Director: Kurando Mitsutake Writer: Kurando Mitsutake Cast: Asami, Kairi Narita, Noriaki Kamata, Matthew Floyd Miller, Dean Simone, Tatsuya Nakadai Running Time: 86 min.
By Z Ravas
It’d be easy for detractors to label 2014’s Gun Woman another case of low-budget sleaze – after all, Japanese AV turned action star Asami spends most of the film’s climax stark naked and drenched in blood – but director Kurando Mitsutake is far too savvy a filmmaker for that. Since 2009’s Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf, the writer/director/occasional-actor has managed to accomplish the seemingly impossible: he’s kept Japanese action cinema alive through a series of micro-budgeted movies that hold appeal for both grindhouse aficionados and martial arts buffs alike.
While the more recent Karate Killmight be said to be Mitsutake’s strongest effort to date, and makes one salivate at the possibility of the filmmaker being granted an even bigger budget to realize his outsized ambitions, there’s no denying that Gun Woman is the movie that put Mitsutake on most genre fans’ radar. For that reason, and others, it’s worth taking a look back at Gun Woman, which is conveniently streaming on Netflix.
At first brush, Gun Woman’s plot may sound overly familiar: after a brilliant Doctor’s (played by Into the Sun’s Kairi Narita) wife is murdered before his eyes by the insane son of a Japanese business magnate (in a positively unhinged performance from Noriaki Kamata), he swears revenge. Crippled himself in the attack, the Doctor has no choice but to look for aid in realizing his ambitions, and thus kidnaps a homeless, drug-addicted young woman (Asami, who broke into the mainstream with several Sushi Typhoon efforts) to train as the perfect assassin. If you think the writers of La Femme Nikita might be looking to sue after hearing that synopsis, rest assured that Mitsutake lampshades the fact early on by having a side character remark, “What is this, some kind of Japanese manga or Luc Besson film?” It’s a tacit admission from the filmmakers that they know their material owes a creative debt to the great action movies that have come before, and also tells the viewer to lighten up and enjoy the ride.
And what a ride it is. Most of the movie comprises of Asami’s lengthy training sequences, which involves a good deal of psychological torture since the Doctor transforms Asami into a killing machine against her will. The dynamic between these two characters is quite interesting, if not disturbing: the Doctor may have saved Asami’s life by forcing her to kick her drug habit, but by fashioning her into the instrument of his own revenge, he continues to put her in harm’s way again and again. For her part, Asami begins to develop a bit of Stockholm Syndrome – it’s fairly fascinating stuff as, even if it’s not exactly Oscar-worthy material, the characters are far more ambitious than your standard micro-budget B-Movie.
Bear in mind, this all plays out against the backdrop of a demented villain who wouldn’t be out of place in a Toxic Avenger movie or one of Takashi Miike’s most off-the-wall pictures like Fudoh: The New Generation. Many viewers will no doubt balk or be offended by Gun Woman’s cadre of necrophiliac baddies (yes, you read that right), but – in contrast with other films of similar ilk such as Hobo With a Shotgun – I never felt like Kurando Mutsutake was wallowing in and celebrating the depravity of his rogues gallery. Rather, the script goes to great lengths to make you despise its cast of demented degenerates, such that you can’t wait to see Asami take them out. Mission accomplished.
Once Asami becomes, well, the Gun Woman (bear in mind this is a taut and fast-moving flick at 86 minutes so it doesn’t take long), and is unleashed on Noriaki Kamata and his bodyguards, the bullets fly and the bodies drop. While the climax is certainly smaller scale than the extended finale of Karate Kill, it’s no less impressive to watch Asami go up against goons who tower over her diminutive size, especially when she’s so, well, vulnerable. The movie goes to great lengths to justify why Asami has to enter the bad guy’s complex wearing only her birthday suit. Of course, the reasoning is rather ridiculous but – what can you do? Its a creative decision that certainly got people talking and, surprisingly, Mitsutake and his team do such a good job choreographing the ending sequence that, after awhile, you just kind of forget that Asami is fighting evil with nary a stitch to wear.
Okay, so Gun Woman isn’t exactly high art. It’s still a dynamite example of what can be accomplished by a team who is passionate about independent filmmaking and high-octane action. Asami delivers a performance that radiates both vulnerability and steely-eyed determination at once, and she acquits herself extremely well during the fight sequences for someone who has no formal martial arts training. I have no doubt team behind Gun Woman will continue to craft bigger and better films, but this is the effort that put them on the map – and rightly so. If low-budget exploitation cinema gets your blood running hot, you have a new friend in Kurando Mitsutake.
If Peace Breaker is anything like the original, here’s what you can expect: In a 24 hour period, a detective (originally played by Lee Sun-Hyun) receives a divorce notice from his wife; next, his mother passes away; he then becomes the focus of a police investigation; to make matters worse, on the way to his mother’s funeral, he commits a fatal hit and run…
Peace Breaker gets a domestic release on August 18, 2017. Watch the film’s Newest Trailer below:
“Confidential Assignment” Korean Theatrical Poster
Director: Kim Sung-Hoon Writer: Yoon Hyun-Ho Cast: Hyun-Bin, Yu Hae-Jin, Kim Ju-Hyeok, Jang Young-Nam, Yoona, Park Min-Ha, Lee Hae-Young Running Time: 125 min.
By Paul Bramhall
It’s been interesting to watch the portrayal of North Korean characters develop since the beginning of the Korean wave in the late 90’s. Back then, while still commercially appealing in their nature, movies like Shiri and J.S.A. portrayed the South’s north of the border counterparts as characters with their own internal conflicts and personalities. Since then, mainstream Korean cinema has largely resorted to using North Korea as an origin for agents with their own hidden agendas, usually played by good looking young actors, crossing into the South to perform undercover missions. This particular trend peaked in 2013, which gave us the bombardment of Commitment, The Suspect, and Secretly, Greatly.
Out of all the mainstream movies to use the undercover North Korean agent trope though, for me the one that did it best was 2010’s Secret Reunion. Essentially a buddy movie in the guise of a North vs South tale, director Jang Hoon cast Song Kang-ho as a detective, that gets fired after a mission to catch a North Korean spy goes horribly wrong. During the same mission, another North Korean agent escapes, played by Kang Dong-won, but ultimately finds himself stranded in the South. They both briefly glimpse each other, and when their paths cross by chance six years later, neither believes the other recognizes them. Circumstances ultimately lead them to form a private detective agency together, with both of their intentions to steal information from the other. The end result was a surprisingly effective action comedy, and in more ways than one, 2016’s Confidential Assignment uses an identical template in the hope of recreating the same winning formula.
Thankfully director Kim Seong-hoon tweaks the plot of Secret Reunion enough to make Confidential Assignment an entertaining piece of action comedy in its own right. Yoo Hae-jin, who after years of playing supporting roles is finally enjoying his second co-starring role in as many years (the first being Luck.Key), plays a clumsy middle aged detective, that finds himself ordered to unofficially pair with a North Korean detective. His counterpart is played by Hyun Bin, who before becoming a popular romantic lead in both TV dramas and movies, was the co-star in 2004’s taekwondo movie Spin Kick. Hyun’s character is part of a North Korean delegation attending a North & South government meeting, however secretly both are after a North Korean agent who’s gone rogue, and is hiding out in Seoul. The crux is that neither are completely honest with each other, with both having their own ulterior motives for getting to the rogue agent before the other.
