Order a curry, get a few beers in and chuck on Baby Assassins 2 Babies, a slacker comedy cum martial-arts knockabout for those nights when only frenetic action and goofy gags can cut through your stupor. Finding an unlikely centre point in the Venn diagram between Clerks, Ghost World and Drunken Master, this sequel follows teenage assassins Chisato (Akari Takaishi) and Mahiro (Saori Izawa). Thanks to their part in foiling a bank robbery, the duo find themselves on suspension from the criminal organisation they work for and forced to enter a real world of dead-end jobs and low pay. Meanwhile, another hapless pair hatch a plan to take out Chisato and Mahiro in a bid to finagle their way into the assassination underworld.

There are few high stakes here with the tension-and-release of a standard action flick replaced with tension-and-longueur as this endearing double-act flop on their settee and debate takeaway food in the world-weary register of an old Daria episode. What could descend into self-indulgence has the spark of a formidable comedy pairing, Chisato the highly strung worrywart and Mahiro emanating Gen X ennui from every shrug of her shoulders and deadpan line delivery.

Lurking in the background is a sly comment on the job market for Japanese youth, but there’s really no reason to look beyond rambling humour and zippy fight choreography to find it. Baby Assassins 2 Babies isn’t reaching for the stars in either comedy or action, but its irrepressible sense of fun and sporadic bursts of anime-tinged hyperactivity is always likeable. 

Baby Assassins 2 Babies, Cineworld, Thursday 7 March, as part of Glasgow Film Festival.