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Criminal Woman: Killing Melody represents an interesting gender-flip on the traditional Japanese yakuza genre. All the usual yakuza movie elements are present -- tough guys, illicit business, gunplay, double-crosses. However, Criminal Woman: Killing Melody puts a fun twist on this material because all those elements act as backstory to the conflict between female characters who deftly manipulate their easily-led male counterparts. Even better, Criminal Woman: Killing Melody uses two of Japanese exploitation's best leading ladies to bring its story to life: Reiko Ike is convincing as the revenge-driven heroine out to destroy a yakuza family and Miki Sugimoto is all icy cool as Ike's powerful, Yakuza-allied rival. Their clash of wills adds an extra spark to the material and director Atsushi Mihori helms the material with a clean sense of style, keeping its female-oriented approach in focus while still managing to deliver all the excitement the plot promises. It all adds up a skillful example of Japanese exploitation filmmaking and Criminal Woman: Killing Melody is thus an excellent pick for anyone interested in an offbeat approach to the yakuza genre.