Return of Godzilla, The | aka Godzilla 1985 (1984) Review

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Kelly Warner
"The Return of Godzilla" Japanese Theatrical Poster

“The Return of Godzilla” Japanese Theatrical Poster

AKA: Godzilla 1985
Director: Koji Hashimoto
Cast: Keiju Kobayashi, Ken Tankaka, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Shin Takuma, Yosuke Natsuki, Eitaro Ozawa, Hiroshi Koizumi, Mizuho Suzuki, Taketoshi Naito
Running Time: 103 min.

By Kyle Warner

Godzilla’s back. Warner Bros. is crafting a kaiju shared-universe along the lines of what superheroes are doing and will be soon be pitting the Godzilla of 2014 against King Kong. Back in Japan, Toho has jumpstarted their own Godzilla series with Hideaki Anno’s Shin Godzilla, a film that tries new things with the 60 year old monster and has become the biggest domestic box office success of the series in Japan. Whether you’re a fan of the new direction that both Hollywood and Tokyo are taking with the classic monster, it’s a good time to be a fan. I don’t blame the fans who bemoan reboots, remakes, and sequels to their favorite films, but if there’s one thing that series revivals have taught us it’s that they often bring the older films back into the forefront with new, hopefully improved home video releases. Around the time that 2014’s Godzilla hit theatres, the Millennium series Godzilla movies and much of the Heisei movies were released on Blu-ray in the US for the first time. We also saw the first official US Blu-ray/DVD releases of Godzilla vs. Megalon, Godzilla vs. Biollante, and the Japanese cut of Godzilla 2000. Now Shin Godzilla is on its way and piggybacking on the excitement is the last classic Godzilla film without any kind of DVD or Blu-ray in the States, 1984’s The Return of Godzilla.

Godzilla had disappeared in the late 70’s following diminishing returns at the box office. This is partly due to series fatigue, and also the advent of Star Wars and other new age science fiction spectacles, as well as Toho’s pretty sweet deal as the distributor of Disney films at the period. But with 1984 came an opportunity to celebrate Godzilla’s thirtieth anniversary with an event, tent-pole film that would hopefully revive the series.

By this time, some of the classic talent that had built the series had either passed away or retired. Special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya had passed away when kaiju were still at their height in the 60’s and his company was now busier with Ultraman on TV than Toho’s film productions. Director Ishiro Honda had retired after the last Godzilla film, Terror of Mechagodzilla, and could not be lured back to the director’s chair (Honda did, however, assist longtime friend Akira Kurosawa in an assistant director role on various films in the 80’s and 90’s). Calls went out to Godzilla’s regular composer Akira Ifukube, but he too turned down the job. (Apparently Ifukube thought twice about it, though, because he would eventually return to the series for four of the five Godzilla films of the 90’s, doing some of his last, and indeed some of the best film scores of his long career.) Attempts to bring in some of the regular actors also met with sad disappointment. There was discussion of giving a lead role to Akihiko Hirata (best remembered as the tragic figure Dr. Serizawa), but sadly the actor passed away from cancer before production began.

And so The Return of Godzilla is a strange film caught in between two eras. It doesn’t have much of the talent seen during the Showa era, nor does it utilize the same people who’d soon become regulars in front of and behind the camera over the next couple decades. Taking over as director of Toho’s event film would be Koji Hashimoto, a longtime assistant director who only has one other directorial effort to his name, the odd 2001-inspired Sayonara Jupiter. The special effects were directed by Teruyoshi Nakano, who’d handled the special effects of the Godzilla films during the 70’s when the series was experiencing severe budget cuts. The cast was made-up primarily of newcomers to the series. Yosuke Natsuki (Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster) is the only one from the main cast with any big kaiju experience, here playing a part very similar to Takashi Shimura’s Dr. Yamane from the 1954 original. Natsuki’s surrounded by young people, each more inexperienced than the last and given characters that lack an arc or any kind of relatable features. The poorly written characters that make up much of the cast is one of the film’s most glaring weaknesses. Veteran actor Keiju Kobayashi makes a stern appearance as Japan’s Prime Minister and Hiroshi Koizumi has a cameo as a geologist (again), but much of the cast is unfamiliar. And strangely, that’s fitting to the film, as this is a somber disaster pic more than the sci-fi fun times that Godzilla had come to be known for in recent years.

Return of Godzilla is a direct sequel to the 1954 original that totally does away with all the other sequels from Godzilla Raids Again to Terror of Mechagodzilla. Godzilla wakes up in the Pacific and starts swimming towards Tokyo, while Japanese authorities try to keep it a secret for fear of prematurely creating an international incident. But when Godzilla sinks a Soviet nuclear submarine, Cold War tensions hit a boiling point and Japan must reveal the truth. Ambassadors to the US and Russia quickly come to meet with Japan’s Prime Minister to discuss the Godzilla threat. Along with the original and perhaps 2016’s Shin Godzilla, The Return of Godzilla is an especially political entry in the series. Cold War enemies agree with one another that Japan must allow them to launch a nuclear missile at Godzilla in order to save the world, but Japan’s no nuke policy stands firm and the Prime Minister must send the Americans and Soviets home unhappy. But an accident makes the nuclear threat to Japan very real, and the world must come together in order to prevent further devastation.

Like the original Godzilla, this film was edited when it came to the US, inserting Raymond Burr into the film as American journalist Steve Martin. Godzilla 1985, as it was titled, removed content to make room for Burr’s added scenes. They also added Dr. Pepper product placement, a dumb comic relief character, and a highly questionable change to the Cold War message (more on that in a second). Burr’s presence in the original film was the only way much of the world knew the 1954 Godzilla for the longest time and the film fit right in with other classic Atomic Age monster movies. But when a worldwide rerelease of the original 1954 film revealed director Ishiro Honda’s intended vision, Godzilla became a dark, apocalyptic tale with a sad, hopeless tone. Likewise, with the new Blu-ray and DVD release of Return of Godzilla in the US, this will be the first chance that many fans will have had to see the original, unedited version of the film. Sadly, due to a rights quagmire, the US edit Godzilla 1985 is not included with the release and is unlikely to see the light of day anytime soon. And that’s too bad, really. Because while there is some unnecessary and stupid stuff in the 1985 edit, Raymond Burr brought a respectability to the part that I admire. There’s even two moments involving Raymond Burr’s dialogue that totally outdo what Toho had done with their original picture: 1) Burr’s Martin reminds his colleague, “just for the record, 30 years ago they never found any corpse.” It’s not much in the way of explaining Godzilla’s return but it’s more than The Return of Godzilla offers us. 2) The finale of both edits is sad – right there with the original film and Destoroyah as the saddest finales of the series – but it’s even better in the 1985 edit thanks to Raymond Burr’s voice over narration, which I believe he wrote himself. “Nature has a way sometimes of reminding Man of just how small he is. She occasionally throws up terrible offspring’s of our pride and carelessness to remind us of how puny we really are in the face of a tornado, an earthquake, or a Godzilla.” And so on.

