Along with Unleashed, Kiss of the Dragon is one of the most hardest-hitting of Jet’s English-language films. Gotta love that Fist of Fury-esque dojo fight, courtesy of Hong Kong’s legendary action choreographers, Corey Yuen (Raging Thunder).
Kiss of the Dragon also stars Tchéky Karyo (La Femme Nikita) and Cyril Raffaelli (District 13: Ultimatum).
When Toei’s Battles Without Honor and Humanity came to a close in 1974 with Final Episode, audiences still in love with the series demanded more, and the studio was more than happy to oblige. Over the next three years, Toei and Battles director Kinji Fukasaku gave fans the New Battles Without Honor and Humanity trilogy. I hadn’t realized this before, but the ‘New’ trilogy began the very same year that the original series ended – Final Episode hit theatres in June 1974, New Battles 1 released in the final week of December that same year. To be honest, despite being a big fan of the original series, I knew very little about the New Battles films beyond the fact that director Kinji Fukasaku returned with a cast of familiar actors. For a long time, the New Battles trilogy has been out of reach for those in need of an English-friendly release. But that’s now changed with the new release of the New Battles Without Honor and Humanity trilogy on DVD and Blu-ray in the US and UK. So, over the next couple weeks, I’m going to be making my way through the trilogy and giving opinions on the films as I go.
Unlike the intricately plotted original series, as I understand it, New Battles is a trilogy of standalone films. It seems only the first film in the trilogy, simply titled New Battles Without Honor and Humanity, is connected to the original series (more on that in a sec). The second film takes place in the 60s and the third film takes place in the 70s, each of them decades removed from the post-war chaos that made up the original series.
In New Battles Without Honor and Humanity, our Battles lead Bunta Sugawara is back, but he’s not playing the Hirono character. Here, Sugawara plays Miyoshi, an all-new character that’s stepping into the gangland warfare between yakuza in post-war Japan. Miyoshi is very similar to Hirono, except for the fact that he seems less cool under pressure. While Hirono goes unseen and unmentioned in New Battles, the film does nonetheless fit into the story sometime post-Final Episode… I think. Or it could be that this film exists in a weird sequel alternate universe of the original series, a place where Fukasaku remixes the greatest hits of his five film series. The film’s status as a sequel, a reboot, or a spin-off is difficult to pin down.
You’re going to see some familiar Battles characters in this film. Nobuo Kaneko is back as the red-nosed, cheapskate yakuza boss Yamamori. But things get a little hazy after that. Kunie Tanaka is back as Yamamori’s gutless right-hand-man, but he’s no longer called Makihara, this time he’s Gen. Aoki, the yakuza in colored sunglasses and highest ranking subordinate in Yamamori’s crime family is back, this time played by series newcomer Tomisaburo Wakayama (Lone Wolf & Cub). Thing is, Aoki was originally known as Sakai in Battles, and was played by Hiroki Matsukata (13 Assassins). In this film, Matsukata plays the enemy of Aoki, a new character named Seki, which despite sounding a bit like Sakai is nonetheless definitely not Sakai because now Sakai is Aoki. Got it? It’s… kind of odd.
New Battles Without Honor and Humanity takes ideas from the original five films, scrambles ‘em up, and pastes them together into a new story. Screenwriter Fumio Konami (Female Prisoner Scorpion #701) is a capable fill-in for writer Kazuo Kasahara, who left the series after Police Tactics, when he felt the series story was done (studio and director apparently disagreed with him). Though much of the content feels very familiar (I’ve grown so tired of Yamamori’s whimpering), for the most part it moves with enough energy and anger that I wasn’t too bothered by repeating some of the notes of earlier, better Battles films.
In the movie, Bunta Sugawara’s Miyoshi is fresh out of jail at a time when Yamamori’s crime family is beginning to split apart. Aoki is ambitious and looking to supplant his boss and he doesn’t even try to make his plans a secret. Upon release, Miyoshi is approached by both Aoki and Yamamori, each asking him to join their side and help eliminate the other. Miyoshi takes his time deciding. At some points, I thought he might be planning a Yojimbo maneuver of having the two sides operate against one another to his benefit. But Miyoshi, unlike Yojimbo or even Bunta Sugawara’s Hirono, isn’t a decisive man of action. He’d much rather sit back and watch both sides crumble instead of getting his hands bloody.