There should be no mistake that Confidential Assignment is as commercial a movie as they come, clearly created to appeal to as broader audience as possible with its mix of hard hitting action for the guys, Hyun Bin to attract the female demographic, and comedy that’s suitable for the whole family. As a result, it’s difficult to argue that it feels like anything other than a by-the-numbers thriller that we’ve seen plenty of times before. The production is Seong-hoon’s sophomore effort, having previously directed the 2012 musical drama My Little Hero, and may not be the obvious choice to helm an action comedy, but the direction is confident, and the pace remains brisk throughout. Indeed it’s the pacing of Confidential Assignment which is one of its biggest strengths, as despite the potential for melodrama never being far away, thankfully Seong-hoon resists the decision to ever delve into it.
Instead, the focus is kept squarely on both the action and the comedy. Much like Kang Dong-won ends up moving in with Song Kang-ho in Secret Reunion, the same plot device is used here, as Hae-jin ends up inviting Hyun to stay with his family in their homely Seoul apartment. There was no doubt that Hyun would have little more to do in Confidential Assignment than look handsome and deliver the action, but he has a likable presence, and is never overwhelmed by the more experienced Hae-jin. A comedic highlight comes when Hae-jin fits him with a GPS ankle bracelet, usually reserved for sex criminals, explaining that it’s what all South Korean detectives wear in order to discreetly identify each other. However when Hyun spends some time alone at a viewpoint overlooking the city, he’s approached by another man also wearing one, who proceeds to excitedly ask him what he’s into, leading to a hilariously played out misunderstanding.
His action scenes, of which there are many, also provide a convincing sense of physicality and excitement. From a thrilling foot chase through the streets of Seoul, that ends with him clinging onto a moving car, to a one against many fist fight, which sees a unique use of a toilet roll. He also gets a one-on-one throwdown against a towering Kong Jung-hwan, which under the guidance of martial arts team members Choi Tae-hwan and Kim Tae-hwan, deliver a satisfyingly visceral level of punishment. Hae-jin understandably takes a back seat when it comes to the action, however one particular scene is noteworthy thanks to its hilarious nature, when he also finds himself up against a group of attackers, and frantically attempts to figure out how Hyun had used the toilet roll from an earlier fight.
Confidential Assignment’s other big plus is the chemistry between Hae-jin and Hyeon. The pair form a convincing onscreen bond, from their initial hostility towards each other, to the gradual trust that, while never becoming completely unconditional, develops enough for them to gain a mutual respect of one another. We may have seen Hae-jin’s struggling family man detective a hundred times before, and Hyun’s wardrobe is clearly fashioned from the Won Bin Man from Nowhere look (at one point Hae-jin’s wife asks him if he only brought the one black suit with him), but their portrayal of their characters is still convincing.
Special mention should also go to Kim Joo-hyeok, who plays the rogue agent that everyone is after, and acts as the villain of the piece who we should all be rooting against. His character is perhaps the most interesting, as his decision to go rogue was largely based on seeing through the North’s cult of personality based regime, and realising that he could make it rich in the South. While his motivations are not necessarily the reason for him being the villain (anyone who realises that the North’s regime is an illusion should surely be considered a character worthy of our sympathies), his villainy comes in the form of the ruthless way he chooses to make his escape to the South. While these complexities aren’t explored in any particular depth, and nor should they be in a piece of popcorn entertainment such as this, it does give an interesting slant to proceedings.
This also leads into the other interesting element that Confidential Assignment presents the audience with. Unlike so many other similar productions, were the character from the North usually chooses to stay in the South, here it’s never questioned that Hyun will go back home after the mission is complete. In that regard, he completes his mission to find the rogue agent, and stays true to the regime, returning back to Pyongyang once it’s complete. While in the movie itself the fact is not presented as a big deal, I don’t think I can recall another production in which a similar scenario is presented, and the North doesn’t become the over-arching super villain at some point. Even Secret Reunion decides to go down this route by the end, with Dong-won’s North Korean agent successfully defecting to the South. If anything, Confidential Assignment is the complete opposite, ending with a scene of Hae-jin and Hyun together in Pyongyang.
While it’s easy to pin the success of Confidential Assignment on the chemistry between Hae-jin and Hyun, that wouldn’t be entirely fair. At the end of the day, Seong-hoon has looked to craft an entertaining action comedy, and to that end the final product delivers both funny comedy and exciting action, which is exactly what it was aspiring to do. While it’s certainly never going to be considered a classic, as a brisk piece of popcorn entertainment, you can certainly do a lot worse.
There can never be enough Asian gangster flicks, and Gao Xixi’s The Game Changer (read our review), an upcoming period actioner, is no exception. On October 3, 2017, Well Go USA is releasing the film on Blu-ray & DVD.
The Game Changer is about gang wars in Shanghai in the 1930’s. The movie is an adaptation of Shanghai Bund, a TVB series that has been compared to The Godfather.
Director: Herman Yau Cast: Andy Lau, Jiang Wu, Song Jia, Philip Keung, Ron Ng, Wang Ziyi, Felix Wong, Shek Sau, Liu Kai-chi, Cheung Chun-kit, Louis Cheung, Babyjohn Choi, Felix Lok Running Time: 118 min.
By Martin Sandison
Superstar actor/singer Andy Lau (The Great Wall, God of Gamblers) has had one of the most enduring careers of any Hong Kong celebrity, and he keeps going strong. Despite the setback of his injury while filming a commercial earlier this year (he fell off a horse), Lau is almost fully recovered and will continue to make movies soon. His latest film, Shock Wave, is a high budget, Hong Kong/Mainland co-production that boasts a good performance from Lau and some bombastic action set pieces.
Lau stars as Cheung Choi San, a member of the Bomb Disposal Unit in Hong Kong. Seven Years previous, Cheung had solved a case involving a criminal called Blast (Jiang Wen, A Touch of Sin), as he had gone undercover with his gang. However, Blast managed to escape and swore revenge. As Cheung climbs the ladder in the unit, Blast begins his retribution by holding hostages and planting bombs in the super-busy Cross Harbour Tunnel.
Having the biggest budget he has worked with (allegedly $23 million US), director Herman Yau (The Sleep Curse, Untold Story) really lets rip with the set pieces in Shock Wave. In fact, a set was built to approximate the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, which the film utilizes to great effect during the last 20 minutes. There are tense moments, superbly creative action and solid acting in this section of the film, although there is a tendency to fall into the trap of overwrought melodrama. Yau utilises all of the tricks and camera innovation he can, with visually pleasing results. There is even some extreme violence thrown in, such as an arm being ripped off by a speeding car, which will please fans of Yau. One tracking shot, which moves through an entire tunnel during a gunfight, had me in raptures.
Lau, as usual, is more than convincing in his role as a moralistic cop. Wen is inventively savage and charismatic as the villain, and steals every scene he is in, especially towards the end of the film. Felix Wong does a good job as Superintendent Chow, Lau’s superior (he is perhaps best known as playing Fishmonger Tsan in the classic Drunken Master 2, where he goes toe to toe with Jackie in a memorable fight). The Westerners in the film suffer from the usual problems, e.g terrible voice acting and stilted performances. Unfortunately, the romantic subplot involving Song Jia (Red Cliff, The Bodyguard) is outrageously cheesy and doesn’t do the film any favours.
A problem with Shock Wave is one we’ve all heard before: it panders to Mainland China. The message of the film being “Chinese cops are great! Don’t challenge them or you’re f*cked!” Saying that, there are some moments in the film wherein the patriotic stuff does work, whether you like it or not. They’re too spoilerific to mention here.
Ultimately, Shock Wave misses out on being a classic, but it’s certainly not a failure. It looks like this is the kind of movie we’ll see come out of Hong Kong and the Mainland more often – and that’s certainly not (really) a bad thing.
Director: Sion Sono Cast: Reina Triendl, Mariko Shinoda, Erina Mano, Yuki Sakurai, Maryjun Takahashi, Sayaka Isoyama, Aki Hiraoka, Ami Tomite, Mika Akizuki, Makoto Kikuchi Running Time: 85 min.