Besides Dr. Pepper vending machines, where the 1985 edit goes wrong is how it treats the Russian nuclear bomb. See, in Tokyo Bay there is a Soviet vessel that’s home to a device with the power to launch a nuclear missile from a satellite orbiting the earth. When Godzilla arrives in the harbor, the ship is tossed around and its captain rushes to the nuclear device. Here’s where the two edits differ. In the Japanese version, the Soviet captain pleads for strength to stop the nuclear countdown, but dies before he can reach the button. In the American edit, the Soviet captain is going to the device as the sink ships because he’s trying to launch the missile. He dies right after he presses the button, thus officially making the Russians the bad guys of the picture and putting the U-S-of-A in the position of saving Tokyo from nuclear annihilation. See, the thing that’s frustrating about it is that the Japanese edit shows mankind coming together and trying to prevent needless death and destruction, despite whatever disagreements we might’ve had at the time. The US edit wants a bad guy in the Cold War and you can bet it’s not gonna be America. So, my fellow Americans, now you get to see the original version, where some Russian dude on a sinking ship didn’t spend his last moment of life trying to nuke a populated metropolis.

The Return of Godzilla also addresses Godzilla in a scientific way that most films had not really bothered with up until now. If Godzilla was originally envisioned as the walking embodiment of the nuclear bomb, then Return of Godzilla sees him as a nuclear reactor, something that must refuel on radiation in order to survive. Also driven by evolutionary links to dinosaurs and birds, Godzilla feels the need to migrate. In an interesting twist, scientists theorize that perhaps they can use the creature’s very nature against it and lead it towards its death at the mouth of an active volcano.

Godzilla’s appearance harkens back to the original design with a more pronounced set of fangs. Overall it’s a cool design for the monster, though sometimes its eyes look silly as they’re almost always looking upwards. Supposedly Toho originally planned to film the movie without suit actors, utilizing a giant, 16-foot robotic Godzilla which they’d called the Cybot, which they proudly displayed to the press before production. The Cybot was impressive when it was just standing there, but when asked to move its mechanical limitations were all too apparent. Toho ended up going to suitmation actor Kenpachiro Satsuma for most of the Godzilla action and went to the robot for the occasional close-up. They also created a giant foot for stepping on people, though it’s definitely the least effective special effect in the film and was thankfully only used a couple times.

The Return of Godzilla is one of the most mature, thought-provoking, and dramatic of the long running kaiju series. Lacking an opponent kaiju, fun characters, and the usual childlike glee, it’s not the fun crowd-pleaser that some may expect from a Godzilla movie. I quite like it, personally. With a cool, polished look, a darker approach to the monster, and an excellent score from Reijiro Koroku (one of the best non-Ifukube Godzilla scores), The Return of Godzilla is a defining chapter in the series and is one that fans don’t want to miss.

Kyle Warner’s Rating: 7.5/10

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , |

New TV Spot for Mel Gibson’s ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ is incredible

Posted on October 5, 2016 by JJ Bona
"Hacksaw Ridge" Theatrical Poster

“Hacksaw Ridge” Theatrical Poster

On November 4th 2016, Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge is making its way to the big screen. This World War II action/drama, based on the true story of Desmond T. Doss, a soldier who achieved a Congressional Medal of Honor, despite his refusal to kill or carry weapons of any sort.

Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider‑Man) leads an all-star cast that includes Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer, Hugo Weaving, Rachel Griffiths and Vince Vaughn. Hacksaw Ridge marks Gibson’s first directorial gig since 2006’s Apocalypto – and as with Apocalypto and 2004’s The Passion of the Christ, Gibson won’t be appearing, only directing.

According to THR, “Doss made himself a legend when he saved 75 men during the Battle of Okinawa. He helped evacuate the wounded near enemy lines, braved fire while tending to soldiers on the field, and in one overnight battle, was wounded by a grenade and later hit by a sniper while saving grunts. Doss also received two Bronze Stars and three Purple Hearts.”

We don’t know about you guys, but we’re rooting for anything that has Mel Gibson’s name on it. Welcome back! | 1st trailer.

Updates: Watch a new TV spot for Hacksaw Ridge below:

Posted in News |

‘Train to Busan’ – Just another Korean flick, or a masterpiece?

Posted on October 5, 2016 by Barey Gusey
"Train to Busan" Theatrical Poster

“Train to Busan” Theatrical Poster

Although it has been released in South Korea since July, Train to Busan has now got a release date for this side of the world and is due to come out in the UK on October 28th.

It was a real favourite at the Cannes Film Festival back in July so what makes this South Korean horror stand out from all the rest? Let’s dig in a little more and find out:

So, what is it all about?

Part of the plot is given away in the title, but effectively, this is the story of a couple of passengers on the high speed KTX train from Seoul to Busan. Without spoiling too much of the plot, what happens next is the train gets over run by zombies, who kill several of the train’s personnel, as well as some of the passengers.

Although not zombie related, I recently read that an average of 43,239 people died each year between 2000 and 2009 in the US due to transportation-related incidents. That stat has become all the more frightening since then, so if you need to know about no win no fee in personal injury claims, Solicitors Guru has a great article that will help you out.

As the zombie-ridden train continues its rapid approach into Busan, the passengers literally have to fight to survive, in an epic struggle for their lives.

What sets this zombie flick apart from the others?

One could not be blamed for asking this question, given the sheer volume of zombie movies, TV shows and video games there is out at the minute. There are so many that it almost feels like the market has been saturated with zombie content over the past few years.

What sets this one aside is the location for the plot. Having a moving train that’s packed with deadly zombies that have intent to injure, maim and kill is different to any thing that we’ve seen in the past.

Also, these are not just your run of the mill, slow, ambling zombies – these guys pile over one another desperate for the kill, and they move super fast. A side note that’s worth noticing is not one single zombie is shot in the movie, a rarity of sorts for the genre, meaning that the passengers have come up with other inventive methods of eradication. I’ll say no more!

So, it’s worth seeing then?

Basically, yes. This is the kind of movie you would hope to see when setting out to watch a really good zombie movie. It’s filled with action, the zombie special effects and make up are incredible, and it avoids the clichéd American fallbacks like injection of humour to the situation, and all the gun play.

At 1 hr. and 58 minutes long, it is not overly long, and you won’t find yourself wishing the credits would roll. If you’re into this type of genre, this is one you will not regret seeing. Many are calling it the best zombie movie ever so the directors and cast have done something right to win those votes.

For more on the Train to Busan, don’t forget to read Paul Bramhall’s earlier coverage.

