The Baby Assassins movies revive the dying art of action comedy

polygon.com:

Blockbuster action comedies are in a bit of a rough spot in modern Hollywood. (Fingers crossed that The Fall Guyrights the ship!) It can seem like the only options these days are quip-filled MCU movies, where the comedy potential is limited by some inevitable impending apocalypse; quip-filled MCU derivatives; or bleak action comedies where the humor is mostly dark and cruel. But there is another way: the way of the Baby Assassins.

The Japanese action-comedy franchise has delivered two consecutive bangers: 2021’s Baby Assassins lit my brain and heart on fire, reminding me of the glory days of Jackie Chan’s Hong Kong comedies through its combination of silly young-people antics and incredible fight choreography. The sequel, Baby Assassins 2, now out on VOD, offers more of the same and delighted me just as much as the first. It is my fervent hope we will get a 3 Babies 3 Furious situation going on soon.

The movies are a brilliant combination of two genres you don’t often see mashed up: slice-of-life angsty teen comedy and action-packed assassin drama. Teenagers Chisato (Akari Takaishi) and Mahiro (Saori Izawa) would like nothing more than to perform their killer duties for the shadowy organization that trained them, then just laze around their apartment all day. They watch anime, read manga, play video games, eat tons of junk food, moan about their responsibilities, and work out in their cramped living space. You know, teenage stuff. But the demands of their job, and of modern life, keep getting in the way.

In the first movie, their handler tells them to get part-time jobs so they can better integrate into society, and the two girls struggle to find a means of workplace conflict resolution other than murder. In the second, they’re deep in debt after unknowingly racking up bills from the company gym (which they only attended once) and must quickly make their money back, all while fending off two up-and-coming assassins who want to kill them to take their jobs.

Those