By Z Ravas
In 2015, Takashi Miike, a filmmaker known for his ceaseless work ethic, eased his output to a relaxed – by his standards – two movies a year. For his part, Love Exposureand Cold Fishdirector Sion Sono seemed determined to pick up the slack. That same year, Sion saw his name attached to no less than six – count ’em, six! – features. While some critics have accused the Japanese auteur, known for his commitment to extreme cinema, of spreading himself a little too thin, I imagine that most die-hard Sono fans will find plenty to enjoy with 2015’s Tag.
Likely owing to its slick, commercial visuals and winsome cast of Japanese schoolgirls, Tag is one of the few recent Sion Sono movies to achieve wide distribution in North America; in fact, you can even queue it up on Netflix. The plot, based on a novel by Yusuke Yamada, is about a Japanese teenager named Mitsuko who finds herself trapped in the day from hell, almost like Bill Murray in a plaid skirt (how’s that for a visual?). On a school field trip, she is forced to watch as a mysteriously violent wind slices her schoolmates in half – and that’s before the ten minute mark! Things only grow stranger from there as a desperate and on-the-run Mitsuko joins up with a group of young strangers who insist she’s been their beloved classmate all along. Soon enough, Mitsuko finds herself in a fight for her life against powerful, reality-hopping forces… and fight she will.
To say much more beyond that would spoil the fun, though rest assured plenty of bullets are fired and bodies split in half before the credits roll. The plot, as wild and careening as it is, seems to take liberal influence from mind-bending storylines like The Matrixand Total Recall, as well as the generous schoolgirl body count of Battle Royale. But there’s also a surprisingly tender romance/friendship at play between Mitsuko and her newfound classmate Aki, the kind that wouldn’t be out of place in a well-done indie drama, and the dream-like atmosphere of the entire production is aided greatly by Sion Sono’s liberal use of the 11-minute instrumental post-rock song “Pure as Snow (Trails of the Winter Storm)” by Japanese band MONO.
If Tag has a weakness, it’s in its stop-and-start pacing. The movie doesn’t seem to have much of a story to tell once Mitsuko figures out what’s behind her sudden Alice in Wonderland-like existence, as though the tale is all wind-up and no pitch. As such, there are times when it feels like Sion Sono is spinning his wheels in order to ensure the film’s runtime hits the measly 85 minute mark – perhaps most noticeable during the myriad of sequences in which Mitsuko fearfully runs away from the wind as though she’s starring in a Japanese schoolgirl remake of The Happening.
Despite some admitted lulls, Tag’s highs are just about as deliriously high as anything in Sion Sono’s oeuvre. Fans of the filmmaker should know what they’re in for – and know that they’re in for a good, wild time. He’s one of the few living directors who could dream up a scene in which a pig-headed man jump-kicks a marathon-runner, and have it entirely make sense in the context of the plot. Tag appears to want to say something about the nature in which women, particularly young women, are exploited by the Japanese entertainment industry for the pleasure of a male populace… but mostly it’s another launchpad for Sono’s delirious imagination, and in that regard it does not disappoint.
Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray set for MGM’s Chuck Norris: Total Attack Pack. This 4-disc collection includes some of the best titles from Norris’ filmography:
Lone Wolf McQuade (1983), starring David Carradine and Barbara Carrera; Missing in Action (1984), starring James Hong; Code of Silence (1985), starring Henry Silva; and The Delta Force (1986), starring Lee Marvin and Robert Forster.
Director: Peter Malota Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Autumn Reeser, Peter Stormare, María Conchita Alonso, Daniel Bernhardt, Kris Van Damme, Mila Kaladjurdjevic, Peter Organ Running Time: 96 min.
By Kelly Warner
Stunt performers and fight coordinators are awesome individuals that go largely underappreciated by far too many film fans. I tend to think that may not be the case at City on Fire, but the point remains. These men and women know their stuff and they make our movies better with their often unsung contributions. However, when asked to step into the role of actor, writer, or director, sometimes these stunt specialists aren’t always up to task. Kill ’em All is the directorial debut of stuntman and fight choreographer Peter Malota. Malota is not well known to me, but he’s been involved with multiple Jean-Claude Van Damme movies over the years both behind the camera and in front of it, with collaborations such as The Quest, Nowhere to Run, and Double Impact. Those films, which featured JCVD in his prime, showcased good (sometimes great) action and stunt work, so I have no reason to doubt Malota’s abilities in his original field. But a good storyteller he is not.
Kill ’em All is a confusing, poorly paced action movie based around the mystery of a hospital bloodbath and the nurse who survived it. Nurse Suzanne (Autumn Reeser, The Arrangement) is called in for questioning by the FBI. Agent Holman (Peter Stormare, Fargo) doubts her story – for some reason? – and Suzanne decides to start from the beginning, retelling how her skeleton crew hospital took in multiple victims from an apparent assassination attempt all at once. One of them is Philip (Jean-Claude Van Damme), who is sporting a concussion and bleeding from a bad cut on his arm. Suzanne is tending to her patients when a Russian with a gun (Daniel Bernhardt) walks in, shoots the ceiling, and demands to know, “Where is he?!” No one knows who the hell he’s talking about. Nor should they. Dude just shows up with a gun, asks a vague question, and kills people who can’t give him a satisfactory answer. Thing is, I didn’t know who he meant either. I assumed he was talking about JCVD, because well, when a bad guy asks “Where is he?” in a JCVD movie, it’s natural to assume he’s talking about our favorite Muscles from Brussels. But nope. The angry Russian goes over to a dead guy on a gurney, pulls back the sheet, and reveals his recently slain brother. Ahhh. Okay then. Next thing you know, Van Damme draws his gun (because apparently patients who are the survivors of assassination attempts are not disarmed when put under medical care) and he goes out into the hall to deal with the angry Russian. These characters with only the vaguest of motivations shoot at each other in the hospital lobby and Suzanne sticks close to Van Damme because at least he’s not shooting at the ceiling and asking stupid questions. But wait, hold up. Peter Stormare’s FBI guy doesn’t believe this crap so we gotta jump back to the FBI interrogation room. Suzanne says that’s how it happened, the FBI asks why they should believe her, and the audience screams GET ON WITH IT ALREADY. But before we can jump back to the hospital, let’s now explore the backstories of the assassins who are here to kill Philip via a series of flashbacks, with each flashback given its own exact date that seems important at first but I guess not…?
It’s a mess. There is such a thing as trying to do too much. At the core of the story is an assault on a hospital where JCVD must fight off assassins, each of them known for their particular method of murder, while he works his way to the fifth floor where an injured diplomat sleeps in a hospital bed. If the movie wanted to be all about that, we might’ve had something here. But instead, the movie goes every which way. The constant jumping back to the FBI room can be tolerated, if only because Peter Stormare is easily the most entertaining thing in the movie. But the flashbacks are a tiresome bore. One goes as far back as 1981 to show JCVD’s Philip as a child (the kid is all of 12 years old. Which begs the question: is JCVD supposed to be 48 years old in this movie?). There are a few unexpected twists at the end—some of them truly bonkers—and I’d almost give it credit for deciding to go in that direction, if not for the fact that one such twist is so obviously lifted from a far superior film.
As Philip, Jean-Claude Van Damme is… elsewhere. He looks incredibly tired. An argument could be made that he’s too old for this sort of role but I’m not ready to go there because it’s clear that the movie would’ve sucked just as much with someone like Scott Adkins in the lead. Van Damme’s character barely speaks, but when he does speak the script gives him some real doozies. There’s this quiet moment during the hospital mayhem where Philip and Suzanne sit down in a break room to talk. He says to her, “You seem like the type of girl I would like to walk with you in the woods and listen to the birds. Plus, you’re intelligent.” And yes, in addition to being an outrageously bad line, it’s also (one must assume) a flubbed delivery. But who wants to read a line like that twice, right?