Posted in News |

Tracer | aka Truy Sát (2016) Review

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Paul Bramhall
"Tracer" Vietnamese Theatrical Poster

“Tracer” Vietnamese Theatrical Poster

Director: Cuong Ngo
Cast: Trung Ngoc Anh, Lamou Vissay, Marcus Guilhem, Maria Tran, Trung Ly, Thien Nguyen, Mike Leeder, Antony Nguyen, Hieu Nguyen, Cuong Seven
Running Time: 90 min.

By Paul Bramhall

In 2007, Thailand was still riding the coat tails of Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong, a double whammy of action brutality, that seemed to proclaim the South East Asian kingdom as the new home of bone crunching martial arts cinema. However with Tony Jaa in the midst of his Ong Bak 2 meltdown, a movie appeared from Vietnam that seemingly came out of nowhere, entitled The Rebel. Featuring Johnny Tri Nguyen, who himself featured in Tom Yum Goong, the period piece set in a French colonised Saigon placed Vietnam firmly on the map for martial arts action. Nguyen followed up The Rebel with Clash a couple of years later, and then in 2013, it seemed that his latest offering, Chinatown, was set to eclipse both of his earlier starring productions.

However Vietnam also comes with strict censorship laws, and to say that Chinatown fell afoul of them is an understatement. Siting such reasons as the lack of any police presence during the many gang fight scenes, and the brutality of the violence on display, the filmmakers were forced to make a significant numbers of cuts, and had it re-submitted for approval, only for the re-edited version to be rejected as well. Ultimately, Chinatown was destined to a fate of languishing unreleased on a shelf somewhere, and the incident seemed to knock the sails out of the countries action movie industry, with most of the crew turning to other genres in the aftermath. Skip forward 3 years, and Truy Sát can be considered Vietnam’s first fully fledged martial arts action movie since those controversial days.

But Truy Sát isn’t just unique for heralding the countries return to modern day actioners, it’s also the first production to be backed by CJ Entertainment, the Korean distribution giant behind so many of Korea’s biggest blockbusters. The involvement of CJ is indicative of a confidence level in the Vietnamese film industry which likely hasn’t been experienced since that brief but exciting era in the mid to late 00’s. No doubt a part of that confidence was securing one of Vietnams premiere actresses, Trung Ngoc Anh, to play the lead role of a tough as nails police woman, who spends the movie trailing a gang of drug dealing diamond thieves. Anh also took on executive producer duties, and as a result, like The Rebel so successfully did previously, Truy Sát also brings in a number of overseas based Vietnamese talent, here in the form of Australians Maria Tran, Trung Ly, and Thien Nguyen.

Tran has featured in a number of action shorts, most notably the entertainingly hyper-violent Hit Girls (which she also wrote and co-directed) alongside JuJu Chan, as well as starring in full length features, such as Anthony Szeto’s Fist of the Dragon (which also features Chan), for which she won the Female Action Performer of the Year award at the 2016 MartialCon. Tran and Ly are frequent collaborators, and as a master of Shaolin kung-fu, Vovinam (Vietnamese martial arts), and Hapkido – it’s safe to say that as an action director, he brings an impressive amount of talent to the table. Rounding out the trio from down under is Nguyen, who as a fellow member of the tightly knit Australian action community, can also be seen in many of Tran and Ly’s previous projects.

In many ways Truy Sát feels like a distant cousin of the early 90’s Girls with Guns genre from Hong Kong, with Anh’s no nonsense police woman echoing the likes of Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Khan’s characters from the In the Line of Duty series. Before the opening credits have finished rolling she’s already elbowed one guy in the face, and taken a whole room out via some double fisted handgun action, followed by the standard warning from her superior that she shouldn’t act alone. It’s a familiar setup, but it’s a welcome familiarity. The opening scene of Anh on the beach decked out in combat drill uniform, while instructing a group of male officers on the likes of how to disarm an attacker, is a reminder of just how long it’s been since we’ve had a female driven Asian action movie.

The plot kicks into gear when a tip-off is received that the Wolf Gang is going to attempt to steal an antique at a high profile auction. Sure enough, Anh is able to intercept the thief mid-heist, getting into a nicely shot fight which sees him falling to his death, through possibly the thinnest glass window ever featured in a movie. But this is an action flick, it doesn’t matter. The thief happened to be the fiance of Maria Tran’s character, and capturing a glimpse of Anh, she becomes consumed with revenge, despite the warnings from her gang leader brother to let his death go. Proceedings are setup to revolve around the rage filled widow seeking vengeance against the police woman that killed her husband-to-be, and the thought of an Anh versus Tran finale recalls the days of the Moon Lee versus Yukari Oshima era.

Indeed the two femme fatale’s do get to face off in a couple of confrontations during the runtime, including one which has Tran running down the street with a shotgun so big it wouldn’t be out of place in Heat. However the driver for the plot changes mid-way through to focus back on taking down the gang as a whole, and while this isn’t detrimental as such, a part of me still wishes it had stuck to being about Tran’s character seeking vengeance for her husband’s death. Ironically, Tran revealed in an interview with Mike Leeder that her character was a very small part in the original script, however once she came on-board, it was fleshed out considerably to include more scenes that highlight her impressive martial arts talents.

Speaking of Mike Leeder, the IFD films stalwart and occasional Hong Kong actor further adds to the HK feel that Truy Sát often evokes, by taking on a small part as a drug cartel leader. What true Asian action movie isn’t complete without a gweilo in its midst? While some may claim Truy Sát is far from original, it arguably does what it sets out to do with a lot of energy and commitment from its performers. We get a fight that takes place on motorbikes, which is clearly influenced by the similar confrontation from In the Line of Duty 4, just minus Donnie Yen. At its most blatant, we get a shot-for-shot scene from A Bittersweet Life, when Lee Byung-hun is on his knees in the rain facing a group of umbrella wielding gang members, only in Truy Sát it reverses the gender to be Anh. However despite the obvious source material for such scenes, they’re handled with a sense of sincerity, which stops Truy Sát from ever feeling derogatory.

The action also comes at enough frequent intervals during the compact 90 minute runtime, that you never have enough time to give much thought to any particular scene before the next round of fights begin. Even Anh’s young brother, who has a mental disability, ultimately only serves as a plot device to be kidnapped, so as to give her an excuse to spring into action. It’s a move by the bad guys that reminds us that, when it comes to this type of plot, you should never make things personal. Despite the only cast members with a significant amount of screen fighting experience being Tran, Ly, and Nguyen, the rest of the cast, particularly Anh, do a great job at selling their fight scenes, which should also be credited to Ly’s action direction and the lensing of Ross W. Clarkson. Another Australian, Clarkson is a frequent collaborator with Isaac Florentine and Scott Adkins, being the man behind the camera for both Undisputed sequels, and also the Ninja series.