The supporting cast makes the movie. Though I question why they cast Wakayama in a part that was already filled by a capable actor, I don’t deny that Wakayama brings some nice intensity to the film. Kunie Tanaka has some good comedic moments as his cowardly gangster tries to act beyond his abilities. Jo Shishido (Branded to Kill) has a minor, frankly strange part as a yakuza dying of syphilis in the brain, whom Aoki unleashes on his enemies like a rabid dog. And Reiko Ike (Cops vs. Thugs) has a role as a Korean woman who falls in love with Miyoshi but then begins to think she’s just there to be an attractive human shield. The scenes between Bunta Sugawara and Reiko Ike are very good and one wishes that there had been more of them.
In the original series, director Kinji Fukasaku sought to remove the chivalrous armor the yakuza wore in cinema and reveal them as the greedy, backstabbing thugs the real-world knew them to be. In New Battles, Fukasaku is still pursuing that aim, but I feel he goes even further here by making the yakuza look like fools and then laughing at them. At one point, a gangster reaches into his pocket for a harmless item of importance, and every character within sight freaks out, screams, and falls over themselves thinking that he’s going for a gun. And in moments of action, the yakuza who pride themselves in being ultimate badasses instead look like frightened children playing war. That there’s still a good deal of bloodshed might cancel out some of the laughs in the audience, but I think the message is clear that Fukasaku views these guys as idiots who act tough but don’t know how to back it up.
The movie may underwhelm with a been there, done that sort of plot, but Fukasaku and his cast are pros at this sort of film by now, and even the more pedestrian moments of New Battles stick in the viewer’s head long after the film is over. New Battles Without Honor and Humanity is at its best when the shit hits the fan and the characters take to the streets in panic-stricken terror. As a yakuza film, I liked it. As a follow-up to the masterful Battles Without Honor and Humanity, I find it more difficult to figure out. Maybe I’m trying too hard, though. As suggested by Fukasaku biographer Sadao Yamane on the disc’s special features, it’s probably best not to view New Battles shortly after the original series, because then you get too hung up on trying to connect the dots (and, for my part, you get frustrated when the dots refuse to connect). The first New Battles is not everything I was hoping for after years of anticipation, but there are still two films left in the trilogy and I can’t wait to give them a look.
Based on a real warrior from Thailand’s Ayutthaya period, Broken Sword Hero (read our review) follows the heroics of legendary military general Thongdee (World-renowned Muay Thai kickboxer, Buakaw Banchamek). From the disparity as a young runaway to the toughest warrior among his people, a legendary fighter with unparalleled skills in Muay Thai and swordplay, fights for the freedom of his people.
Tam Cam: The Untold Story | DVD (Cleopatra Entertainment)
RELEASE DATE: November 7, 2017
Cleopatra Entertainment, the company that recently unleashed the Kazakhstan spectacle, Diamond Cartel, now brings us the DVD for Tam Cam: The Untold Story, Vietnam’s action-packed answer to Cinderella.
Tam Cam: The Untold Story marks the directorial debut of Veronica Ngo (House in the Alley), who is mostly known for her work in the acclaimed Vietnamese martial arts features The Rebel and Clashwith Johnny Tri Nguyen. She was also featured in Yuen Woo-ping’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destinywith Michelle Yeoh and Donnie Yen.
In addition to directing the film, Ngo also co-stars alongside Huu Chau, Isassc, Jun, Ninh Duong Lan Ngoc, Son Thach, Loc Thanh, Ngoc Trai, Ha Vi and Will.
Ngo will continue her exposure to Western audiences when she appears in the highly anticipated Star Wars: The Last Jedi, as well as David Ayer’s upcoming thriller, Bright, with Will Smith.
Director: Takeshi Kitano Writer: Takeshi Kitano Cast: Beat Takeshi, Nao Ohmori, Ken Mitsuishi, Ren Osugi, Tatsuo Nadaka, Ikuji Nakamura, Toshiyuki Nishida, Hakuryu, Sansei Shiomi, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Pierre Taki Running Time: 104 min.
By Matija Makotoichi Tomic
Even before he would go on to direct his senior citizen “yakuza” comedy Ryuzo and the Seven Henchmen, easily his least memorable effort, Kitano said that the producers wanted him to make another Outrage movie. With Outrage Beyond being his first sequel and a notable box office success earning twice as much the original did, Outrage Coda was a logical move (at least to a producer’s logic) that would complete the first trilogy of this filmmaker’s career. It’s been five years since his slightly weaker, more dialogue, less action Outrage sequel was released, still feeding the fans with a nice pile of yakuza bodies scattered around Tokyo. The first Outrage surprisingly turned out great considering that the plot was just wrapped around a thrilling number of imaginative cold blooded executions devised beforehand. All this considering, it was reasonable to expect that the final chapter of Kitano’s warring yakuza clans saga should be every bit as violent, with the needed amount of blood, bullets and bakayaro’s.