The lame dialogue extends to other sections of the film, too. Suzanne, a survivor of bloody mayhem, recounts her story like a drunk novelist crafting a poor first draft (hey, I’ve been there, too). A character that you’d think would be shaken by what she’d endured instead slips into flowery prose like she’s attempting to impress. When Stormare’s FBI agent yells at her to get to the point, I acknowledge that he’s a jerk, but damn if I’m not on his side anyway because this dialogue was meant for the garbage can.
Peter Stormare is the best part of the movie, though that’s admittedly not saying a whole lot. I think he must’ve just come off the set of John Wick Chapter 2– it’s the same beard, same slicked back hair, it might even be the same suit. I don’t for one second buy him as an FBI Agent but he’s fun. And though he doesn’t get much to say, Daniel Bernhardt makes for an intimidating villain. It’s like a more dramatically invested take on his bodyguard character from John Wick, a heavy who disappeared into the background too much in that film but makes for a standout in Kill’ em All.
The action is average. The film’s wretched editing ruins the thrills. JCVD’s son Kris Van Damme shows off some nice kicks. I don’t believe he says a word in the film but he’s impressive in his fight with his father. Autumn Reeser’s Suzanne has a fight with a femme fatale assassin (model Mila Kaladjurdjevic) but the action is far too brief to hold a lasting memory. The best is saved for last when Van Damme and Bernhardt face off. Not sure if fans will consider it worth the wait but it is a fine fight and both performers pull off a few good moves.
The film is obviously working on a small budget. I don’t hold that against it, but nor do I think that’s reason enough to forgive its many shortcomings. It’s an above average cast for a direct-to-DVD feature but they’re largely wasted on a horrible script and awful pacing. Waste of a cool title.
If The Legend of Famen Temple is anything like the novel, here what’ you can expect: The story takes place in the Famen Temple in the Tang Dynasty. The stupa, where Buddha’s relic is enshrined suddenly catches fire and flying Apsaras appears on top of it. A teenager named Duan Chengshi and his cousin witnesses all the oddities. Later, Duan’s cousin loses memory, followed by sudden death of people who talk about it. Duan also loses his notes. And someone keeps watch on Duan and even attacks him. After investigation, Duan lays emphasis on a priestess of Zoroastrianism. Then, things get more complicated (via Amazon).
According to AFS, The Legend of Famen Temple begins shooting in November. For now, we leave you with the Trailer for Time and Tide (because we miss Tsui’s modern-setting films):
Director: David Leitch Writer: Kurt Johnstad Cast: Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman, Til Schweiger, Eddie Marsan, Sofia Boutella, Toby Jones, Bill Skarsgård, Daniel Bernhardt, Sam Hargrave, James Faulkner, Roland Møller, Lili Gesler Running Time: 115 min.
By Kelly Warner
With a bit of fancy editing and a dash of special effects, movies can make just about anyone into an action hero these days. But every once in a while, a star and a director decide they want to do more than trick you; they want to convince you. All the right things gotta come together for this to happen. The right star, who must be motivated to push themselves physically. And the right director, who knows how to use what their star can do without appearing to hide what they can’t. That duo—plus a hundred other necessary elements—is a rare thing in Hollywood, where things are made fast and with as little risk as possible. But Charlize Theron is a rare type of actress. And her heroine in Atomic Blonde is precisely the sort of role that best shows off her many talents.
Training under director David Leitch’s 87eleven ‘action design’ studio, Theron took the bruises and spent the necessary time to make the punches look real before filming commenced. When she fights off a group of guys with little more than a yellow hose, I was in tune with the action, even audibly expressing my shock when certain spectacular moves were performed. It’s one of the most convincing transformations from attractive Hollywood star to absolute badass I’ve seen.
In Atomic Blonde, Theron plays Lorraine Broughton, an MI6 spy who’s seen some of the worst of the Cold War. She’s a tough, no-nonsense operative who’s just as willing to use sex appeal as she is a clenched fist of keys to best her opponents. We first see her naked in a tub of ice, covered in bruises. She then reports to her superiors, the British spy played by Toby Jones (Captain America) and the CIA man played by John Goodman (Kong: Skull Island), who grill her on her recent operation in East Berlin leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Another MI6 agent (a man Lorraine is reluctant to admit she was close to) was killed while trying to escape Berlin with microfilm. Lorraine’s mission was to retrieve the microfilm, all the while keeping an eye out for the notorious but faceless traitor known as Satchel.
Lorraine was made as soon as she stepped off the plane. The KGB know her name, they know her contacts, and they knew she was coming. She fights them off—using her high heel shoes—and is picked up by a fellow British spy, David Percival (James McAvoy, X-Men: First Class). From here, she gets the lay of the land and meets with various contacts including the intel salesman (Til Schweiger, Inglourious Basterds), the innocent French woman (Sofia Boutella, Kingsman), the Soviet turncoat (Eddie Marsan, Ray Donovan), and the document forger (Bill Skarsgård, It).
And from there it just sort of… meanders for a bit. There’s not much of a sense of hurry in Lorraine’s mission. The villains are the Russians and they’re everywhere, but they’re a vague threat that exists somewhere in the shadows and only appear when an action sequence is needed. The specter of the traitor known as Satchel isn’t introduced until about Act 2, which seems a little late. As an action movie, Atomic Blonde can be pretty spectacular, but it wants to be a Cold War thriller, too, and that’s where it doesn’t always deliver.
But if you’re coming for action, you should leave the theatre pretty happy. There’s a continuous shot action sequence set primarily in a stairway that rivals the likes of Oldboy and Children of Men. I say ‘continuous shot’ and not ‘single shot’ because I’m sure there are some cuts in there, but they’re all well disguised. It’s an amazing sequence. Another awesome scene has Charlize Theron’s blonde Brit face off against Daniel Bernhardt’s blonde Russian in a movie theatre while Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker plays in the background. Very cool.
The film has a very particular look and feel, some of which feels directly influenced by director David Leitch’s co-director gig, John Wick. Backgrounds covered in spray paint, stars lit by neon, and all set to the tune of 80’s rock, it’s a most peculiar Cold War actioner. But it works. Leitch proves that Wick co-director and fellow former stuntman Chad Stahelski isn’t the only one who can succeed when going it alone. The film suffers pacing issues and the story lacks originality, but Leitch’s visual style and hard-hitting action are reasons to be excited for his future films to come.
No matter how good anyone else is, they are afterthoughts by comparison to Charlize Theron. This is a great character, wonderfully played by an actress willing to go the edge for her art. It’s almost a shame that Theron and Lorraine didn’t find each other years ago, because I can imagine endless sequels with her character. What I also liked is that she was not some invincible heroine. In one extended fight, Lorraine walks off looking to be in worse shape than the men she defeated. Her special skill is that she just doesn’t quit.
It’s just too bad that the film’s story didn’t wow me the same way that its main character did. Atomic Blonde is the battle of some first-rate John Wick-inspired action trapped in a second-rate John le Carré-inspired spy thriller. It’s a mildly disappointing film because when it’s working, it’s really working. Just the same, it’s definitely worth seeing, for Theron if nothing else. I hope to see more of the character in sequels. Hopefully with a more interesting story next time. Atomic Blonde has big franchise material.
Expendables 3’s box office belly flop a few years ago – possibly due to the film’s early online leakage or its undesired PG-13 rating – left the franchise in limbo. And Sylvester Stallone’s recent disagreement with series producer Avi Lerner, may have left the series dead, but we’ll get back into that later.