Director Cuong Ngo may only have a handful of movies under his belt, including a gangster flick entitled Huong Ga – Rise (which also features Ahn in the lead role), but if he continues to partner with the likes of Tran, Ly, and Nguyen, there could be a bright future ahead for the Vietnamese action movie. As for Truy Sát, throw in a bare chested training montage (note: not from Anh or Tran), a John Woo style showdown in a container park, and a finale that involves katanas, archery, and plenty of fisticuffs, what you’re left with may not be perfect, but it’s never anything less than entertaining.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 7/10

Posted in All, News, Reviews, Vietnamese | Tagged , , , , , , |

Enter Cityonfire.com’s ‘The Wailing’ Blu-ray Giveaway! – WINNERS ANNOUNCED!

Posted on October 4, 2016 by JJ Bona
The Wailing | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

The Wailing | Blu-ray & DVD (Well Go USA)

Cityonfire.com and Well Go USA are giving away 3 Blu-ray copies of The Wailing (read our review) to three lucky Cityonfire visitors. To enter, simply add a comment to this post and describe, in your own words, the video below.

We will be selecting a winner at random. Be sure to include your email address in the appropriate field so we can contact you for your home address. Also, please ‘Like Us‘ on cityonfire.com’s Facebook by clicking here.

The Blu-ray for The Wailing will be officially released on October 4, 2016. We will announce the 3 winners on October 5, 2016.

CONTEST DISCLAIMER: You must enter by October 4, 2016 to qualify. U.S. residents only please. We sincerely apologize to our non-U.S. visitors. Winners must respond with their mailing address within 48 hours, otherwise you will automatically be disqualified. No exceptions. Contest is subject to change without notice.

WINNERS: Alice H., Johnny S. and Jeff. You have been contacted via email.

Posted in News | Tagged |

Mechanic: Resurrection | Blu-ray & DVD (Summit)

Posted on October 4, 2016 by JJ Bona
Mechanic: Resurrection | Blu-ray & DVD (Summit)

Mechanic: Resurrection | Blu-ray & DVD (Summit)

RELEASE DATE: November 22, 2016

Summit presents the Blu-ray & DVD for Dennis Gansel’s Mechanic: Resurrection, starring Jason Statham (Redemption).

The Mechanic (Statham) thought he’d escaped his former deadly life and disappeared. But now somebody’s found him, and kidnapped the woman he loves. Neither one of them will get out alive unless he completes a diabolical list of assassinations of the most dangerous men in the world…

Mechanic: Resurrection boasts and all-star cast that includes Jessica Alba (Sin City), Tommy Lee Jones (Rolling Thunder), Michelle Yeoh (Police Assassins), Yayaying Rhatha Phongam (Lupin III) and Natalie Burn (The Expendables 3).

Pre-order Mechanic: Resurrection from Amazon.com today!

Posted in DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Martial Arts Titles, News |

Golgo 13 (1973) Review

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Martin Sandison
"Golgo 13" Japanese DVD Cover

“Golgo 13” Japanese DVD Cover

Director: Junya Sato
Cast: Ken Takakura, Mohsen Sohrabi, Jaleh Sam, Yadolla Shirandami, Jalal Pishvaian, Arezu, Siamak Atlassi, Arash Taj, Dariush Asadzade, Ezatallah Ramezanifar
Running Time: 104 min.

By Martin Sandison

A couple of nights after the screening of Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance, a real rarity was presented at the 70th Edinburgh International Film Festival: The 1973 version of Golgo 13, starring the legendary Ken Takakura (The Yakuza). Never properly released on DVD in the West as of yet (it was released in Japan some years ago), again the team at Edinburgh moved mountains to find a 35mm print. Discussing the film with programmer Niall Fulton afterwards, we agreed the screening must be a UK premier, so little was made of it outside Asia when the movie came out. I’m a little baffled by this because the film is strong in every aspect, and stands out in Takakura and director Junya Sato’s respective filmographies.

Golgo 13 began life as a Manga beginning in 1968 (making it the oldest Manga still in publication), written and illustrated by Takao Saito. Most of you will know the 1983 animated film, which features some of the best gunplay action in any Anime. In 1977 Sonny Chiba starred in a live action version Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon, shot in Hong Kong, which was released in the West on DVD in the noughties. I believe despite not having seen that film, the 1973 version is nowhere near as well known, and by all accounts is the superior film. A great slice of gritty, action-packed 70’s Japanese fare, with some top notch film making on show, the film deserves a remaster and release in the West.

Interestingly, the film was shot mostly in Iran, a decidedly off the wall idea even for the time and one that gives it a unique flavour. The plot concerns Golgo being hired to take out an Iranian criminal called Goa, who is in the business of abduction and kidnapping. He has a pet parrot, which features in the most gob-smacking and hilarious scene in the movie. The plot switches between Iran and Japan, with most of the action taking place in the former. Along the way Golgo crosses path with some colourful villains (one of which has a handgun hidden in his fake leg) and beautiful women, with some nods to James Bond of course. However the decidedly anti heroic and off the cuff violence of Golgo’s character is a departure from the King-and-country serving Bond.

Ken Takakura plays Golgo as if he was born to, with ice cold countenance and deadly skills. Made just a year before he would co star with Robert Mitchum in the magnificent The Yakuza, Golgo 13 sees Takakura as the top of his game. Director Sato is perhaps best known for Bullet Train (1975), starring Takakura and Sonni Chiba that served as the template for Speed (1994). He directs Golgo 13 with a sure hand. The action is bloody and advanced for the time, with the gunfights especially well choreographed, and are jumping with interesting compositions and angles. The climatic gunfight features long shots of bad guys attempting to find Golgo in a maze-like ruined city, with his gun coming in to shot to finish them off. These types of locations and the desert are used brilliantly, with some iconic and powerful images. There are two instances of hand-to-hand combat, both with some striking editing. The soundtrack is a classic slice of Toei-style orchestration, with at times a Spaghetti Western tinge.

Some negative aspects come in the form of the plot, which is a bit laboured and uninteresting at times, and the lack of good action in the first half of the film. Despite some of the Iranian actors doing well, especially Jaleh Sam as Golgo’s love interest, the fact that they are all dubbed in to Japanese (not an original quibble, but still) takes the viewer out of the film. Despite director Sato handling most aspects of the film excellently, there are some instances of standard, non-creative direction.

How this film is still a rarity is beyond me, as fans of the manga and anime will surely love it. Much like Sammo Hung’s masterful Bruce Lee homage Enter the Fat Dragon (1978), myself and many others would love to see this released in a pristine version. Seek it out.

Martin Sandison’s Rating: 8/10

Posted in All, Japanese, News, Reviews | Tagged |

Bolo Yeung’s son and Sonny Chiba are about to ‘Bond’

Posted on October 1, 2016 by JJ Bona
"Bond: Kizuna" Teaser Poster

“Bond: Kizuna” Teaser Poster

David Yeung, son of cult kung fu star Bolo (Double Impact, The Clones of Bruce Lee), will be appearing in Ryuji Yamakita’s Bond: Kizuna, an upcoming action/thriller that involves a rookie detective (Cortney Palm) who witnesses a murder at the hand of assassins.