Not to say that it isn’t, but Outrage Coda is a slow burner that fails to ignite. Similar to its predecessor, it’s more about the spark that started the fire than it is about delivering the juicy stuff. This time that spark is S&M loving yakuza named Hanada, of Hanabishi family. During his visit to South Korea’s Jeju Island, he wanted to enjoy some unconventional service provided by two hookers, not knowing most of the restaurants and hotels on Jeju Island are owned by the powerful boss Chang. When hearing about girls being beaten-up and mistreated, Kitano’s character Otomo pays Hanada a visit demanding two million yen for compensation. Hanada’s decision however was not only to avoid paying, but also to kill the guy in charge of collecting the money. In yakuza code this means all hell could break loose if the situation is not handled properly, and of course, it isn’t.
After ten full years, first Outrage marked Kitano’s return to yakuza eiga. As a filmmaker who basically reinvented the genre in the 90’s, his new yakuza title lacked the emotional depth or the strength of his older movies. Same goes for Outrage Coda. While perhaps not as slick and stylish as the first in the series, the final chapterdelivers more black suits and cars, as well as more yakuza mugs exchanging places on the hierarchical ladder of power. Judging from the opening scene, one would never say so, as we see Kitano sitting by the sea, with his sidekick-to-be quietly fishing next to him. By the looks of this it seems this new Outrage is taking a stroll down nostalgia lane to deliver something more in the vein of author’s 90’s classics. As it turns out soon enough, it’s not. It follows the same Outrage formula, but does manage to be slightly different again.
A lot happened since the time the first Chairman shared his concern with boss Ikamoto being a little too close with his sworn brother Murase. Without fresh (re)watching, potential viewers might find following the plot a heavy task. Sanno family has weakened and is now almost out of the picture, while Otomo is slowly taking central stage along with the spotlight. Which means more of Beat Takeshi’s shooting and shouting, along with some of his usual, impossible-not-to-enjoy, stone faced violence delivery. Together with Nao Ohmori, unforgettable Ichi of Ichi the Killer fame, he takes on the task of cleaning up the mess in his own way, this meaning yakuza bodies being gunned down in slow motion and Kitano making sure there’s no more Outrage sequels in a self-referential scene that has Sonatine written all over it.
Perhaps it wouldn’t be fair saying Hisaishi’s soundtrack is missing, his collaboration with Kitano included five movies only. Among them some of the very finest, with maestro’s minimal touch giving one of a kind, killer atmosphere. Keiichi Suzuki had the ungrateful role of stepping into his shoes, but did well, signing the soundtrack for all three Outrage films.
Displaying its director’s immaculate, experience-gained filmmaking skills, Outrage Coda is a movie you’ll love more or less depending on whether you’re more fond of the series’ first or second part.With all the fun cramped into the final third, there’s more dialogue-over-action quality here then some will be willing to tolerate. I have no real reason to say Outrage Coda is anything less than a good movie, it’s just one of those that you won’t regret watching, but still will not get much from it. Having the Outrage trilogy completed and out of the way, it will be interesting to see just what is Kitano planning on doing next.
1859. The last days of the Joseon Dynasty, where the wages of greed bring poverty and death. A pack of bandits – calling themselves Kundo – rise against the tyrants, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. In an era where status is decided by birth, this band of thieves risks their lives for honor, in the name of the poor and oppressed. But for one man, a debt of bloody revenge is owed to the aristocrat that robbed him of his family and his name.
With a handful of projects currently under his belt – including the highly-anticipated, all-star martial arts extravaganza Triple Threat – Scott Adkins (Savage Dog, Hard Target 2, Eliminators, Close Range) is without doubt, one of the most active action stars in the business. To prove this statement even more, a new project that teams him up with Johnny Strong (Daylight’s End) has been revealed: Sinners and Saints: Vengeance, a standalone sequel to 2010’s Sinners and Saints.
According to TAE: William Kaufman (Sinners and Saints) will again direct the film, which centers on a New Orleans police detective (Strong) who sets off for Russia in search of the syndicate enforcer who killed his partner. With the help of an old war buddy (Adkins) and the enforcer’s own kidnapped lover, they pave a path of bloody retribution throughout the mean streets of Moscow.
Sinners and Saints: Vengeance begins shooting this winter in Bulgaria. Until more news arrives, watch the Trailer for the 2010 original below:
AKA: The Bodyguard Director: Yue Song Cast: Yue Song, Xing Yu, Li Yufei, Collin Chou, Chan Wai Man, Shang Tielong, Xu Dongmei, Yang Jun, Li Changhai, Jiang Baocheng Running Time: 90 min.
