamond – which is what Dako has her sights set on. To steal it, Dako assembles a team of super-slick con artists, and they head to the 852.
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Along the way, Dako is reunited with her former partner Jesse, who plans to steal the diamond himself. After several plot twists, Dako and her crew manage to pull off one very splendid hustle.
While it may sound like a high-stakes action thriller, The Confidence Man JP is actually full of frivolity. The humour is well done, but it leaves little room for intensity. And plot twists aside, the story is fairly straightforward, and fails to build up much intrigue. The real sticking point, however, is the fact that the film completely wastes its Hong Kong setting. The actors also speak ridiculously bad Cantonese. It’s hard not to feel disappointed.
The Confidence Man JP sets out to entertain, and in that it succeeds. But don’t expect much more from it.