The film also stars the legendary Sonny Chiba (Battles Without Honor and Humanity Vol. 2, Kill Bill), Dealz, Casey Gagliardi (Primal Rage: The Legend of Oh-Mah), Ryuji Yamakita (Mirrorman Reflex) and Sora Aoi (Revenge: A Love Story).

Bond: Kizuna is currently filming and a release date is currently pending. For now, check out the film’s trailer:

Posted in News |

Get Kyle Warner’s new horror novella ‘Rakasa’ for FREE!

Posted on September 30, 2016 by JJ Bona
"Rakasa" by Kyle Warner

“Rakasa” by Kyle Warner

Start off October with a horror story for your Kindle! City on Fire’s Kyle Warner has a new horror novella, titled Rakasa, and it’s FREE for a limited time at Amazon – but don’t wait long, because the special promo ends on Sunday, October 2.

Rakasa is a page-tuner that’s full of suspense, action, terror and snappy humor. Warner’s handling of the first-person narrative structure is exceptional. He puts you at the center of the hellish predicament he created. Warner gets down and dirty with his masterfully written descriptions. I honestly can’t think of one dull moment in the book. Mark my word, you’ll love it, but it’s not for the squeamish!

Download Kyle Warner’s Rakasa for FREE today, and consider leaving a review.

Posted in News |

The Lost Bladesman | DVD (Anchor Bay)

Posted on September 30, 2016 by JJ Bona
The Lost Bladesman | DVD (Anchor Bay)

The Lost Bladesman | DVD (Anchor Bay)

RELEASE DATE: November 1, 2016

Anchor Bay Entertainment will be releasing The Lost Bladesman (read our review), an action-packed, spear-slicing film starring International superstar Donnie Yen (Ip Man 3, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny). The film will arrive on Digital HD, On Demand and on DVD on November 1st.

The Lost Bladesman tells the story of legendary Guan Yu (Yen) crossing five passes and slaying six generals. He played a major role in the civil war that led to the collapse of Han Dynasty and the establishment of Shu Han of the 3 Kingdoms, making Liu Bei its first emperor.

The Lost Bladesman also stars Wen Jiang (Let the Bullets Fly), Chin Siu Ho (Tai Chi Master) and Andy On (Zombie Fight Club, Outcast).

Written and directed by Alan Mak and Felix Chong (Infernal Affairs), The Lost Bladesman won several Golden Lotus awards at the 2011 Macau International Movie Festival, including Best Film, Best Director for Mak and Chong, and Best Actor for Donnie Yen. Wen Jiang also won the Best Actor award from the Shanghai Film Critics for his performance in the film.

Pre-order The Lost Bladesman from Amazon.com today!

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Martial Arts Titles, News |

End of a Gun (2016) Review

Posted on September 30, 2016 by Zach Nix
"End of a Gun" Japanese DVD Cover

“End of a Gun” Japanese DVD Cover

Director: Keoni Waxman
Cast: Steven Seagal, Florin Piersic Jr., Jacob Grodnik, Jade Ewen, Jonathan Rosenthal, Radu Andrei Micu, Ovidio Nicolescu, Alexandre Nguyen, Troy Miller
Running Time: 93 min.

By Zach Nix

2016 has been a very busy and interesting year for martial artist and action star Steven Seagal. By the year’s end, he will have appeared within six films overall, whether it be in a leading or supporting role. Films like The Asian Connection, Killing Salazar, and The Perfect Weapon feature Seagal in smaller roles than usual, even including villainous parts for the typically heroic action star, although Seagal has dabbled in anti-hero territory several times before. While those films are fascinating anomalies within his lopsided but commendable career, the vehicles in which Seagal is front and center are always the one’s that bring in the fans and get the most attention. Films like Sniper: Special Ops, Code of Honor, and the newly released End of a Gun feature Seagal as the star and lead of the picture. What’s most humorous is that Seagal looks exactly the same within all six of these films, as different as they all are. His current fashion sense comprises of orange tinted sunglasses, a goatee, and occasionally a do-rag. Regardless of whether Seagal is playing a seasoned sniper, a villainous gangster, or a vigilante, it seems that his goatee phase isn’t going away any time soon.

With that introduction and update of ‘The Sensei’ out of the way, let’s now focus our attention to End of a Gun, Seagal’s latest low budget action vehicle. The film is Seagal’s most recent collaboration with his go-to director, Keoni Waxman, whom he has done six or so films with already, including episodes of the television series True Justice, which in and of itself has been re-edited into films, hence the ‘six or so’ technicality that I specified. However, their latest scored not only the typical VOD release, but a surprising limited release in theaters. That’s right, Seagal was back on the big screen. As someone in their mid-twenties, I have to confess that this was my first time seeing a new Seagal movie in the theater, as I had skipped Machete back in 2010. While Seagal releases more than enough films per year for me to keep up with, I made the effort to see this one and drove several miles to a theater instead of watching it on demand, as both a sign of my support for the genre and in order to experience the rarity of Seagal on the big screen. The film is nothing special, as it’s just about your average recent Seagal venture, but at least it was a fun experience seeing Seagal kick some butt on the silver screen, even if it was within one of his most lackluster ventures to date.

I’ll be honest, I had very little expectations going into this film. After all, I have seen nearly all of Seagal and Waxman’s collaborations, and feel that they all feature the same pros and cons. The pros of their films are that Seagal seems dedicated to the projects, as each one features very little body doubles or voice dubbing. They are also somewhat technically proficient, featuring commendable lighting, decent cinematography, and no horrendous computer graphics. However, they still feature the flaws of Seagal’s worst ventures, such as plots that still find a way to overly complicate beyond the simple premise at hand, poorly edited fights that hide the shortcomings of the performers, and an all-around lack of tension or narrative momentum that drives Seagal’s best features. Therefore, it came as no surprise when End of a Gun met all of these pros and cons beat for beat exactly as I expected it too. I am happy to commend Waxman and Seagal for finally keeping a plot mostly simplistic, but their film still crumbles underneath its non-existent tension, morose plotting, and minimal action sequences.

Seagal plays Michael Decker, a former DEA agent who was fired without pay or benefits, and now resides in France. One night, he sees a man beating up a woman, Lisa (Jade Ewen), and steps in to help out. During the ensuing scuffle, Decker shoots and kills the man. Later the next day, Lisa comes to Decker with a proposition: if he can help her steal her now deceased handler’s money, she’ll split it with him. As a man with little money to his name and deadly skills to boot, Decker accepts. However, it turns out that the money belongs to Mr. Vargas, a drug lord who sends his enforcer, Gage, out to reobtain the money. When Lisa is eventually kidnapped by Gage, Decker has to decide whether to take off with his half of the money or intercede and teach everyone a lesson about honor.

