Jason says: “2012’s THERMAE
ROMAE adapted a manga with a delightfully high-concept premise – an
architect of Roman bath houses (thermae) finds himself in modern Japan,
which loves the institutions just as much as his homeland, and tries to
introduce twenty-first century luxury to ancient Rome. It’s a neat
idea, and the sequel does find new facets of it to tap, but it’s gotten
stretched rather thin by the end.
“A year has passed in both time zones, and in AD 136 Lucius Modestus
(Hiroshi Abe) is charged with upgrading the thermae in Rome’s
Colosseum. Though not a fan of bloodsports and aware of how the roman
senate seems to be using them to undermine the pacifist policies of
Emperor Hadrianus (Masachika Ichimura), he sees a chance to improve the
situation for gladiators, especially once a trip through the vortex
shows him how contemporary sumo wrestlers unwind after a match. As he
makes more trips to the present to learn about water parks and hot
springs resorts, he once again crosses paths with Manami ‘Mami’
Yamakoshi (Aya Ueto), now a reporter for a bath-enthusiast magazine, as
her comic version of Lucius’s previous visits never took off.
“Sequels have conflicting demands – ‘move forward’ and ‘more of what I
liked’ – and THERMAE ROMAE II often feels like screenwriter Hiroshi
Hashimoto had ideas for doing the former but often fell back on what
was expected. There’s a potential theme going untapped, with Lucius
amazed by the innovations of the ‘flat-faced clan’ but worried that by
copying them he is not actually creating, while Mami had her manga
rejected because editors found her artwork lacked its own style, but it
doesn’t play into the film’s resolution much at all. And while it’s one
thing for a man to act like a bit of an oblivious doof around the girl
who likes him once, doing it for a second film is much less cool.
“The worst part of that is that it marginalizes Aya Ueto for much of
the film’s first half, despite her being thoroughly charming and one of
the best things about the first. She’s still that, a charmingly upbeat
balance to Lucius, and so excited when she goes back to ancient Rome
again that it’s actually a bit of a disconnect when the villains paint
her as a doomsaying witch because she has read The Rise and Fall of the
Roman Empire and knows some things. To be fair, these stories are
really about Lucius, and Hiroshi Abe is once again a deadpan delight in
the role, no longer quite the proud man trying to rein in his
humiliation, but more working the contradiction between such a
serious-minded man concentrating on getting people to relax. He’s got a
little more room to be witty here, and makes good use of it.
“Aside from the fine stars, a lot of what worked about the first is
brought over to the second, and director Hideki Takeuchi and his crew
still execute them fairly well. The Romanization of Japanese bathing
(and other) technology is almost always a visual kick, especially once
the curtain is peeled back to reveal the poor slaves trying to make it
work. It’s a great-looking movie in other ways, shooting in Bulgaria
and Rome as well as Japan. The CGI that makes some of the Roman scenes
look fairly slick is made up for by some very low-budget bits later on,
and there’s still an impish tendency to break the fourth wall in
amusing ways.
“Those that liked previous installments of THERMAE ROMAE, whether in
print or on screen, are likely to keep having fun with this new one;
the folks involved know what they’re doing. I must admit, though, that
I’m glad the filmmakers have backed themselves into a position where
they’ll have to do something different with a third installment should
they make one; the idea is good, but just about drained. 3.5 cats” |