Kyle Warner
Iron Protector, aka The Bodyguard, aka Super Bodyguard, is the sophomore effort of filmmaker and star Yue Song. I didn’t see his debut, The King of the Streets, and cannot comment on how far he’s come in front of and behind the camera in the four years between films. But I will say that he still has a long way to go.
Iron Protector is a modern day wuxia superhero movie which makes an attempt to recreate 90’s Hong Kong camp in a story about a guy with iron shoes. Our hero, played by Yue Song, is introduced to us doing a wicked split in the middle of a city square. We join Song as he’s being taunted by a bratty kid who’s pissing in public and teasing him with ice cream. Bad guys bust through, make the kid cry, and trample the ice cream cone. Song corners the bad guys, says something about ice cream (the only intended laugh in the film that I actually liked), and proceeds to kick ass. When justice is done, he meets the man the bad guys meant to kill. Then cars pull up and it’s like, hell yeah, Round 2. But instead, out steps Xing Yu, here playing an old buddy to our hero Yue Song. There’s hugging, there’s bizarre drinking habits, and there’s discussion about Iron Feet and Iron Fists. Seems Xing Yu is running a (likely criminal financed) bodyguard company and he offers our hero a job protecting the old man he saved. But really, who the old man wants to see protected is his daughter, played by Li YuFei.
Cue the camp! Our hero and our leading lady hate each other at first. He’s bored by her immaturity and she’s always looking for ways to get him in trouble. It’s like fingernails on a chalkboard. The two grow closer together when her life is threatened and our kung fu hero has to throw people through walls in order to save her. Their romance is solidified during a montage on the beach that’s filmed like a sappy music video. It’s hilarious but it’s not supposed to be. The montage even fits a bit of kung fu and some driving lessons in there to signify their growing attraction to one another. Our martial arts film has taken a brief detour into a romantic comedy for the deranged.
Chances are that you’re checking out Iron Protector to watch a guy with iron high tops kick ass and not because you wanna know if our hero will ever know love again after being betrayed in the past. I’m here to tell you that the action is… okay. There’s a stunt where Yue Song hurtles himself through the windshield of a moving vehicle that was very nice (and scary). But the fights aren’t special. We have to go 45 minutes into this 90 minute film before a fight sequence made me sit up and take notice (this sequence has villains put cartoonish leg locks on our hero and some Andre the Giant-looking guy throws him around like a ragdoll. It’s fun).
Director Song is too focused on showing contact with each blow that he cuts at almost every opportunity. Punch, cut, kick, cut, guy flops on floor, cut, punch, cut, man flies through wall, cut. It’s brutal, yes, but is it exciting? I didn’t think so, however opinions may vary on this. The problems with editing extend to dramatic scenes as well. It gets so bad in a couple spots that I was not always clear about what’s going on where and why. Example: there’s a bizarre cutaway to James Bond posters on the wall at some point, and that’s cool because, yay, James Bond, but I don’t even know whose wall these posters appear on. It’s maddening.
There is one sequence where Song is chasing people who’ve kidnapped Li. Song hops across rooftops like Tom Cruise or Jackie Chan are wont to do. I believe it’s Song the whole time, but I can’t be certain it’s him because the cameras never get close enough and the editing leaves the door open for stunt double switches. If director Yue Song really wanted to show off what movie star Yue Song was capable of, you’d think he’d have put the cameras in the right places. The end credits reveal plenty of blood, broken bones, and likely a few concussions, so I have no doubt that the cast put it all on the line. But because of sloppy cinematography, editing, and directing, much of that daring is lost on the viewer.
There is an entertaining, ridiculous sequence near the end of the film where Yue Song fights 50+ men singlehandedly that I think captures what he was trying to do better than the rest of the film. In this sequence, Song the director allows Song the movie star to do some fairly impressive stuff, and even fits in some weird, borderline Kung Fu Hustle-level moves just for fun. In so many ways, Iron Protector is like a kung fu superhero origin story, and it’s here that you see that more than almost anywhere else. But even this enjoyable action sequence suffers from poor filmmaking choices.
Oh, I really tried to like this one, guys. However, between the unintentional laughs, the poor editing, and messy direction, I just couldn’t. There might be a future for Yue Song as a leading man, but he needs to learn some things on other people’s film sets before returning to the director’s chair. He may not be the next Bruce Lee—that’s setting the sights too high, Yue—but he’s not without potential. With Iron Protector, I think director Yue Song failed the actor Yue Song; he was too close, too invested in his movie to notice how it was going wrong. Because of the film’s unintended laughs and anything goes attitude, Iron Protector has already earned some fans, and may become an accidental cult classic in the kung fu film world.
