5 Things To Love About Like A Dragon

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.

My Schoolmate, The Barbarian - 我的野蠻同學 (2001)

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.

Merantau (2009)

Yuda (Iko Uwais) leaves his home in West Sumatra to undertake Merantau. A tradition in which a young person must gain life experience and success in order to become a contributing member of society. He arrives in Jakarta to find the place in which he is meant to stay has been torn down. Left homeless he apprehends a child, Adit, who attempts to steal his wallet. Inadvertently he witnesses the boy's sister Astri being abused by her boss Johni and intervenes, setting off a chain of events in which Yuda must fight for his life while protecting Astri and Adit.

Ever since Ong Bak was released to worldwide acclaim and gave the Thai film industry a serious boost, other countries have decided to try their hand at making their own martial arts films. All the way from Indonesia we have been given Merantau which features the fighting style Silat. A style which uses close strikes, joint manipulation, throws and bladed weaponry. Fans looking for something in the vein of films like Ong Bak will be more then satisfied with what Merantau has to offer.

First thing's first. The acting. Now while Tony Jaa has been praised for his talents as a screen fighter, he hasn't fared too well when it has come to acting. Luckily lead actor Iko Uwais is a much better actor then Jaa, he's not perfect but he at least looks like he's making a big effort in the numerous dialogue scenes he has. His personality is very much the righteous hero and he has decent chemistry with his co-stars who are all good if ultimately forgettable, for the most part. 

Usually in Asian films whenever there's a child actor they tend to be incredibly annoying however this film made the right decision when casting Yusuf Aulia as Adit. He doesn't go over the top with his delivery, he doesn't bounce around in that annoying way child actors do in these movies and puts in what is probably the best performance in the film. Which was incredibly refreshing since I would always find myself reaching for the mute button whenever a bad child actor would appear on screen in other movies.

However I think we should move onto the real meat of the film. The action. As mentioned before Silat is the primary style presented here. In particular a variant called Silat Harimau (Tiger Silat). Believed to be one of the oldest forms of Silat in existence, it is unique compared to other forms as the practitioners fight while crouching down. The reason for this, according to historians, was to avoid stumbling down when fighting in West Sumatra's wet paddy fields.

Director Gareth Evans puts the style to good use in the many fight scenes through out. There's an excellent confrontation on a bridge which sees Yuda use metal bars. Each hit looks incredibly painful and is a testament to both star Uwais and his fellow stuntmen.

One of the most admirable traits of Merantau is how each fight feels different. I absolutely love it when a fight film makes an effort like this. I find when films use the same type of fight throughout it can get incredibly boring but thankfully boring is not a word I would use to describe the action here. Another brilliant scene sees Yuda fight an advisary in an elevator and you can tell the director wanted to convey the feeling of being in a confined space which sees both actors using close-quarter techniques that really build the tension into a very bloody climax.

However, that's just the icing on the cake as the finale takes place in generic action setting #5: a shipping container yard. The one thing I liked most about the film was how each fight builds and builds and builds. As we go through the film we see Yuda becoming more aggressive in his fighting style and by the time we reach this point in the film Yuda is one bloke you would not want to piss off.

Here we see him take on the film's primary villains played by Mads Koudal and Laurent Buson. Both actors have extensive experience in the film industry and have made a number of films both short and feature length. As you may expect this is where the film really lets loose with the choreography and after watching it has quickly shot up on my list of top finale fight scenes ever. I would love to delve more into it but I don't wish to spoil anything.

These days it's getting harder and harder to find new ways to show martial arts fighting on screen. Fortunately Indonesia have made a good move by letting this film be sold worldwide and letting everyone interested get a look at one of the more obscure fighting styles in the martial arts world. I really can not recommend this enough as anyone who has enjoyed the work of Tony Jaa or Hong Kong movies of the 80's will not want to be left out on this one.

The One (2001)

Jet Li. Now there's an action star. Having started a career in the motion picture industry in his native China, Li had become a bankable star to rival even the mighty Jackie Chan himself and like Chan, Li made the leap across the pond to work in Hollywood pictures. Since then they've ranged from pretty darn awful stuff like Cradle 2 The Grave to enjoyable and nicely crafted action films like The One, which I've decided to review today.

The One is essentially Highlander with a Sci-Fi twist. Li plays Gabe Law, a police officer who becomes the target of his doppelgänger Yu Law from another dimension, who is hopping from one reality to the next offing his counterparts in hoping he can become the titular One. A very basic premise but one that makes for quite a fun film and one (I feel I'm going to over-using that word through out this review) which all parties involved should be very proud of. The One doesn't try to be high art, it doesn't try and re-invent the Sci-Fi genre or take itself way too seriously like other hybrid films (See The Matrix trilogy) it's play very much to it's own strengths and those are Jet Li himself and the breezy, easy to watch pace it goes with.

