If you like Se7en and The Usual Suspects, watch this | SUZUKI=BAKUDAN (2025)

I am Jason Kleeberg, this is Force Five, and today I’m going to give you 5 reasons you might like the critically acclaimed 2025 Japanese film Suzuki = Bakudan, and make sure to stick around because at the end I’ll give you two top 5 lists this movie could easily make.

Reason number 5, if you like the films Se7en and The Usual Suspects, you should get this one on your radar immediately. I don’t want to oversell the comparisons because Suzuki = Bakudan is very much it’s own thing, but if you like dark, puzzle-box crime thrillers where detectives are chasing down leads left by someone three steps ahead of them, the DNA of those films is here. The film starts with a man named Tagosaku Suzuki being interrogated after he broke into a vending machine and fought the shopkeeper. He appears to be a run of the mill drunk, but while being questioned, he tells them he has psychic abilities and he thinks three explosions will occur in Tokyo and when the first one happens at the time he said it would, it’s a cat and mouse game to find out what his involvement really is.

Reason number 4, the direction is top notch and it’s easy to see why Akira Nagai was nominated for both the Blue Ribbon Awards and the Japan Academy Film Prize for direction. When you structure a film around people talking in rooms it can get stale fast if the direction is flat. Instead, Akira Nagai finds ways to make the conversations feel like action scenes and small details constantly remind you that every sentence matters as these cops race against the clock. It’s also really well edited adding to the constant pressure of the next looming explosion.

Reason number 3, if you like mystery films like Memento, Primal Fear or even the Knives Out films where the motives unfold slowly and right when you think you figured it out, the filmmakers toss another wrinkle into the plot, you should check this one out. While the detectives are trying to find the bombs, they need to understand how Suzuki thinks. Every weird phrase and every answer matters, and as Suzuki starts playing a game with the lead interrogator, you start to understand that if you have your phone out with this one on, you’ll be lost..

Reason number 2, under all of the thriller mechanics, there’s a nasty social critique. What makes it more interesting than the location of the next bomb is the uglier questions Suzuki is asking. Who gets ignored? Who gets judged? Who’s considered valuable in society and what happens when someone decides to turn society’s own cruelty back against it? That’s why the movie sticks more than you might expect because while the cat and mouse game is supremely entertaining, the resentment, bureaucracy, public panic and social commentary elevate it to another level.

Finally, reason number 1, if you like villains like Kaiser Soze and Heath Ledger’s Joker, the most compelling reason to watch this film is Jiro Sato’s performance as Suzuki. He is not a sleek, elegant movie-genius villain. He’s strange, funny, at times pathetic, frightening and funny. One minute he seems like a drunk nobody, the next he feels like the most dangerous man in Tokyo. His unpredictability is magnetic and it’s no surprise that he swept the best supporting actor category for just about every major award in 2025, including winning both the Blue Ribbon award and the Japan Academy Film Prize. He’s had a long acting career, but I wasn’t familiar with him until this one and now I need to seek out other things that he’s been in. He’s that good in this.

As for top 5 lists this one could make, the first is obviously Top 5 interrogation room thrillers. I already mentioned The Usual Suspects and Primal Fear, but I think it also sits alongside films like The Interview, The Secret in Their Eyes or Memories of Murder where a lot of the drama comes from who’s in charge of the conversation. I also think this would be in my top 5 One criminal holds the city hostage movies, like The Batman, Dirty Harry, Speed or Die Hard with a Vengeance. Movies where the villain isn’t just committing crimes, he’s turning the city into a part of the game.

If you’ve seen Suzuki=Bakudan, what did you think of it? Let me know down in the comments below. If you have a movie you want me to do a 5 reasons video for, email me at forcefivepodcast@gmail.com. Finally, down below you’ll find the link to order the film on Physical Media as well as links to my other socials. 

Life is short. Spend it with the people, and the movies, that you love.