Side-note: I’m not one to hold a film’s trailers against a movie, because I know that the filmmakers aren’t always responsible for how a studio decides to market their movie. But I feel the need to touch on the boastful claims found in various Iron Protector trailers. The previews for this movie claim there are no visual effects or camera tricks utilized (there’s wire work and wire removal galore), it claims to revolutionize the art of kung fu (umm), it says it’s the coming of the new Bruce Lee (haha, okay, never heard that one before), and Iron Protector also boasts that it is “the best kung fu movie of the last 20 years.” That’s… a lot to live up to. And again, I would usually laugh it off and move on. It’s just that writer/director/choreographer/star Yue Song’s previous film, The King of the Streets, also claimed to be the best martial arts film of the past 20 years. So, um, maybe it’s not the case of a studio overhyping a movie this time? This in no way figures into my views on the film overall, but I felt it worth noting since a film’s trailer is what draws many viewers to a particular film.
Martial arts film are near and dear to many people’s hearts. The focus on tightly scripted and choreographed fight scenes brings pure thrills and excitement to the screen, something most other genres can’t match. While action films are common they never quite reach the same plateau of a good martial art film. A typical action film will have explosions, guns fights and a few punches but martial arts action is a lot more intimate and a lot more personal.
Kung fu fights in film can be between dozens of fighters or a one-on-one. Regardless of what it is, you get a tightly made scene. The main actor will work closely with everyone involved so that every punch, kick, throw and attack is perfect. There’s a lot of skill and finesse with such scenes than you wouldn’t find in a typical action movie, with the work going further to create a stronger fight.
It’s easy to fake shooting guns and throwing punches in a movie, but you can’t fake genuine martial arts skill. This is of course why martial arts are seen less and less in western cinema, as there are fewer people trained in it, meaning they can’t bring it to the screen and those who watch can’t appreciate it it as much. While martial arts films have had prominent periods in the West, they currently aren’t a thing, which could be attributed to the popularity UFC and similar combat sports. Mixed martial arts is focused more on swift, simple, brutal techniques while martial arts goes for style and prolonged fights, so films will follow this trend. An audience wanting to see more CGI action also decreases the odds of one-on-one fights being filmed.
Martial arts is the emphasis on the fight while streamlined action films focuses on other things. Martial arts films will feature the personal fight at the forefront with both hero and villain using their lifelong honed skills to battle the opponent. A Hollywood action film will go for variety, with it’s character battling against their enemies, in various ways, I.E. fistfights, guns, explosions, jumping from heights, car chases, etc. While a kung fu flick can and will contain these elements, it goes for a more cerebral focus, but can lose the flavour and simplicity an audience desires.
It’s safe to say that martial arts films are huge success in Asia. Most of their biggest stars, even dramatic actors will have such combat knowledge that they will use in many types of film. While Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen and Jet Li are household names to a western filmgoer, they don’t have the same appreciation and have never achieved the same recognition as they do in their homelands. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon was a huge success across the world and received numerous awards in the West, even a Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Compare that to a film like Kung Fu Hustle, which was popular worldwide, never gained any real major acclaim, despite it doing so in it’s native Hong Kong and China.
An absence of kung fu action can be seen in other mediums. Martial arts films can be passed by in games such as mobile slots (yes, online gambling). Western video games very rarely feature kung fu or karate styles. Sleeping Dogs was an example, but focused as much on gunplay and driving as it did hand-to-hand combat. Fighting games are common, but often more concentrate on over the top techniques rather than any grounded martial arts, with Tekken and Virtua Fighter being some more realistic examples.
Martial arts films will always be beloved, but when or if they’ll be a hit again in the West could be anyone’s guess.
Director: Ham Tran Cast: Kate Nhung, Thanh Pham, Petey Majik Nguyen, Suboi, Jayvee Mai, Lam Thanh My, Teo Yoo, Veronica Ngo Running Time: 110 min.
By Kyle Warner
Before we get to talking about what kind of movie Bitcoin Heist is, I’m going to start off the same way that the film does by attempting to explain what bitcoins are. Bitcoins are a digital currency with no central repository and no national fingerprint. It’s a peer-to-peer exchange system with a public digital ledger that all users are expected to help maintain. Bitcoins are encrypted and untraceable, as far as I understand, and are a favorite form of currency on the Dark Web for hackers and all manner of other secretive professions.
