Li Yifeng/Michael Douglas actioner ‘Animal World’ takes Netflix

"Animal World" Theatrical Poster

“Animal World” Theatrical Poster

Later this month, director Han Yan (Dream Breaker) will unleash Animal World, a new film loosely adapted from Nobuyuki Fukumoto’s manga, Ultimate Survivor, which was previously adapted into two successful films in Tokyo.

Animal World stars Li Yifeng (The Founding of an Army), Zhou Dongyu (The Thousand Faces of Dunjia) and the one, the only, Michael Douglas (Black Rain, Romancing the Stone).

Animal World stars Yifeng as an imaginative teenager who gets lured into a dangerous game of wits overseen by an icy arch-villain played by Douglas.

Animal World is getting a domestic release on June 29, 2018.

Updates: Netflix has acquired global digital rights to the title for all territories outside of China, according to industry sources with knowledge of the deal (via THR).



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13 Responses to Li Yifeng/Michael Douglas actioner ‘Animal World’ takes Netflix

  1. Z Ravas says:

    What did I just watch? Oh well, I would definitely pay money to see this flick.

  2. Paul Bramhall says:

    Just watched the trailer. I have no words.

  3. dakuan says:

    one thing for sure: is not adapted from Ultimate Survivor.
    That manga is about gambling, and has literally no action.

  4. The Cool Dad says:

    This has suddenly rocketed to the number 1 slot in my ‘I’ve got to f**king see this’ list…… I only hope that we didn’t already see all the good parts in the trailer…..

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  7. Andrew Hernandez says:

    Maryland has gotten yet another Chinese film in theatres, and I just checked out Animal World. It was quite the trip.

    The trailer is pretty misleading for those not familiar with the source material. (Like me)
    The Killer Clown parts are only a small aspect of a bigger and very unusual story. To explain them would be difficult and also spoil the story.

    Li Yifeng is a seemingly irresponsible daydreamer who admits to being crazy, and after getting screwed over by his friend, finds himself participating in an ocean cruise gambling tournament run by the evil Michael Douglas.

    The game itself takes Rock, Paper, Scissors and places it into a setting that combines Battle Royale, Rounders, 21, and the Wong Jing gambling films. Even before all of this happens, the movie demands that you pay attention to every detail of the plot.

    There are so many instances where you ask yourself “what the hell is going on,” but everything is so visually stunning and the acting is very good all around. Li Yifeng easily goes from immature to cool and calculated when the situation calls for it.

    Michael Douglas hams it up the only way he knows how to, yet he treats the material at face value and acts like he’s getting another Oscar.

    Continuing the trend of having characters speak to one another in different languages, the film even uses the technology from Snowpiercer and Helios. I just love that. Lol

    The camera work and cinematography often reminded me of Jean-Pierre Juenet films. Even regular establishing shots are treated like a spectacle. While this isn’t an action movie, there are some good action scenes.

    The killer clown sequences are great fun and create gore out of Nickolodeon liquid. There’s even a giant car chase that comes out of nowhere and provides a nice detour to the main story.

    Average audience members will have to be very patient with the main focus of the plot though, since a lot of it deals with how Yifeng has to outsmart other people and figure out how to make the game work in his favor.

    All in all, the movie was very captivating, but I can see other people being rubbed the wrong way by it.

    • Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one Andrew (you guys got it good in Maryland huh!), it sounds like a fun flick! It got my curiosity when I learnt it’s based on the same manga as Japans ‘Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler’ (which ironically starred Tatsuya Fujiwara from ‘Battle Royale’), so reading your thoughts has sealed the deal that this should be on my radar.

      • Andrew Hernandez says:

        Here in the DC/Virginia/Maryland area, we seem to get Asian movies at random. Sometimes it’s something obscure, and rarely we get a big release like Wolf Warrior 2.

        It’s always a pleasure to share my thoughts.

  8. Omayra Rivera says:

    Is this movie Animal World be release in blue ray in U. S soon

  9. Pingback: Michael Douglas Stars in Trailer for Chinese Clowns vs. Monsters Movie Animal World

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