After the fan backlash of Expendables 3’s PG-13 rating, Stallone stated that he would make the next installation R-Rated: “If I do another one it’s going to be a lot bloodier… hardcore R.” He added: “I believe it was a horrible miscalculation on everyone’s part in trying to reach a wider audience, but in doing such, diminish the violence that the audience expects. I’m quite certain it won’t happen again.”
The fact that the recent release of Marvel’s Deadpool became the third R-Rated movie to cross $300 million domestically (The Passion of the Christ and American Sniper are #1 and #2, respectively), toning down violent films to a PG-13 to reach a wider audience became a thing of the past. Then came the recent release of 2017’s Logan, another hugely successful Marvel flick that followed Deadpool’s R-Rating trend. So, an R-Rated Expendables 4 would no longer be “quite certain,” it would have been a done deal.
To producers, this wasn’t some urgent research paper on what’s morally right or wrong, it was all about making money while still keeping the integrity of the filmmakers’ vision intact. Like Stallone said, making Part 3 PG-13 to sell more tickets was a miscalculation. After all, the Expendables franchise started out as R-Rated. It made money. Lots of it. So to have Expendables 3 come out with with its PG-13 rating was a punch in the face for those who loved the series – I mean, you’ve got the biggest R-rated action stars in the world (okay, they’re has-beens, but they’re still action legends… Rambo, Desperado, Terminator, Lethal Weapon, you get the point…) in one film, and they want their target audience to be people who weren’t even born when most of the cast was at their prime? Sometimes greed teaches you a lesson.
So development on Expendables 4 begins, but wait (!) *insert record scratch sound effect*…
In March 2017, Stallone announces he’s leaving the Expendables series. Turns out, he and Nu Image/Millennium chief Avi Lerner could not find common ground on a new director, on the script and on certain qualitative elements of the film.
So what the heck happened? Did Lerner want John Moore (A Good Day to Die Hard) to direct, leaving Stallone running for his life? Were the studios still pushing for a PG-13 rating? Doubtful, just ask Deadpool. Or maybe Stallone’s new found acclaim with Creed turned him off from the goofy franchise? Possibly, but doesn’tEscape Plan 2 rule that out?
There’s some speculation that Stallone was simply “getting too old for this sh*t.” I personally don’t buy it. If you look at his upcoming projects, he’s got a lot of stuff lined up that’s not exactly voice over work for Pixar: Escape Plan 2: Hades, Escape Plan 3 and Ex-Baghdad (with Jackie Chan). Besides, the more action stars you have in one movie like the Expendables, the less physical work you’d have to do. Not saying it’s easy, but he’s not carrying the film by himself like he did in Rambo or Rocky.
Here’s the bottom line: Everyone changes their mind. In the 80s and 90s, how many times did Stallone say “this is the last Rambo, Rocky, etc.” Since then, he’s made another Rambo, and more Rocky films (yes, we’re including Creed – once you put on that lame black hat and leather jacket, you’ve made another Rocky movie).
If you’re a die hard Expendables fanatic, don’t lose hope. But then again, at 71 years old, time isn’t standing still for Stallone (although he’s in better shape than most twenty somethings). There’s also the chance the Expendables might continue without Stallone, but what fun is there in that? Heck, I don’t even like the Expendables franchise and I don’t want to see that happen.
You know what? Screw Expendables. Give me another one of these babies and I’ll be happy…
On October 10th, 2017, Lionsgate is releasing the DVD for Miguel A. Ferrer’s (not to be confused with the late actor from Robocop) Female Fight Squad(read our review), a new MMA film starring Amy Johnston (Lady Bloodfight), Dolph Lundgren (Skin Trade) and Cortney Palm (Bond: Kizuna).
Female Fight Squad(previously known as Female Fight Club) is the gritty tale of Rebecca (Johnston), a female fighter who abandons the ring after a brutal tragedy. When her sister Kate (Palm) begs for help to repay a deadly debt, Rebecca enters the world of illegal underground fighting and resumes the role of “Bex the Beast.” While training Kate’s team, Rebecca must confront the cruel, dangerous promoter who threatens her sister’s life — and that of her frail young daughter.
Back in the oughts, before Hollywood became bankrolled by superhero franchises and endless reboots, the industries former money maker came from a seemingly endless stream of Americanised remakes of Asian movies. From horror (especially horror!) to action flicks to comedies, the list quickly became exhaustive, with fans of the originals rarely having anything positive to say about the Hollywood versions.
However one aspect of the remake machine that rarely gets as much attention, is when countries within the Asia region itself remake their own movies. Just like Hollywood believed that a western audience would rather watch a western (re: Caucasian) cast, so countries like Japan, Korea, and India have followed the same thinking, that local audiences would also be more likely to watch local stars than check out the foreign original.
To cast a light on these often overlooked remakes, we’ve put together a list of 20 original movies, and their respective remakes, for you to check out. We’ve decided not to include any movies which were remade within their own country, so for example Korea’s The Housemaid (1960 and 2010) isn’t included, nor is Hong Kong’s A Better Tomorrow (1986 and 2017). However A Better Tomorrow and its Korean remake, are included.
For full disclosure, while I’ve seen a large number of the movies on the list, I haven’t seen all of them (and probably never will). With that in mind, this feature isn’t meant as a review of each production, but rather to draw attention to the movies that you perhaps didn’t realise were remakes, or as the case may be, movies that you didn’t realise had been remade. So without further ado, let’s get started, listed in the order of the most recently released remake to the oldest.
Not only is Johnnie To’s 2013 crime thriller set to get a Hollywood remake, but director Lee Hae-yeong has also signed up to direct a Korean remake as well. To’s original was both a masterful piece of action filmmaking, but also a masterclass in how a few subtle decisions allowed the Mainland censorship board let various controversial scenes pass without incident. To’s most ingenious decision was having the identities of the drug lords revealed to be almost the entire stable of Milkyway’s Hong Kong actors, something that China was most likely delighted with. The Korean remake won’t have to suffer such cinematic political manoeuvring, but here’s hoping it maintains the high levels of tension and action aesthetic of the original. At this early stage it’s already been announced that Cho Jin-woong will be stepping into the shoes of Sun Hong-Lei, and Ryu Jun-yeol will be taking on Louis Koo’s role.
A Hard Day (2014 – Korea) Peace Breaker (2017 – China)
Due to hit Chinese screens in summer 2017, one of the most surprising entries on the list, thanks to its morally ambiguous subject matter, is China’s remake of the 2013 Korean hit A Hard Day. The original was an underdog hit both in Korea and overseas, starring Lee Sun-kyun as a cop who commits a fatal hit and run on the way to his mother’s funeral, and his subsequent attempts to hide the body. Filled with equal measures of dark humour and suspense, we can already safely say that the China version will need to change the ending in order to get past the Mainland censors. The remake will be helmed by Lien Yi-Chi, and comes with the significant star power of casting Aaron Kwok in the role that Sun-kyun plays in the original. It’ll be interesting to see if the remake can match the terrific pacing and performances of Kim Seong-hun’s tightly knit original, but for now only time will tell.
Confession of Murder (2012 – Korea) Memoirs of a Murderer (2017 – Japan)
Another remake set for a summer 2017 release, is Irie Yu’s version of Korea’s 2012 thriller Confession of Murder. The original centred around the offbeat concept of a serial killer, that was never able to be caught, releasing a bestselling book confessing to the murders just as the statute of limitations is about to expire. However more so than the plot, the highlight was it being the directorial debut of Seoul Action School graduate Jeong Byeong-gil, who imbued proceedings with a surprising amount of creative action sequences. With Nippon TV financing the remake, we can already expect that the violence of the original will be significantly toned down, as most Japanese TV studios get into financing movies so that they can be shown on their respective channels. Whether what’s left will add up to a worthy remake is questionable, but we’ll know soon enough.