Bitcoins are flashy, mysterious, and new to the general public. And we’re just starting to hear more about Ransom Ware and the Dark Web this year in the news. All three of these new internet-based concepts figure into the Vietnamese thriller Bitcoin Heist. And in that respect, I gotta give writer/editor/director Ham Tran (Journey from the Fall) some credit, because his Bitcoin Heist makes pretty good use of the new tech to tell his story. With the exception of perhaps TV’s Mr. Robot, I’m unaware of other dramas that have featured the tech so prevalently for storytelling purposes. It’s the sort of thing you can imagine Hollywood could’ve gotten on top of, thrown an A-List movie star on the poster, and called it ‘topical’ and ‘timely.’
In Bitcoin Heist, a dangerous Dark Web millionaire known as the Ghost is being tracked by Detective Dada (Kate Nhung). She manages to catch the Ghost’s accountant, Phuc (Thanh Pham), but not without getting into a shootout that claims the lives of multiple officers and suspects. The police chief – who is also Dada’s dad – takes her badge and gun, saying it was a meaningless sacrifice considering Phuc will only get 8-12 months of jail time for his offenses. Dada doesn’t accept this and goes into Jack Bauer Mode. She throws Phuc into the trunk of her car, tortures him, and then sets about a plan to use him to get the Ghost. But in order to accomplish her plan, Dada needs a crew.
Round up the usual suspects! Let’s see, there’s a magician named Magic Jack played by Petey Majik Nguyen. Oh wait, no, I’m sorry, that’s Jack Magique (enjoy that, it’s the film’s most reused joke). There’s a hacker played by Vietnamese music star Suboi. And there’s a conman played by Jayvee Mai The Hiep, who also brings along his ten-year-old daughter, played by Lam Thanh My, who specializes as a cat burglar. Most the team is forced into joining Dada’s plan against their will, but they’re soon good pals and willing partners in the effort to prove the identity of the Ghost.
The film’s tone is kind of wonky. It’s a goofy ultra-mainstream movie one minute (there’s a ten-year-old girl on the team and only her father thinks twice about enlisting her to rob from a murderous millionaire!), a shoot ‘em up bloody actioner the next (some dude gets gutted in a butcher shop!), and a standard heist thriller the next (more on that in a second). What begins as a fairly tech-heavy thriller about shadowy figures on the Dark Web and secretive bitcoin wallets soon becomes just another run-of-the-mill heist thriller. The gang attends a party hosted by the man they believe to be the Ghost (Teo Yoo). Jack Magique performs his act, Dada is his lovely assistant, the conman plays a waiter, the hacker tries to get into the mansion’s system, and the ten-year-old kid attempts to get past a laser grid like she’s Tom Cruise.
Here’s the thing: as heist thrillers go, Bitcoin Heist isn’t bad. But it’s so dang familiar to what’s come before that I think I would’ve already forgotten all about it had I not been enlisted to write this review. You’ll find the smudgy fingerprints of Ocean’s Eleven, Mission: Impossible, and The Italian Job all over this movie. It’s also fair to say that Bitcoin Heist has a few things in common with the (awful) Now You See Me series, which saw master magicians doing unbelievable, CGI-powered magic tricks to steal from the bad guys. Bitcoin Heist also uses a magic show to pull of its heist, but at least Jack Magique exists in the real world. He might even be a real magician, I don’t know. And sure, Jack’s magic tricks probably play better before a live audience – you can only watch so many card tricks in a movie before you start checking the clock – but at least you’re not asked to turn your brain off when he’s on stage.
I enjoyed the performances. It’s a fun, lively cast. The highlight, to me, was the relationship between the conman and his daughter who he’s regrettably roped into a life of crime. I find a cop who’s forcing a kid and her dad to perform a dangerous heist to be a bit despicable from a character development standpoint, but at least that kid and her dad are a likable pair. Also among the cast is Veronica Ngo (The Rebel), who has a small role in the earlier parts of the film. It would’ve been nice if she’d stuck around longer, but alas, the galaxy far, far away awaits.
As these movies are prone to do, Bitcoin Heist is full of twists and unexpected betrayals. Not all of them register in a believable way. The final act, which unfolds weeks after the rest of the film, takes forever to play out and begins to feel like a mini-sequel that’s been tacked onto the film. Characters can lie to each other, but viewers who know these movies can see there’s an extra trick in the works, and Bitcoin Heist takes too long to deliver on its long windup.