The pros of End of a Gun are minimal, but I’d rather be sincere and honest about the picture than rude and cruel, as Seagal fans don’t exactly come to expect the highest of quality with his newer films. A unique pleasure of Seagal’s latest it that it places him into a heist plot, something that isn’t typically done within his films. The joys of placing Seagal within a heist raises the interesting question of his character’s morality while also offering up the undeniably entertaining elements that come with a heist (i.e. the planning, the execution, the big score, etc). Besides that, there’s some stylish font during the opening credits, as well as some funky music throughout, which is more than you can say about most Seagal films. There are also some seeds for potential, such as a somewhat interesting villain and a double cross that comes later on in the picture. Unfortunately, End of a Gun doesn’t fulfill on its heist-like promises, as Waxman once again delivers a lackluster Seagal outing that focuses more so on needless plotting, turning it into more of a dramatic thriller than a pure genre offering.

End of a Gun feels like an episode of a television show like Leverage, as it offers up a safe and basic heist plot, has an energetic soundtrack, and throws in some laughs here and there. However, imagine if one of those episodes were desperately drawn out to feature length, and you would have End of a Gun. There is barely enough narrative here to fulfill an entire feature, which thereby brings the film to a screeching halt at times, as Waxman drags scenes on for far too long in order to add more to the film’s running time. Another problem with the film is its grossly simplistic heist. Although Decker is sold as an extremely skilled and dangerous character, his plan might just be the lamest in heist history. He simply waits until night fall, walks into a parking garage, cuts two locks, beats up two guys, and simply strolls out with the money. It’s as simple as that. Almost anyone could have done what Decker accomplishes, but alas, that’s where some of the humor comes from in watching a movie like this.

As I stated before, the film is more so a dramatic thriller than a pure action film, as there is very little action throughout the entire feature. Therefore, Seagal fans hoping for plentiful beat downs or shootouts won’t find much. The aforementioned heist, which is rather silly, features some hard to make out fight choreography at a few points, which is no surprise given Seagal’s recent pedigree. There is a rather awesome moment though where Seagal kicks a security officer off of a parking garage in what is a rather impressive display of stunt work. There’s also a notable shootout in a hotel, which sports some solid sound design, but doesn’t last long. The finale of the film, which features gun fire, explosions, and melee fights, is honestly the peak of the film’s excitement. Seagal has a lengthy one on one knife fight with a henchman that makes for just about the highlight of the film. While it would have been nice to get more action like this throughout, action fans will find themselves clinging onto these moments as they are all that they will get during the film’s run time.

Fans of Seagal’s cinema will notice recognizable themes within End of a Gun that are consistent with the rest of his work. The obvious ones are honor and loyalty, as Seagal proudly proclaims towards the end to main villain Gage, “I’m not all about the money, I’m all about the honor.” Although these themes are somewhat apparent during the first two thirds of the film, these philosophical beliefs of Seagal come to the forefront during the finale of the film. He even lectures a character on the matter, and goes so far as to recap the same topic in the final scene, almost as a way to make sure that we, the viewer, don’t forget. Well versed Seagal fans will also recognize the theme of Seagal’s frustration with the system that employs him, as his character was fired from the DEA due to an incident that denied him severance pay. Once again, Seagal plays a character who simply wants to do the right thing and protect others, and yet no matter what, he never gets the proper recognition that he deserves. At this point, the most fun in watching a contemporary Seagal film comes in spotting the interconnected themes of his filmography, no matter how good or bad they are.

Seagal is clearly comfortable working with Waxman. He has now worked with him more than any other director in his career. However, I personally believe that Waxman needs to push Seagal more in order to get more out of him. All of their collaborations, from The Keeper, to A Dangerous Man, to their latest, are fairly safe and bland films. They’re not as horrendously inept as some of Seagal’s absolute craziest DTV efforts, such as Out for a Kill, Attack Force, or Kill Switch, but at least Seagal’s greatest train wrecks are more memorable and entertaining simply for how bonkers they are. Than again, some fans think differently, as several have praised Waxman and Seagal’s collaborations as a return to form for the action star. While it’s clear that Waxman is getting better with every film that he makes with Seagal, as his latest features the most simplistic plot and sleekest action he has produced to date, Waxman’s comfortable efforts aren’t going to get Seagal closer to his glory days any time soon.

All in all, End of a Gun is just another low budget Seagal vehicle that represents the woes of his contemporary work. It’s far from horrendous, as there are few body doubles in sight and Seagal’s voice sounds like himself, but its blandness is insulting enough to make it a forgetful action thriller. Die hard Seagal fans may want to check it out in the theater if only for the thrill of seeing him on the big screen again, but at the end of the day, Seagal has starred in several other DTV efforts of his own that are far better and more memorable than this one.

Zach Nix’s Rating: 2/10

Posted in All, Asian Related, News, Other Movies, Reviews | Tagged , |

Reign of Assassins | DVD (Anchor Bay)

Posted on September 30, 2016 by JJ Bona
Reign of Assassins | DVD (Anchor Bay)

Reign of Assassins | DVD (Anchor Bay)

RELEASE DATE: November 1, 2016

On November 1st, Reign of Assassins, an epic action film starring Michelle Yeoh (Wing Chun, Police Story 3), is finally heading to DVD, Digital HD and On Demand, courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment.

The film stars Yeoh as an assassin who is on a mission to return the remains of a mystical monk to their resting place. The remains are believed to hold a powerful secret. Along the way, she falls in love with a man named Jiang, whose father was killed by her gang. Unaware that he also is a trained martial artist, their love blossoms but tensions arise as the truth of her past unravels. Soon, a lethal triangle surfaces between her, Jiang and the team of assassins that are after the monk’s remains.

Reign of Assassins is directed by Su Chao-Pin (Silk) and is produced/co-directed by John Woo (Heroes Shed No Tears, Hand of Death). The film also stars Jung Woo-Sung (The Divine Move, Viral Factor) and Xueqi Wang (Bodyguards and Assassins), Shawn Yue (Wild City) and Kelly Lin (Fulltime Killer).

In 2010, Reign of Assassins took home two Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards, including Best Director and Film of Merit. It also received 11 Hong Kong Film Award nominations, including a Best Picture nomination.

Pre-order Reign of Assassins from Amazon.com today!

Posted in Asian Titles, DVD/Blu-ray New Releases, Martial Arts Titles, News |

Mel Gibson does an action flick ‘Every Other Weekend’

Posted on September 30, 2016 by JJ Bona
"Get the Gringo" Japanese Theatrical Poster

“Get the Gringo” Japanese Theatrical Poster

After a string of shoot ’em up titles such as Get The Gringo, Machete Kills, Expendables 3 and Blood Father, Mel Gibson (Edge of Darkness) might be out for more blood in Every Other Weekend, an action/adventure film by French filmmaker Benjamin Rocher (The Sweeney: Paris).

