Here's five reasons why you should love Takashi Miike's live action adaptation of SEGA's Japanese Action Drama video game Yakuza.
Number Five: Dog Day Afternoon
While the main plot of the film concern's protagonist and former Tojo Clan enforcer Kazuma Kiryu returning to his home turf in order to put things right which have gone wrong in the past, one of the sub-plots concerns a pair of bumbling petty robbers who find themselves trapped in a bank in the middle of a heatwave and no air conditoning. Their constant bickering and realising they are way over their head makes for some really funny scenes.
Number Four: The Dragon Of Dojima
Kazuki Kitamura plays the film's main protagonist Kazuma Kiryu and while he may not be an exact likeness of his video game counterpart he pretty much nails Kazuma's stoic personality. Also he looks pretty impressive in the numerous fight scenes he partakes in.
Number Three: Brawl For All
One of the video game series core game mechanics is the fighting system. As you play through all the titles you'll get involved with many martial arts battles. The series is known for it's brutally violent content and luckily director Miike doesn't shy away from it. While the choreography used is less over the top hand to hand combat and more down and dirty brawling it works and we get some really good fight scenes, especially the first fight between Kazuma and his nemesis Goro Majima.
Number Two: Feel The Heat
One of the most unique elements of the game's fight system are the Heat Actions. As the player is fighting a special meter builds up which allows them to use special moves such as stomping on a poor guy's face, smashing his head into a wall or slamming a bicycle down on him. When the meter is ready a blue flame emanates from the player's body. If this had been done by any other director then this is something that would have been completely ignored. Luckily Miike is a director who loves using wild and crazy ideas so applying the Heat Actions to the fight scenes is an excellent idea.
Number One: He's One Bad Mutha...
Every hero needs a good villain and Like A Dragon delivers with Goro Majima played by Goro Kishitani. Majima is one of my favourite characters from the video game series and Kishitani plays exactly as he is in the game. His eyepatch may be over the wrong eye but that's a minor complaint given that Majima's crazy yet at the same time incredibly humorous personality shines through.
That's it for this entry of 5 Things To Love. Be sure to check back later in the week when I'll be posting my next review.
Edward (Stephen Fung) is transferred to a new school after an incident involving his ex-girlfriend. Not long after he butts heads with the school bullies and is forced into a fight. After losing, another student called Stone (Nicholas Tse) agrees to train him so he can better defend himself. Meanwhile Stone has to deal with Mantis (Samuel Pang) constantly challenging him in order to become The King Of Duel.
Wong Jing has always been a film maker for better or worse that can make a profit. Not a huge profit when compared to most Hong Kong film makers but enough so he can fund further projects. With a knack for being able to make movies very fast and very cheap, as well as being able to change scripts on the fly even when filming. Wong Jing has gained a reputation among fans as a director which you either love or you either hate. Especially when you consider the fact that he's worked with some of the top names in the HK film industry. Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Sammo Hung and Chow Yun-Fat are just some of the people which he has worked with on a consistent basis.
My Schoolmate, The Barbarian is a film which sees him working with what were at the time two of the hottest young actors working in the industry, Nicholas Tse and Stephen Fung. Two actors who have since gone on to have very successful careers even in a time when young actors like themselves would often fall out of popularity with local audiences and fade into obscurity. Nicholas especially has matured into a very capable actor in both the dramatic and action stakes with Fung enjoying a career as a film maker in his own right having directed films such as Enter The Phoenix, House of Fury and the upcoming Tai Chi O.
It's a good thing this film has two actors like Tse and Fung in the lead as if it had starred anyone else it could have easily fallen apart very quickly. While Wong Jing may be able to make films quickly, some times they just aren't very good. The pacing which moves at the break neck speed suffers from annoying supporting characters, horribly written dialogue and not enough action to justify the title. Wong isn't entirely to blame though. He actually co-directed this with another director Billy Chung who has directed such genre "classics" as Kung Fu Mahjong and The Lady Iron Chef. You would think an inept film maker Chung would be able to rein in the mediocrity once in a while but it's obvious that Wong Jing seems to be responsible for most of the scenes that were filmed.