I’ve seen this sort of movie done better before. I’ve also seen it done worse. I don’t think of Bitcoin Heist as a bad film. It’s simply unremarkable, middle-of-the-road entertainment.
More good news for ninja film buffs! Visual Entertainment has released the DVD for 1983’s The Last Ninja, starring Michael Beck (The Warriors), Nancy Kwan (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story), Mako (The Big Brawl), Richard Lynch (Invasion U.S.A.), and Rob Narita (Ghost Warrior).
This TV movie – produced in wake of the so-called “Ninja Craze” in 1980s – was intended to be an on-going series, but its pilot didn’t quite hit the bullseye (unlike 1984’s The Master, which is also being released later this year).
The Last Ninja is the story of an art dealer, Kenjiro Sakura (Beck) who – after being trained by his adoptive father (Mako) – leads a double life as a martial arts warrior. Teaming up with his sister, Noriko (Kwan), they crush a terrorist attempt without ever revealing their true identities. This act of patriotism intrigues a United States government agent looking for an ally to help with other cases.
Director: John Woo Cast: Zhang Hanyu, Tao Okamoto, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Ji-won Ha, Jun Kunimura, Naoto Takenaka, Masaharu Fukuyama, Yasuaki Kurata, Angeles Wo, Stephy Qi Running Time: 106 min.
By Matija Makotoichi Tomic
When a director of John Woo’s caliber announces his return to the genre that made his name, it’s always a cause for celebration, just as it is a reason to worry. After signing his name on some of the greatest, genre-defining action pieces Hong Kong cinema has to offer, Woo decided his next movie would be a remake of a Japanese classic starring legendary Ken Takakura. Based on a novel by Juko Nishima, adapted in 1976 by Japanese director Junya Sato, the original Manhunt was a fugitive thriller with a dose of adventure, slowly unraveling mystery plot and a touch of absurdity; Takakura’s character, prosecutor Morioka Fuyuta, gets attacked by a bear (twice), saved by a horse stampede while being chased down Tokyo streets and finally escapes to freedom in a cessna after getting a crash course in piloting. While not the greatest movie ever, Manhunt was a hit and had a huge influence on Chinese filmmakers of the time as one of the first foreign movies to be released in China following the end of Cultural Revolution.
Perhaps more than remake, Woo wished to make a movie dedicated to its leading star, Ken Takakura, who passed away in 2014. He calls Takakura one of his favorite actors, and one who inspired a great deal of his films. The role of the wrongfully accused lawyer Takakura portrayed in the original movie was cast to Chinese actor Zhang Hanyu, with a new name Du Qiu, as the character is also Chinese now. This time, instead of being framed for stealing 200,000 yen, a diamond ring and a canon camera, the character in question is being charged with murder. After waking up next to a dead woman’s body, Du Qiu’s home is soon crawling with police and he finds himself arrested. While escorted to a police car, his escape is staged by dirty cop Asano and he’s forced to run. Now a fugitive, Du Qiu tries to clear his name and find out the truth while being hunted by Japanese hero detective Yamura, played by Masaharu Fukuyama, last seen in the great 2016 movie Scoop! directed by One Hitoshi.
The truth Du Qiu seeks includes the Teijin pharmaceutical company’s aged owner Sakai (played by Jun Kunimura, Japanese stranger from The Wailing), his troublesome son and an experimental drug that gives superhuman abilities to its users, instead of just turning them into obedient, zombie-like slaves, as was the case in the original movie. Woo, or should I say his seven-member script team (Gordon Chan, Chan Hing Kai, James Yuen, Itaru Era, Ho Miu Ki, Maria Wong and Sophie Yeh), introduces a new, widow character aiming to avenge the death of her husband/scientist who found the drug formula but decided not to share it when he realized it would be used to do wrong. Throw in two assassins for good measure, and it would seem there’s nothing standing in a way for Woo to deliver another slice of cinema brilliance. Except for Woo himself.
As hard as it is to say… for the most part Manhunt is a disappointing experience. Painful to watch in fact, at least in the first half with bad, uninspired acting, horrible English dialogue delivery and god-awful CGI to blame for that. Next to some of the solutions being downright silly, Manhunt suffers from often being poorly executed and unconvincing. Du Qiu manages to escape while being practically surrounded by Japanese cops in the metro station, after which he jumps in front of the moving train and outruns it? I know better than to expect a new Hard Boiled or The Killer, but from the first minute, Manhunt is like a cold shower for a fan on fire.