Li has always made for a decent leading man, his straight faced demeanour and blistering martial skill made him a house hold name in his native china with the Once Upon A Time In China series and other films such as Fist of Legend. Here he takes that persona and tweeks it a little bit so to make his character Gabe one which you can root for. He plays well off his co-stars such as Carla Gugino, who plays the role of his wife and two share some nice chemistry (Something Jackie Chan seems to struggle with when he acts opposite a female lead) and I would have liked to have seen that explored more. Besides being the good guy we're also treated to him also playing the film's villain, Li tries his best to look mean and intimidating but his friendly face just makes it difficult to really make it all that convincing, not that he doesn't try of course but I think the writers should have tried a little harder to make the characters of Gabe and Yu complete opposites.

Having said that, it would appear when putting together the action scenes, Corey Yuen came up with the rather clever idea of giving both characters different fighting styles. Rather then giving them both generic martial arts styles, Gabe uses Baguazhang (The Eight Trigram Palms) which uses subtle circular movements while Yu Law chooses Xingyiquan (The Shape-Will Fist) which has more aggressive linear movements. Of course, as you'd expect Li pulls off both styles expertly and you can see he put a lot of effort into trying to separate the two characters, even if it didn't fully pay off. The fight scenes are great certainly not the best he's ever done but a definite step up from the likes of Romeo Must Die. Li makes it all look too easy as he throws kick after punch after kick and Corey Yuen's choreography always has that simplistic yet nicely timed aspect to it that I enjoy thoroughly and is a great addition to the many films he's been involved with. With it being a sci-fi film it does throw in a lot of effects and wire work but adds to the really fun comic book feel the film does really well in conveying.

A lot of people dismiss the film as taking itself way too seriously but it honestly doesn't. You can see director James Wong really wanted to make a kick-ass sci-fi action movie that fans of both genres could enjoy and while it does play a little fast and loose with the sci-fi aspect, that's to be expected as the spectacle of seeing Jet Li go toe to toe with himself is the main draw here. It's evident the cast also got what the movie was all about. Just listen to Jason Statham growl his dialogue and grit his teeth as he plays the hard boiled cop tracking down Yu Law, just watch the finale as both super strong Laws literally tear the house down as they go at it. All these things mix together to make a really underrated and unappreciated film that really deserves more credit then it's been given.

The One will never be held in high regard as Li's other films like Fearless but you know what? I'm totally okay with that . What we've been given is a great sci-fi action film that people should really sit back and enjoy and that's what movies are for, right? I thought so.

Ten Dead Men (2008)

Oh boy, where to start? this week I'm reviewing a movie made in my native UK. Ten Dead Men,  is a low budget gangster film that throws in some down and dirty martial arts action. Sounds good right? yeah, it does. Sadly the film, well, if you can call this a film, is one of the most dull and tedious films I've watched in a long time. The plot concerns Ryan (Brendan Carr), a former hit-man who goes on a one man rampage of revenge against the people who murdered his wife and left him for dead. Through out we learn of Ryan's life leading up to that day while being treated to him breaking people's bones like twigs.

Normally this type of movie would have me sitting back and having a great time but it fails so spectacularly in even making the characters remotely interesting and the plot dramatic that it ends up becoming a parody of itself. The script is diabolical and pretentious, the acting is so bad, anybody connected with it would be smart in deleting this from their CV and the direction is unambitious and pedestrian. The only saving grace and I mean, the only saving grace is the action scenes.

Yet even those were a test of my patience. Leading man Brendan Carr proves capable in the few fight scenes sprinkled throughout but the editing and camera work proves detrimental to the brutal fight choreography. Why is it so hard for some directors to shoot a martial arts fight sequence? They all claim to be influenced by the likes of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan but they just do an awful job of actually making a fight scene have good pacing, rhythm and impact that they end up insulting rather then honouring their idols. There are one or two fights which are pretty damn good but the rest are just slow and unexciting. Director Ross Boyask does a okay job but sadly he's got a long way to go before he can be held in high regard among fans with the likes of Isaac Florentine. Who knows? with a bigger budget and much, much, much better scripts he could become that.

Which now brings me to the part I've been dreading. The Cast. Wow, this has some of the worst acting I've seen in a movie, ever. You know your lead actor can't act when he has absolutely no dialogue and there's a constant narration through the film. I mean, sure, Carr stands there, looks mean, moves his arms slightly and walks about a bit but to call what he does in this film acting would be like going to Gordon Ramsey's house, saying his food tastes like fried cat vomit and defecating on his dining table, the worst insult to the profession you could possibly imagine. The narration tries to cover this up but it gets so out of hand that not one scene goes by that we don't hear it. If I want a constant narrative throughout the story I'll read a book or watch a documentary, not in a god damn ACTION MOVIE!