According to TTB, Every Other Weekend centers on a father who has his son convinced he’s a CIA spy with cool missions under his belt but he actually works in the agency’s IT department. However, on a father-son trip in Paris, the two find themselves in a life-threatening adventure in which secrets are spilled. The role Gibson is circling is the grandfather, who is actually a super spy.

The legendary actor/director is also heavily involved with Xiao Feng’s Chinese-language World War II film, titled The Bombing, which has him working behind the scenes as the film’s art director and executive producer. Additionally, extremely positive buzz is circulating for Gibson’s next directorial feature, Hacksaw Ridge, which hits theaters on November 4th 2016. His most recent film, Blood Father (which I actually loved, despite Zach’s recent review) hits Blu-ray & DVD on October 11, 2016.

We’ll keep you updated on this story as we hear more. Just for the heck of it, here’s the trailer for one of Mel’s most underrated movies:

Posted in News |

Lady Killer, The (1977) Review

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Jeff Bona
"The Lady Killer" Chinese Theatrical Poster

“The Lady Killer” Chinese Theatrical Poster

Director: Zhu Mu
Producer: Raymond Chow
Cast: Robert Lee, Sylvia Chang, Nick Lam Wai Kei, Shaw Yum Yum, Lee Kwan, Gam Dai
Running Time: 86 min.

By Jeff Bona

Before Brandon and Shannon Lee stepped into the Hong Kong film industry to make Legacy of Rage (1986) and Enter the Eagles (1998) respectively; Robert Lee, Bruce Lee’s younger brother, was cast to appear in Lady Killer, an extremely bizarre 1977 film that also starred Sylvia Chang (Yellow Faced Tiger).

In The Lady Killer, a popular singer named Ah Hui (played by Robert Lee) is approached by gangsters who want him to perform at their nightclub. When Ah Hui rejects, they set him up by making him believe he murdered an innocent man; Of course, Ah Hui falls for it. With nowhere to turn and the fear of being sent to jail, Ah Hui accepts help from the gangsters. In return, he has to sign an exclusive singing contract with them. Little does Ah Hui know, they have other sleazy plans in store for him.

Watching Robert Lee in The Lady Killer made me realize how much he looks nothing like Bruce. In fact, he’s almost opposite. Unlike Bruce, Robert is feminine, soft, and he doesn’t appear to have any noticeable muscle whatsoever – not to mention – zero martial arts capability.

It’s obvious that Golden Harvest, the film company responsible for all of Bruce’s films (including the posthumously released Game of Death), signed Robert on solely for the fact that he was Bruce’s brother ($$$). Most likely, The Lady Killer was planned to be more of an action film, but when it was realized that Robert was nothing like Bruce – or any other tough/action guy for the matter – the movie ended up being all over the place, genre-wise.

Still, the fact that Robert was nothing like his now-legendary bother didn’t stop the filmmakers from giving the audience a direct reminder that this was Bruce’s blood brother: Early on in The Lady Killer there’s an action scene where Robert’s character gets into a fight; as he gets into stance, Joseph Koo’s iconic soundtrack from Bruce Lee’s Way of the Dragon starts playing. It’s awkward to watch, but remember, “This is Bruce Lee’s brother everybody!” is what they’re marketing, so a moment like this is expected.

As for Robert’s fighting skills? Why don’t we just say that he was doing some basic moves that really don’t require any formal training whatsoever. His fight scenes aren’t laughably bad, but when you’re the brother of the world’s most famous kung fu star, expectations are sky high whether you like it or not. Thankfully (and I think Robert would agree), there’s only one martial arts sequence in the entire movie that involve Robert. From that point on, his character relies more on wit, than physical ability, to wean off his enemies.

Robert’s overall performance is passable, but he just doesn’t have that certain “punch” (no pun intended) or charisma to reach that movie star level. Sylvia on the other hand is amazing, which is a given, considering the acclaimed actress/filmmaker she would become later in her career.

The Lady Killer as a whole isn’t a good movie, but it entertained enough to keep me watching. It’s edgy, goofy and serious – all at the same time. Don’t let the caricature-style illustrations on the film’s poster fool you, because The Lady Killer is filled with partial nudity, sex, forced prostitution, gang rapes and women being smacked around. One minute Robert Lee is singing bubblegum pop songs, the next minute, Sylvia Chang is forced into being a whore.

Fun facts about The Lady Killer:

  • Gam Dai (Ah Quen from Way of the Dragon) and Lee Kwan (Ah Kun from The Big Boss) briefly appear together on the same screen. For years – thanks to the English dubbed versions of The Big Boss and Way of the Dragon – both actors, who look very similar, were dubbed as “Ah-koon,” so a lot of people actually believed they were the same person. The Lady Killer debunks this theory.
  • Charles Bernstein’s soundtrack to the Burt Reynolds’ 1976 classic Gator plays in The Lady Killer a lot (and that’s a good thing). The track is called “Flight In the Night,” which has “borrowed” for many kung fu flicks of the 70s. You’ll recognize it once you hear it.
  • Robert performs all of his own pop songs. This shouldn’t be a surprise, considering Robert is an actual singer/songwriter. In the 60s, Robert was the leader/founder of a successful Hong Kong beat band called “The Thunderbirds.” He also recorded duet tracks with popular Eurasian singer, Irene Ryder. To die hard Bruce Lee fans, he’s mostly known for his 1974 LP, “The Ballad of Bruce Lee.”
  • Judging from The Lady Killer’s original trailer, the film was cut to shreds. Apparently there was a lot more nudity and even some extended fight sequences. Not sure why these scenes would end up in the trailer and not on the finished feature, but this practice isn’t unusual, especially for a Chinese film.
  • Following Lady Killers, Robert Lee would appear in two more Hong Kong movies: Con Artists (1978) and A Little Reason (1979) before calling it quits. In 2010, he returned to movies by doing a brief, non-acting introduction to Bruce Lee, My Brother together with his older sister, Phoebe Lee.

More or less, Robert Lee is basically “The Frank Stallone of Hong Kong” – both men are brothers of two famous action stars; and both had semi-successful singing careers. Only Frank one-ups Robert by actually resembling Sylvester.

The Lady Killer is recommended for the curious.

Jeff Bona‘s Rating: 6/10

Posted in All, Chinese, Golden Harvest, News, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , |

Criminal (2016) Review

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Paul Bramhall
"Criminal" Chinese Theatrical Poster

“Criminal” Chinese Theatrical Poster

Director: Ariel Vromen
Cast: Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Alice Eve, Gal Gadot, Michael Pitt, Jordi Mollà, Ryan Reynolds, Antje Traue, Scott Adkins, Amaury Nolasco
Running Time: 113 min.