Getting back on topic with the two leads. Tse and Fung are very likable. Fung plays the naive smart guy pretty well and Tse plays the stoic hero in a very competent way. Tse's character Stone especially gets to enjoy the benefit of actually being fleshed out and given a real personality with a believable if not purposefully tragic back story. Shame none of the other characters enjoy this sort of treatment. Joey Yung's character Phoenix almost comes close but when she has moments which sees her screaming for no apparent reason we stop seeing her as an interesting character and somebody who should be receiving psychiatric treatment. Her parents come off slightly better though. Frankie Ng and Rocelia Fung have some nice scenes together and it is nice to see Frankie play something other then a Triad for once.
Handling the fight choreography is Ching Siu-Tung, another big name who has worked with Wong Jing on several occasions. Ching seemed to be an interesting choice here as at this time he was mostly doing more fantasy orientated work like The Duel and Shaolin Soccer and despite the film trying to be a teen comedy drama he uses the exact same style of choreography and film techniques he applied to those films. Not that I had a problem with that in any way. I'm all for action directors doing fight scenes in unique and interesting ways and it's a testament to Ching's talent as an action director that he's able to apply his style of frantic and fantastical action to a film such as this. One problem I did have with the film was that there wasn't enough of it.
The film opens with a great fight between Nicholas and another actor whose name seems to allude me. Right away this fight sets the tone for the style we will be seeing. It very much reminded me of the classic Kung Fu movies of the 70's which would open with a fight that displayed what would be the primary style and generally easing the audience into the over tone of the film. The fight uses a lot of exaggerated kicks and punches with a lot of it done in slow motion allowing for some cool moments so the actors look like they are legitimate fighters. Nicholas has always impressed me when doing action. It comes as no surprise that even to this day he takes his training very seriously and has been able to show off what he can do in films such as Invisible Target and Shaolin. His moves are a little stiff but for someone who was never formally trained he is very impressive.
Stephen Fung also gets to look like a bad ass fighter when he has a rather impressive fight with Yu Ka-Ho. The most interesting aspect of these fights are that they take place on a bunch of school desks all pushed together to create a platform. As each move is executed the desks are knocked away leaving a smaller area for them to fight. This made Ching become more creative in terms of the choreography and I'm surprised this idea of a slowly shrinking area of movement hasn't been used in other films.
Another good fight sees Nicholas fight Samuel Pang. Pang is a performer who I've yet to see used to the effect he was here. He's an extremely capable fighter but no one has used him like this since and it's a shame because I'm hugely supportive of actors who can not only act but can fight convincingly on screen and Pang is one of those types of actors. His very lean build and cold stare make for a good villain and I hope one day a director will realize his potential and use him in a good way. His fight with Nicholas is a fine example of his skills and flexibility, particularly when he throws a few nice looking kicks.
We then get a rather lengthy and nicely done finale taking place in a garage. Ching throws in as many ideas as he can in the remaining running time. Both Tse and Fung take on Lee Tat-Chiu. Lee's character uses a lot of big kicks and some traditional arm and hand locks. Again, the exaggerated way in which Lee uses his moves and applies them evokes 70's Kung Fu with a slightly contemporary edge. He has a few nice exchanges with both actors. There's a nice moment when Chiu and Nicholas have a classic sword duel with a spanner and baseball bat replacing swords. Ching uses the exact same style of action he used in films such as Swordsmen II and it was interesting to see this used in a more modern setting. Things get even crazier from there when Fung has to fight on his own against Lee and we see Wong Jing indulge in his love for video games. Something he's done before. It's a good solid final fight and is definitely worth checking out.
My Schoolmate, The Barbarian is an interesting mix of comedy, drama and almost fantasy style martial arts action. Not all of it works but what does work is great and what doesn't is ultimately forgettable. While I wouldn't say it's a must see for fans of Hong Kong action cinema. Fans of Ching Siu-Tung or Nicholas Tse might have a good time with this one.
Hello and welcome the first of what I hope to be many reviews right here on Chopsticks On Fire, a new blog dedicated to providing readers with reviews of martial arts movies and TV shows of the past, present and future. First up is a review of the big screen (or should that be small screen?) adaptation of the popular video game franchise Tekken.
The film takes place in the futuristic dystopian world of Tekken City (Yes, it's as stupid as it sounds) a world that has collapsed under the weight of corporate greed and countries are ruled with a (no pun intended) iron fist. Here we meet our hero, Jin, a guy who spends his time running from Jack Hammers (Basically guys in Hockey armour spray painted black) so he can spend money on pieces of fruit and Chocolate. Yes, it seems in the future nice things like fruit, vegetables and sweets are outlawed yet not so nice things such as tobacco and alcohol are readily available, curse you evil corporate bastards!