Luckily, it does get better later on and the Woo-hungry audience is in for some well-orchestrated gunplay accompanied with enjoyable martial arts action. It’s the jet ski chase scene involving Yamura and Du Qiu that sets Manhunt on the path of righting wrongs, at least when not being digitally enhanced. Standing out as film’s easily finest hour is the shootout at Mayumi’s place with Yamura and Du Qiu fighting off motorbike-riding attackers whilst handcuffed together sharing one gun; that is until Yamura gets to show off his katana skills. It’s the pace, intensity and the execution that make this one of the highlights and it feels good seeing the real John Woo is still alive and kicking somewhere underneath all this mess. If only all of the action was this good.
Same can be said for the lab showdown reminiscent of the grand finale of Hard Boiled, though not on the same level, naturally. Next to the standard freeze frames, slow motion and white doves – which are now partly computer-generated – Woo adds a few new tricks to his game. The most significant one being the fatal femmes. Woo’s cinematic universe is no longer reserved for male heroes only. With Manhunt, girls have their guns and they are every bit as cool, if not more. This marks Manhunt as the first among Woo’s envious list of titles to have its director flirting with the Girls-with-Guns subgenre. The ladies delivering the gun action are Ji-Won Ha as the emotional Rain; and Angeles Woo as chubby Dawn. After casting Angeles in both Red Cliff and The Crossing, could it be perhaps Woo is aiming to fix a spot for his daughter in the industry?
Along with some surprisingly good action moments, reason more for fans to get their kicks is white-haired veteran Yasuaki Kurata appearing in a minor role as chief hobo. Not only is his performance easily the best one here, but his character is also the most likeable (or maybe I’m just being sentimental), on top of this, he also gets to bust a few moves once injected with the experimental drug that turns him into raving lunatic. Once returned to his cell, he unleashes his rage on his fellow guinea pig inmates, delivering rewarding martial arts mayhem.
Unfortunately, good action is not all you’d want from a John Woo movie, it’s the whole package. Manhunt serves as yet another confirmation that the glory days are over. Gone are the 80’s and 90’s and so it seems is the Hong Kong we all know and grew to love. Expecting it to be what it once was only makes it worse. Just like Ringo Lam – who complained how CGI ruined the good old Hong Kong action, but couldn’t resist using it in Wild City – John Woo stated he’s thinking about “going back to the old times, when it wasn’t so much about money,” only to choose the easy way to do it. Despite having its moments, Manhunt left me thinking I’m lucky there’s still plenty of old style Hong Kong goodness I have yet to see. I’m gonna need some now to help me feel better.
Tak Sakaguchi rose to fame with the 2001 cult favorite Versus, a movie that managed to combine the low-budget charms of Evil Dead-like horror with blistering martial arts and gunplay. The actor later scored another cult hit with Battlefield Baseball, but has most recently hitched his wagon to the Sushi Typhoon production company.
In April of 2013, new broke out that Tak was retiring from acting, which left an unknown fate for his recently announced role in Death Trance II, not to mention a long-rumored sequel to Versus.
In late 2014, Cityonfire.com was contacted by director Yuji Shimomura (Death Trance) with breaking news that Tak was out of retirement to make Re:Born (read our review for the film), which the actor calls his “very last” and “most superb” action movie:
“After I retired, I found myself having a passion for action that was still smoldering inside of me. After a conversation with action director Yuji Shimomura, I wanted to thrive one more time and create the very last and most superb action movie with my utmost power and passion for the sake of a closure to my entire career. I am convinced that I have to give my very best one last time. That is how I feel about this project. I didn’t realize how many people chose to support a person like myself until after I retired. I hope this movie will be satisfying enough for them to feel absolutely alright for me to go. This is for them.”
In Re:Born, a legend covert soldier (Sakaguchi) with a mysterious past now decides to once again unleash his beast inside of him to stand up for what he cares about. The film also stars Yura Kondo, Takumi Saito (Shin Godzilla), Mariko Shinoda (Terra Formars) and Akio Otsuka.
Re:Born is getting a domestic release in August, followed by U.S. release by XYZ Films on a soon-to-be-announced date. Stay tuned!
Updates: Watch an all-new UK Trailer below (via Eureka):
On October 3, 2017, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is releasing the DVD for Martin Christopher Bode’s Ultimate Justice, the long-awaited, all-star actioner led by martial arts sensation, Mark Dacascos (Drive, Brotherhood of the Wolf).
Ultimate Justice tells the story of a team of former Special Ops elite soldiers, whose friendship was forged in battle and years after they thought they had lain down their weapons for good, they are drawn back into action when the family of one of their own is threatened, friendships and loyalties are tested, battlelines are drawn, and Ultimate Justice will be served.
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