By Paul Bramhall

When not on duty in superhero movies, Commissioner Gordon, the father of Superman, Wonder Woman, Deadpool, and Weapon XI, got together in London to make Criminal. The above mesh-up of DC and Marvel luminaries is of course entirely fictional, but what Criminal does do is bring together the impressive cast of actors who play said characters in their respective movies – Gary Oldman, Kevin Costner, Gal Gadot, Ryan Reynolds, and Scott Adkins. Throw the always reliable Tommy Lee Jones into the mix, and you realise that this is a movie with some serious acting talent on-board.

While Israeli born director Ariel Vromen only has a handful of titles under his belt, having directed just 3 full length features beginning with 2005’s Simple Lies, chances are it was the screenwriting pedigree of Douglas Cook and David Weisberg that attracted the stars to this particular production. Cook and Weisberg were responsible for the story and script behind 1996’s bombastic action flick The Rock, and also penned 1999’s Double Jeopardy, which also featured Tommy Lee Jones. However since then the screenwriting partners dropped off the map, and Criminal marks their first script in 16 years. Sadly it would also mark their final collaboration together, as Cook passed away in July 2015.

Criminal sees Ryan Reynolds furthering his attempts to corner the market of the ‘body swap’ genre. While 2015 saw him starring in Self/less, in which the brain of dying businessman Ben Kingsley is transferred into his body, here we experience the opposite, that see’s the brain of Reynolds’ murdered CIA agent being transferred into the body of Kevin Costner. If the pattern continues, then 2017 will likely feature a movie that has Costner’s brain being transferred into the body of an actor that’s played both sides of the superhero studios (Ben Affleck, we’re looking at you).

Criminal opens with Reynolds being pursued by shadowy figures through the streets of London. His CIA agent is delivering a ransom to a mysterious hacker who goes by the name of ‘The Dutchman’, that’s holding up in a location that only Reynolds knows. However when he’s intercepted and killed (his screen-time is comparable to Steven Seagal in Executive Decision), the CIA director (Gary Oldman) calls in a scientist (Tommy Lee Jones), who’s created an experimental procedure that can transfer memories from one human to another. Oldman is hell bent on finding the location of ‘The Dutchman’ before a crazy Spanish anarchist who wants to start World War III (yes you read that correctly), and a suitable candidate is found to absorb Reynolds’ memories in the form of Kevin Costner. Costner plays a violent redneck prisoner, chained up in solitary confinement due to being dropped as a child, which led to his frontal lobe not developing as it should. As a result, he can’t feel emotions, and enjoys beating people to a pulp. Basically, a dangerous guy, but one whose lack of frontal lobe development makes him the perfect candidate for a brain swap. Go figure.

In short, Criminal is a glorified B movie with a slumming it A list cast. From the moment Costner wakes up from the brain surgery, Oldman starts yelling at him a whole heap of exposition as to why he’s there and what he needs to remember. I could essentially copy and paste Oldman’s tirade here, and it would serve as an effective plot summary, but since I already took the effort to write the previous paragraph, I won’t. Indeed whenever Oldman is onscreen he’s at his scenery chewing best, spitting out the lines of the dubious script with a joyous reckless abandon, almost all of which involve him mentioning ‘The Dutchman’. “We need to find ‘The Dutchman’!”, “Lead us to ‘The Dutchman’!”, “Where is ‘The Dutchman’!?” He seems to be aware that the script is beneath him, so simply goes at it like a madman, all the while being followed around by another agent played by Scott Adkins, who gets a few lines here and there but little else.

Costner on the other hand seems genuinely dedicated to his role, and does his best to inject pathos into his performance, even when the script frequently works against him. The role was originally ear marked for Nicolas Cage, who it was reported turned it down, but it’s easy to imagine if he had accepted it what a completely different performance he would have brought to the character. As it is, Costner’s violent redneck is all grunts and twitches, capable only of monosyllabic communication and punching people in the face. However once he has Reynolds’ memories transferred into his brain, he begins to feel emotions for the first time, emotions such as love. Indeed it would be a fair comparison to say that his character follows much the same arc as Jet Li’s Danny the Dog in Unleashed, only instead of Morgan Freeman and watermelons, we have a bunch of memories and Gal Gadot.

Gadot plays Reynold’s widow, and her first encounter with Costner involves him in a home invasion, in which he covers her mouth with duct tape while she sleeps, wrapping her arms and legs with it to restrain her. It’s an uncomfortable scene, and he seems set to rape her, until Reynolds’ memories interfere and he can’t bring himself to do it, ultimately fleeing the scene. It’s somewhat of a massive leap in believability then, when 30 minutes later Gadot is inviting him to sleep on the couch in their house, and her and Reynolds’ daughter is giving him piano lessons (another replicated scene from Unleashed). Gadot urges him to get in touch with Reynolds’ memories of their wedding day and the birth of their daughter, and for the first time Costner’s frontal lobe allows him to experience the feeling of love, and he begins to learn that having feelings isn’t such a bad thing after all.

Costner’s character is best described as a mix of Danny the Dog meets Jason Bourne, but instead of being a Chinese kung fu fighter or a skilled assassin with no memory, we have a redneck with a heap of new memories. He suddenly finds himself able to speak French, and calmly shoot a group of attackers trying to kill him with a precision aim, while at the same time gradually coming to care about Gadot and her daughter. Despite his new found skills though, the way Vromen films them is sadly lacking in any kind of tension or excitement, with the action scenes frequently falling flat. There’s obligatory explosions, car chases, and even a random missile fired from a submarine just for good measure, but none of them come with any real sense of meaning or danger, resulting in it being an easy task to quickly lose interest.

Events culminate in a particularly generic finale which takes place on a runway, that sees all the characters converge in the one location, including Tommy Lee Jones, who’s spent every scene he’s appeared in looking and sounding terminally bored. What sticks out like a sore thumb in particular though, is how lost the script seems to be in terms of what the final outcome should be for Costner’s character. Lest we forget that without Reynolds’ memories, he was a death-row prisoner chained by the neck and ready to put the beat-down on anyone that got too close to him. Unsurprisingly events head in the direction of a happy ending, and when one of Oldman’s fellow agents asks him what he plans to do with Costner, Oldman declares that he’s going to offer him a job, a line which makes about as much sense as the whole brain swapping concept in the first place.

While actors like Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, and Tommy Lee Jones are always entertaining no matter what production they appear in, Criminal does feel at times that it’s stretching this statement to its limit. For fans of British crime thrillers with a hint of science fiction thrown in, Vromen’s latest could definitely be worth a look, as for everyone else, stick with the stars classic movies. It would be ‘Criminal’ not to.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 5/10

Posted in All, News, Other Movies, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , |
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