Baby Assassins: Nice Days Review (Glasgow Film Festival 2025)

Iteration is crucial for any successful sequel; without it, mundanity sinks its ugly claws in, leaving you questioning why the film was made in the first place. Baby Assassins 2 Babies refined the haphazard comedic beats of the original, delivering a slick, fast-paced action film. Baby Assassins: Nice Days takes a different approach, iterating by shifting the tone. While it remains a playful buddy comedy, its lighthearted dynamic is juxtaposed against a dark and sadistic villain—Kaede Fuyumura (Sôsuke Ikematsu), a killer who derives pleasure from executing his targets. The result is a darker, harder-hitting, and phenomenal third entry in what is easily one of the best action franchises today.

The film opens with Kaede Fuyumura eliminating his 149th target in cold blood. As the cleanup crew arrives, his contractor hands him details for his 150th kill. We then transition to our dynamic duo, Chisato Sugimoto (Akari Takaishi) and Mahiro Fukagawa (Saori Izawa), gleefully skipping along a beach. They’re on holiday in Miyazaki Prefecture—or rather, they’re using an assignment there as an excuse to enjoy some time away from Tokyo. However, when Chisato and Mahiro realize they share the same target as Kaede, tensions rise. Their target manages to escape, and their syndicate swiftly informs them that it’s their mess to clean up.

The initial confrontation between Mahiro and Kaede, set within the long, narrow hallways and expansive staircases of the Miyazaki Prefecture office, is nothing short of a masterclass in action filmmaking. As the fight erupts, Chisato swiftly kicks Kaede’s gun out of his hand, sending it skidding down the hallway. She then rushes ahead to locate the target, leaving Mahiro behind to face Kaede alone. This pivotal moment establishes the gun’s presence in the distance, heightening tension as Kaede gains the upper hand and disarms Mahiro. A desperate struggle ensues as Kaede attempts to reclaim his weapon, using the walls to disorient Mahiro. When she is knocked to the ground, she nimbly kicks off the walls to evade gunfire. The sequence is utterly thrilling, fully utilizing the confined corridors to create dynamic and exhilarating action.

With this installment, Kensuke Sonomura have crafted some of the finest action in modern cinema. The opening set piece immediately sets the tone for what’s to come, blending incredible gunplay with moments of inventive gun-fu choreography. As the film progresses, the action seamlessly transitions from gunfights to intense hand-to-hand combat when the bullets run out, delivering some of the best fight sequences in the genre. It all builds toward a climactic final showdown—one that can only be described as a true work of art.

Following the initial confrontation, Kaede emerges victorious, leaving Mahiro to grapple with her failure. This marks a fascinating shift from the previous installments, where Chisato and Mahiro struggled with the mundanity of ordinary jobs and the burden of paying bills. For the first time in the franchise, Mahiro is forced to confront the idea that failure might be a fate worse than death for an assassin. While failure is an inevitable part of life, this is the first time she has failed to eliminate a target. Watching Mahiro come to with the reality that setbacks are necessary for growth—and that she must learn to overcome the deadly odds stacked against her—is truly captivating. Saori Izawa delivers a magnificent performance, capturing Mahiro’s turmoil both dramatically and physically in the action sequences.

Sôsuke Ikematsu’s portrayal of Kaede is chilling. He serves as the perfect antithesis to our iconic duo—a sinister, cold-hearted killer who takes genuine pleasure in his vicious acts. He meticulously records each kill in his diary, noting whether it satisfied his urges or left him unfulfilled. Kaede is a truly unsettling and memorable villain, bringing a breath of fresh air to the series.

Writer-director Yugo Sakamoto has continued to refine this series with each new installment, and Baby Assassins: Nice Days is no exception. It represents the culmination of years of dedication to enhancing the franchise’s humor, action, and narrative. Rather than simply emphasizing how foolish or silly these assassins can be, the film finds humor in the absurd situations they find themselves in, creating more organic and well-earned laughs. The shift to Miyazaki Prefecture moves the action away from the bustling cityscape of Tokyo to more rural and seaside locales, offering a richer visual palette while also introducing new syndicate and freelancers to the mix.

Baby Assassins: Nice Days is a masterclass in action filmmaking and a must-watch for fans of the genre. Chisato and Mahiro are a dynamic, lovable duo for the ages, and Saori Izawa is cementing her legacy as one of the finest action stars of all time. With one of the most memorable villains in recent memory, Baby Assassins: Nice Days isn’t just the pinnacle of the franchise—it’s an all-time great.

★★★★★

Playing as part of the Glasgow Film Festival on the 3rd and 4th March / Akari Takaishi, Saori Izawa, Sôsuke Ikematsu, Atsuko Maeda / Dir: Yugo Sakamoto