Miss Granny (2014 – Korea) 20 Once Again (2015 – China) Sweet 20 (2015 – Vietnam) Suspicious Girl (2016 – Japan) Suddenly 20 (2016 – Thailand)
Currently untitled remakes set for release in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines in 2017
Proving just how popular Korean comedies are in Asia, director Hwang Dong-hyeok’s 2014 feature Miss Granny, about a 74 year old widow who suddenly finds herself back in her 20 year old body, has been remade so many times in just 3 years that the number is already in double figures. The only movie to rival it is My Sassy Girl (detailed further down the list). In fairness, it’s easy to see why, with a universally appealing story of someone living in their twilight years, suddenly thrust into their younger self’s body. While all of the remakes have appealed to their local audiences, arguably none have matched the charm of the original, with a pair of stellar performances from Nah Moon-hee and Shim Eun-kyung, playing the older and younger versions respectively. Still, that’s not going to stop the fact that English, Spanish, and German versions are all currently scheduled for production.
The Man from Nowhere (2010 – Korea) Rocky Handsome (2016 – India)
How do you turn one of the more violent and gritty action flicks to come out of Korea in recent years, into a movie that’ll appeal to a Bollywood audience? Apparently the answer was to go the route of an almost shot-for-shot remake, when in 2016 director Nishikant Kamat basically made a carbon copy of Lee Jeong-beom’s 2010 original. Won Bin was replaced by John Abraham, and the Vietnamese knife fighter played by Thanayong Wongtrakul replaced by Patrick Kazu Tang. Throw in a couple of musical numbers, slow motion shots of Abraham, and an attempt at cranking up the violence thanks to the influence of The Raid, and you have Rocky Handsome. Out of all the remakes listed, it’s no doubt the Bollywood ones which vary the most from the originals, and many fans of The Man from Nowhere that saw Rocky Handsome were left less than impressed.
The Raid (2011 – Indonesia) Baaghi (2016 – India)
If you’ve ever asked the question – when is a remake not a remake – then the tale of The Raid and Baaghi may give you your answer. While their stories are different, Baaghi’s finale, which sees the hero of the piece, played by Tiger Shroff, storming a building floor by floor to get to the villain on the top level, was remarkably similar to, well, the whole of The Raid. It was certainly enough for the Indian production house who’d bough the remake rights to the Indonesian fight fest, Sikya Entertainment, to serve the producers of Baaghi with a legal notice of their intent to sue. The case went all the way to court, however was ultimately dismissed due to the difference in the two movies stories. Interestingly, while the director of Baaghi claimed he hadn’t even seen The Raid, Shroff himself said that it was indeed a strong influence on his movie. Confused? So are we.
Hide and Seek (2013 – Korea) Hide and Seek (2016 – China)
Korean director Huh Jung made his debut with the 2013 horror thriller Hide and Seek, which revolved around the wonderfully creepy idea of someone else living in your home without you ever knowing it. Unfortunately the movie derails itself with a baffling late in the day twist which defies logic, but that didn’t stop Chinese director Liu Jie from transferring the locale from Seoul to Qingdao, for a remake which fits in well with China’s current housing boom. Surprisingly Jie does little to distinguish the Chinese version from the original, instead choosing for an almost shot-for-shot retelling, including all of the same problems that Jung’s version had. In fact the only way to tell them apart are the main family having one child instead of two, and the inclusion of some ridiculously lengthy onscreen text about mental disorders, no doubt to stay SAPPRFT friendly.
Key of Life (2012 – Japan) Luck.Key (2015 – Korea)
Director Kenji Uchida’s 2012 crime comedy got the remake treatment from Korea 3 years after its release with Luck.Key. The story, which sees a down on his luck wannabe actor switch identities with a wealthy customer of a bathhouse, who slips on a bar of soap and loses his memory, draws its laughs from the fact the customer turns out to be an elite assassin. The Korean remake sees Yoo Hae-jin (in a rare starring role) and Lee Joon taking on the roles that Tereyuki Kagawa and Masato Sakai played in the original, as hitman and actor respectively. Both movies arguably draw most of their comedy mileage from the amnesia suffering assassin, as his perfectionist personality attempts to get to grips with being a penniless layabout, and wondering why he looks so much older than he apparently is. In any case, it’s a rare example of Korea remaking an original Japanese production.
Blind (2011 – Korea) The Witness (2015 – China)
This entry is unique for the fact that both movies were made by the same director, Ahn Sang-hoon. While it’s not the first time for a director to re-make one of their movies for a different territory (notably Takashi Shimizu directed the American remake and its sequel of his early 2000’s J-horror series Ju-on: The Grudge), it is the first time for an Asian director to remake one of their movies within the region. The story itself is based on the Audrey Hepburn starring 1967 thriller Wait Until Dark, and sees a police trainee who loses her sight become the target of a psychopathic killer, of whom she’s the only witness to one of his murders. While the Korean version progressively heads into darker territory, with a finale that’s more representative of a gory slasher than the thriller it starts out as, the Chinese version goes the opposite direction. How opposite? Well, it ends with a completely misguided pop concert performance by teen idol group member Lu Han. Go figure.
Haunters (2010 – Korea) Monsterz (2014 – Japan)
A rare sci-fi tinged production from Korea, Haunters was the directorial debut of Kim Min-suk, and was not only unique for giving actor Gang Dong-won a villain role, but also for the story itself. Dong-won plays a character who can control the minds of those around him (think an evil pretty boy version of Professor Xavier), however when he comes across a pawnshop cashier, played by Ko Soo, who’s immune to his powers, his jealousy makes him become even more dangerous. While the original was almost like a comic book in its tone, when Ring director Hideo Nakata remade it for Japan in the form of Monsterz, he made it a much more sombre affair. Casting Tatsuya Fujiwara and Takayuki Yamada in the roles of villainous psychic and unlikely hero, it was also more bloated and exposition heavy, with many feeling Monsterz was a pale imitation of its source material.
Eye in the Sky (2007 – Hong Kong) Cold Eyes (2013 – Korea)
In 2007 Milkyway released Eye in the Sky, the directorial debut (and so far only time in the director’s chair) of regular Johnny To scriptwriter Yau Nai-Hoi. The cat-and-mouse surveillance thriller, which saw surveillance operatives Simon Yam and Kate Tsui on the trail of a gang of professional thieves, led by Tony Leung Ka-Fai, was prime material for a remake, and 6 years later Korea did just that. The remake saw Sul Kyung-gu, Han Hyo-joo, and Jung Woo-sung step into the shoes of Lam, Tsui, and Leung respectively, for a version which stretched out the runtime significantly, from the originals 90 minutes to 2 hours. While some critics had actually cited Eye in the Sky for being a little on the short side, ironically others felt that Cold Eyes was a little bloated. What no one complained about though, was a closing scene cameo from Simon Yam, providing a respectful nod to Nai-Hoi’s original.
Dragon Gate Inn (1967 – Taiwan) New Dragon Gate Inn (1992 – Hong Kong) Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (2011 – China)
Holding the record for the longest amount of time between the original and the remake, 1967’s Dragon Gate Inn is a seminal work, both in the wuxia genre and King Hu’s filmography, being only his 2nd foray into the martial arts world following Come Drink With Me made a year prior. Hong Kong auteur Tsui Hark was such a fan of Dragon Gate Inn that he’d go on to remake it twice. The first time in the capacity of script writer and producer for 1992’s new wave classic New Dragon Gate Inn, and then again in 2011, when in addition to again writing the script and producing, he also stepped into the director’s chair for Flying Swords of Dragon Gate. Both remakes are notable for their own reasons, New Dragon Gate Inn for its classic early 90’s high flying action aesthetic, and Flying Swords of Dragon Gate for being one of Hark’s first attempts at creating 3D action. Notably action director Yuen Bun also choreographed both of the remakes.