Anyway, aside from risking getting shot in the head for a Mars Bar he also finds time to bang his girlfriend Kara, who doesn't do much except stand around, pout and get plowed by our fearless hero. After we learn what a jammy little git Jin is we find out he lives with his mother Jun who taught him martial arts since he was a child. It's here we see that Jin has a strong desire to entire the King Of Iron Fist tournament, which is kind of like UFC but with the added theatrics of WWE. Naturally his mother forbids him and Jin goes away in a huff and get a quick shag from his missus. As he's busy getting his end away Jack Hammers (No matter how many times I type that it never sounds any less ridiculous) storm his mother's home and she ends up getting blown to bits. Feeling guilty over the fact he was busy getting his rod polished when he should have stayed with his mother, Jin enters the King of the Iron Fist in the hopes of avenging the woman who had the misfortune of giving birth to him.
And so began my viewing of the most disappointing movie I've seen this year. I'm a huge Tekken fan more so then any other fighting game Franchise and when I heard that a live action movie was being made I was understandably excited as the games themselves provided a really solid foundation for a really good story and could have made a solid series of action films, instead what we have here is Bloodsport written by a horny 15 year old. The cast range from not to bad to just flat out silly. Jon Foo proves he had what it takes to be an action star, he's not that bad an actor and he gets to show off his incredible skill as a martial artist but his characterisation is completely wrong, in the games Jin is a man who is tormented by his family legacy and the hatred he shares for his father, in the film he's a whingy little sod who spends most of the time getting his arse kicked and frowning a lot, not the most endearing of underdog heroes if you ask me.
It's also worth mentioning that Jin seems to conveniently forget he has a girlfriend once he claps eyes in Christie Monteiro played by Kelly Overton but given the fact the first time you see her she's working up a slow motion sweat in the gym I think I'd probably have a lapse in memory as well. At first Christie doesn't want to have anything to do with our loveable scamp for a hero and makes it very clear but after she sees him in action she can't wait whisk him off to a rave and have him grope her backside like no tomorrow. Yes, it seems that Tekken is very much catering, rather unashamedly it seems, to the teenage male demographic, since Hollywood seem to think that people over the age of 18 don't play video games. It's this approach that turns the whole thing into a great big bloody pantomime.
The rest of the cast don't fair much better, Luke Goss cashes a quick cheque as Steve Fox, stock villain Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa looks constipated as head of Tekken, Heihachi Mishima and Ian Anthony Dake chews the scenery like his life depends on it as Jin's father Kazuya and believe me, I'm not spoiling anything major by mentioning that father-son connection. While we're on the subject of Kazuya it seems Jin picked up his rabid libido from his old man as we're treated to a rather awkward scene which sees his dad bang both Anna and Nina Williams. Yep. jammy sods, the pair of them.
Moving on from the mouth breathers we call the characters lets move to the action, which is one of the main selling points of the film. It's probably by the far the only good part of the film and the only time the cast really get to show what they can do. As I mentioned before Foo really gets to show his stuff but he spends most of the time getting his butt kicked you kind of feel sorry for him most of the time. Cyril Raffaelli, who in his own right has established himself as an action star in his native France provides the choreography and plays to each actor's strength and this arm chair critic hopes despite the finished product this film lands him more work in future projects.
Usually a film that's high in bone crunching ass-kickery and curvy eye candy would be right up my alley but given that the film doesn't do enough with both to make it entertaining, the whole thing is just dull. The director, Dwight H. Little does nothing to really make this film stand out amongst the other video game movies to hit our screens which shouldn't come as any surprise since he directed such classics as Halloween 4 and Free Willy 2 yet looking at his credits on IMDb he seems to have made quite a success in television directing such shows as Dollhouse, Prison Break and Bones but I never watched any of those so I couldn't comment if he did any better on them. It's a shame as Tekken could really have been the first break out video game to make a solid franchise and cover up the box office stains left over from Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Dead Or Alive.
If you really want to see this train wreck of a film then I'm not going to stop you but it seems you'll have a long time to wait since the UK DVD/Blu-Ray premier isn't happening until sometime between January and June of 2011. The fact it's been pushed back that far should tell you how much faith the studio releasing this monstrosity, have.
Hope you liked reading my first review, I promise the next reviews will on films that I actually like.