A Better Tomorrow (1986 – Hong Kong) A Better Tomorrow (2010 – Korea)
For a long time it almost seemed sacrilegious to consider remaking one of John Woo’s trademark heroic bloodshed movies, and indeed the idea of Hollywood remaking The Killer was bounced around for a large part of the ought’s before ultimately fizzling out. Korea did decide to go ahead though with a remake of the movie that put both Woo and Chow Yun Fat on the map, with a 2010 take on A Better Tomorrow. However director Song Hae-seong is no John Woo, and fans of the original had a hard time accepting Song Seung-heon, Joo Jin-mo, and Kim Kang-woo in the roles that Yun Fat, Ti Lung, and Leslie Cheung made famous. Containing an inordinate amount of scenes with men dramatically crying, the macho bromance of the original was drowned in so many tears, that for many it became a wet leaf of a remake.
My Sassy Girl (2001 – Korea) Maa Iddhari Madhya (2006 – India: Tollywood) Ugly and Crazy (2008 – India: Bollywood) Ryokiteki na Kanajo (2008 – Japan) My Sassy Girl 2 (2010 – China)
If there’s any one Asian movie that can be cited as having an impact on other film industries around the world, it’s Kwak Jae-yong’s 2001 comedy classic My Sassy Girl. The movie made a star out of Jeon Ji-hyeon, and saw Jae-yong rarely stray from the romance genre for the rest of his career. On top of being remade in Hollywood, it was also reimagined as a historical TV drama in its native Korea which aired in 2017, as well as having an official sequel, taking the form of a Korea and Chinese co-production called My New Sassy Girl, in 2016. Then we have the Asian remakes, none of which are credited. Both the Bollywood and Tollywood industries in India made their own respective versions, and Japan also adapted it into a TV drama. Most flagrant of all, was China making an unofficial sequel in 2010 with My Sassy Girl 2. Despite it having no connection to the original, My Sassy Girl 2 was actually well received, and is arguably more entertaining than the official sequel.
A Bittersweet Life (2005 – Korea) Awarapan (2007 – India)
It was Kim Ji-woon’s 4th movie that really put him on the map. A film noir styled revenge thriller of a gangster’s enforcer, played by Lee Byung-hun, who develops feelings for his bosses’ moll that he was asked to keep an eye on, and the chaos that ensues. While never officially announced as a remake of A Bittersweet Life, it’s clear that director Mohit Suri’s Awarapan is based on Ji-woon’s breakthrough movie. It also holds the distinction of being the first co-production between India and Pakistan. Due to the involvement of the two countries, the plot sees Emraan Hashmi, in Byung-hun’s role, being asked to keep an eye on actress Mrinalini Sharma, who plays a Pakistani victim of sex trafficking. With a heavy Muslim influence and the usual Bollywood dance numbers, Awarapan is certainly a very different beast than A Bittersweet Life.
Oldboy (2003 – Korea) Zinda (2006 – India)
Western audiences who enjoyed Park Chan-wook’s 2003 masterpiece, Oldboy, were understandably against the Hollywood remake, eventually released in 2013 and directed by Spike Lee. What they may not know though, is that it was already remade by India in 2006 as Zinda. Even more so than the Hollywood remake, Zinda was met with almost universal disdain upon its release, generally said to be a pathetically watered down version of the original, while carbon copying other scenes completely. While Sanjay Dutt stepped into the shoes of Choi Min-sik, what’s more interesting is that John Abraham here makes his 2nd appearance on the list. After playing Won Bin’s character from The Man from Nowhere in Rocky Handsome, here he plays Yoo Ji-tae’s role. It looks like he’s trying to corner the market for playing Indian versions of Korean characters.
Scorpio Nights (1985 – Philippines) Summer Time (2001 – Korea)
One of the most controversial movies to come out of the Philippines, the 1985 erotic drama was made during the final years of the Marcos regime, and effectively kicked off a new wave of bomba movies throughout the rest of the 80’s. In 1999 it received an unrelated sequel, however most interestingly is that 2 years later, Korean director Park Jae-ho would remake it in the form of Summer Time. While Scorpio Nights played out against the still much spoken of assassination of Ninoy Aquino in 1983, which no doubt contributed to its importance in Filipino cinema, the Korean version set itself against the background of 1980’s Gwangju Massacre. However both movies involve a student who spies on a married couple making love each night in the same building, and the affair which subsequently develops between the student and the wife, leading to tragic consequences.
A Quiet Family (1998 – Korea) The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001 – Japan)
Definitely one of the more out-there remakes, in 2001 Japanese auteur Miike Takashi re-imagined Korean director Kim Ji-woon’s directorial debut. A dark comedy about a dysfunctional family opening a guesthouse in the countryside, not only is there a lack of guests, but what visitors do arrive keep on dying in unexpected circumstances. While the original, as the debut of a director that would become one of Korea’s most recognizable talents, was a low budget affair, Takashi takes the decision to turn it into a brightly coloured musical, complete with non-professional singers and even zombies thrown into the mix. Equally hilarious and ultimately heart-warming, many have argued that Takashi’s version (our review) is actually more entertaining than Ji-woon’s, which with its mix of stop motion animation, random karaoke singalongs, and colourful characters, could well be true.
Ring (1998 – Japan) The Ring Virus (1999 – Korea)
In 1998 director Hideo Nakata (marking his 2nd appearance on the list, this time helming the original) adapted the Koji Suzuki novel, Ring, for the big screen, kick starting a wave of Asian horror featuring vengeance seeking long haired spirits that lasted for many years after. Sadako, the spirit in question from Ring, continues to feature in movies to this day, and has been adapted both for Hollywood remakes, and also a lesser known Korean version called The Ring Virus, released just a year after Nakata’s masterpiece. Featuring an early screen appearance from Bae Doo-na in the role of Sadako, director Kim Dong-bin’s version actually stays more true to Suzuki’s novel than Nakata’s adaption. However with Nakata making a sequel to Ring that was released the same year, Korea’s own adaption of Sadako’s terror has largely remained off the radar for most.
Asia-Pol (1966 – Hong Kong) Asiapol Secret Service (1966 – Japan)
Definitely the most unique entry on the list, many Asian film fans know Asia-Pol as a 007 inspired early Jimmy Wang Yu vehicle, that was a co-production between Hong Kong’s Shaw Brothers Studio and Japan’s Nikkatsu Studio. What’s less well known is that Nikkatsu, believing Wang Yu wouldn’t be a ticket to box office success in Japan (a well-judged decision, considering he spent most of the next decade in productions beating up the Japanese), decided to make their own version at the same time, casting local star Hideaki Nitani in Wang Yu’s role. Apart from a few minor differences, both movies are almost identical to each other. However what’s perhaps most interesting is that, even the scenes that only contained Japanese actors (the legendary Joe Shishido notably plays the villain of the piece) were still reshot for the Japanese version, which allows it to qualify as a remake.
Director: Wu Jing Cast: Wu Jing, Celina Jade, Frank Grillo, Yu Nan, Zou Kai, Hans Zhang, Wu Gang, Ding Hai-Feng, Chun Yu Shan Shan, Yu Qian, Shi Zhao-Qi, Diana Sylla Running Time: 120 min.
By Paul Bramhall
While fans of Asian action cinema were understandably left underwhelmed by Wu Jing’s sophomore feature in the director’s chair, with 2015’s Wolf Warrior, one point that couldn’t be argued was its massive success in Mainland China. Armed with a subtle-as-a-hammer nationalistic script, and a super patriotic main character in the form of Jing’s titular Wolf Warrior, said elements were all that was needed for Chinese audiences to bring in the box office, and with it, an inevitable sequel. Just 2 years later, that sequel is here, and Jing once again is front and centre – starring, directing, and even contributing to the script.
Wolf Warrior 2 loses the likes of Scott Adkins and action director Nicky Li, but it arguably gains more than it’s lost, with a significantly bigger budget, and a wealth of overseas action talent on-board to make sure said budget is made good use of. Replacing Adkins as the (naturally) foreign villain is Frank Grillo, most recognizable as Brock Rumlow from the Captain America sequels, however Grillo isn’t the only Marvel connection. His team of mercenaries also consists of Heidi Moneymaker (the stunt double for Black Widow), Aaron Toney (the stunt double for both Black Panther and Falcon), and the action is choreographed by Sam Hargrave (the stunt double for Captain America, and villain from Unlucky Stars).
Just like the original, Wolf Warrior 2 opens strongly, with Jing fending off a group of pirates attempting to board the container ship he’s travelling on, via some sleekly filmed underwater-fu. The scene acts more as a display of the technical proficiency than anything else, as the camerawork follows Jing both in and out of the water, giving a masterclass on how Captain Phillips could easily have been a 5 minute short film. However unlike Wolf Warrior, the sequel wisely chooses to build on the opening action sequence, rather than trail off into monotony. It’s revealed that Jing’s lover, played by a returning Yu Nan in a brief cameo, was killed in action. With only a uniquely marked bullet to go on, believed to have originated in Africa, Jing’s once decorated military man has become a lonesome drifter, travelling around Africa in search of the one responsible for her death.
Making matters personal is one of the key things that Wolf Warrior 2 gets right, as unlike the first, it actually gives the audience (at least, the non-Chinese audience) an opportunity to care about his mission. Of course he’s still a shining beacon of integrity, confiscating pirated pornographic DVD’s from his African kid buddy, beating the locals in a drinking game, and showing off his chiselled torso in a soccer match on the beach. Indeed in many ways Wolf Warrior 2 could be considered a vanity project for Jing, however thankfully it remains restrained enough to never cross over into Ballistic Kiss territory.
Proceedings get complicated though when the latest town he’s in gets attacked by rebels, which plays out onscreen as a frantically shot city siege, providing the first of many bombastically lengthy set pieces. Jing attempts to navigate a group of civilians through the besieged streets amongst gunfire, RPG’s, and murderous attackers, in a thrilling sequence that’s right up there with the type of combat on display in the likes of Black Hawk Down. Of course though, this is Asian action cinema, so there are some entertainingly OTT moments, such as Jing stopping an RPG mid-flight with just his bare hands and some wire mesh. A close quarters combat scene that takes place in the confines of a grocery store also gives a strong indication that, if ever a Wolf Warrior vs John Wick crossover movie were to be announced, I’d be first in line to see it.
What’s perhaps most refreshing about the action scenes though, is that the vast majority of them are performed with practical effects. While it’s true to say that CGI blood and the occasional CGI explosion both rear their ugly heads more than once, all in all it’s fair to say they’re kept to a minimum. The sequel also learns its lesson in regards to the gunplay. While Jing’s intentions with the Wolf Warrior series are clear, in terms of them being heroic tales of the Chinese military, his calibre as a martial artist was disappointingly cast to one side in the original and barely utilised. Wolf Warrior 2 rectifies this, while still realistically acknowledging that the threat of a gunshot is always present, allowing Jing to get into various brief but intense hand-to-hand showdowns.
His fights against both Moneymaker and Toney are suitably brutal, and special mention should go to the casting of former WWE star Oleg Prudius. Known in WWE under the name of Vladamir Kozlov, Prudius is a man mountain whose presence is handled much more effectively than the similarly built Jiang Bao-Cheng, who Jing utilised in his directorial debut, Legendary Assassin. For those who balked at the rather awkward use of wires during the fights in both Legendary Assassin and Wolf Warrior, here they’ve also been done away with, which sees a much welcome grounded approach to the fisticuffs that take place. It’s a wise decision by action directors Hargrave and Jack Wong, who most recently worked on Operation Mekong, and brings a distinctly different flavour to the action than Jing’s frequent collaborator Nicky Li.
When the Chinese military decide to evacuate the city, Jing ultimately decides to stay behind to rescue a group of Chinese medical staff, holed up in a hospital several kilometres away. The hospital is home to a doctor played by Celina Jade, whose acting career was kicked off thanks to Jing casting her in Legendary Assassin, and another former military man played by Wu Gang. Jing’s arrival at the hospital is the real indicator that the action is only going to get more and more ludicrous from here on in, and that’s not a detriment. Despite it being physically impossible based on the architecture of the building, Jing makes his entrance into the hospital by driving his jeep through the second floor, in an automotive display that wouldn’t look out of place in a Fast and Furious movie. Gravity be damned.
While Wolf Warrior 2 is clearly all about the action, it’s worth mentioning that for the most part, the African cast are given respectful roles that steer clear of racial stereotypes. If a similar movie was made in Hong Kong during the 80’s or 90’s, there’s little doubt that it would have been a completely different story. Jing himself has also improved as an actor, and his chemistry with both Celina Jade and Wu Gang is effective despite the simplistic script (one line has him declare “Once a Wolf Warrior, always a Wolf Warrior”). The only weak link is the casting of Mainland singer Hans Zhang Han, playing another member of the military holed up in the hospital, who likely appears only to appeal to his fan-base demographic.
Speaking of the script, it’s a relief to hear that the overly nationalistic tones from the original have been dialled back considerably for the sequel. It still feels like the word ‘Chinese’ is spoken in almost every other line (and I think it could be), but it’s nowhere near as prelevant as the frequently threatening tone that Wolf Warrior took on. Here it’s more entertaining than anything else, as you have such lines as “Dr Chen is at the St Francis Chinese invested hospital.” Was it really necessary to include the words ‘Chinese invested’? Of course not, but it does make it kind of funny. It’s ironic then that the closing scene of Wolf Warrior 2 contains a literal example of Chinese flag waving, although to Jing’s credit, there’s a context for why it’s there, making it a smart but sly example of a clip that will no doubt help to bring in the Chinese audience.
Thankfully the promise of a Wu Jing vs Frank Grillo fight isn’t broken, and for those checking in for their confrontation, they’ll definitely be rewarded more than those that checked in for Adkins appearance in the original. It’s a 4 minute knock down drag out affair, that initially has them going at each other while air strikes rain down all around them, providing a visually striking backdrop. It also gets surprisingly bloody, and while some may complain about the quick editing, overall it doesn’t detract from the fight, still allowing the flow to be appreciated. Grillo’s character is thin at best, with no backstory other than he’s an evil mercenary (who at one point is also hinted at liking kids), however he brings an undeniably menacing presence, and proves to be a worthy foe.
In many ways it feels like the review I’m writing for Wolf Warrior 2 is the one that I wanted to write for Wolf Warrior, and while it’s still far from perfect, it delivers where it counts. There’s no need to question if a third one is on the way, as a slightly bewildering post-credits sequence (that’s clearly indicative of Jing still not being a fully rounded director) ends with Wolf Warrior 3 being splattered across the screen. Regardless of the sequences confusing nature, it does its part in preventing the final shot from being of a Chinese passport (you’ll understand once watched). While 2 years ago I grimaced at the prospect of a sequel, Jing has proven with his latest directorial effort that the third time really is a charm, so if we’re going to go for another round of Wolf Warrior action, count me in.
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