The rest of the cast are just as laughable. That grinning sod from Steps turns up, you know the one who has a face you want to slap ever time you see it. Fortunately we're spared from him actually doing anything when he gets strangled to death by our intrepid hero. The other characters are two incredibly camp gangsters who wave their guns about and stare longingly into each other's eyes and another is a sociopathic torturer who displays as much menace as a slightly annoyed bank manager. I'd go into the rest of the cast but it would just make me fly into a rage and rest of the review would just consist of various expletives and poo metaphors.

Ten Dead Men tries hard to both be a gritty gangland thriller and a bone crunching action film and while the fighting is sort of interesting to watch, it's really not enough to recommend a rental let alone buying it. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you might actually do that, might I recommend you spend the money on some smack instead as shooting that garbage in your veins would be less damaging to your health then watching this poor excuse for a film.

Ninja (2009)

Ninjas. whenever you hear the word ninjas you think of sneaky men in black pyjamas, carry big swords and don't get along with pirates. That last one is a scientific fact and  I defy anyone who thinks otherwise. The Ninja has always had a cult status in cinema, particularly martial arts cinema. During the 80's you couldn't move from one shelf to the other of your local video rental store without seeing a ninja film staring at you just begging to be rented and taken home to watched with a few beers and a good curry.

The ninja trend seemed to die a quiet death in the early 90's when the kick boxing fad came along and since then, apart from Japan, there's been very few attempts at bringing the genre back to contemporary action cinema but it would appear 2009 was the year of the Ninja when not one but two major ninja films saw release. The first one was the big budget and completely misunderstood Ninja Assassin (which will probably be reviewed by me at some point), the other is the film I'll be reviewing today which is the lesser know but just as good to watch Ninja, a simple and unimaginative title it may be but it sums up the film's content perfectly.

Raised in the art of Ninjutsu since he was abandoned by his parents as a young child, Casey (Scott Adkins) is chosen to return to his American homeland to protect the legendary Yoroi Bitsu (a chest which contains the weapons of the last Koga Ninja) from his mortal enemy Masazuka (Tsuyoshi Ihara).

The plot is strictly by the numbers but it's just an excuse to cram as much martial arts action into the film as humanly possible. If you're looking for the film which combines intense drama with realistic depictions of the ninja arts then you're going to be very disappointed, however on the other hand if you're looking for a film which has lots of blood spraying and swords clashing then Ninja is right up your alley. That in itself is the film's greatest strength; it knows what type of film it is, what type of audience is going for and doesn't strive to be anything more then what it is. There's an admirable attempt at a romantic sub-plot between the lead actors Scott Adkins and Mika Hijii but it comes off a bit cheesy and predictable most of the time.

The cast in itself is very good given this is a direct-to-DVD action film. Leading man Scott Adkins, who is merely a bit player in big Hollywood movies such as Bourne Ultimatum and Wolverine, has garnered a loyal cult following from his lesser know works in which he has more substantial roles. Movies such as Special Forces, Undisputed II and Undisputed III have allowed him to show not only is he a capable leading man but also an incredible martial artist but Hollywood have yet to realise what an indispensable asset Adkins can be when he appears on screen. Mika Hijii who plays Casey's love interest and fellow ass-kicker Namiko proves she's better then the material given to her as she gives quite competent performances in both the acting and action stakes and she plays off Adkins well in the many dialogue scenes they have. What would an action movie be with a good villain? Tsuyoshi Ihara is clearly having lots of fun playing Masazuka as he gets to wear some pretty cool ninja gear and kill lots of people in different, bloody and stylish ways.

This being a Ninja film it's obvious that the action is the focal point and as I mentioned earlier it delivers in spades. Adkins goes through each fight sequence effortlessly and gets to show off his full repertoire of moves while kicking some serious butt. The fight which takes place in a temple toward the end of the film really encapsulates what amazing skill Adkins has as an action star. The film is already gaining a cult following and that's in no small part to the film's director Isaac Florentine, who's made a name for himself directing low budget action films that have some of the most intricately choreographed action seen outside of Hong Kong. He's one of the few director's to really have a grasp of how to shoot martial arts action on screen and make it look fast, exciting and bone crunching. Something which a few Hollywood directors can't seem to get their heads around.

Ninja is one of the best action movies of 2009 and showcases some breath-taking action and some solid acting. I totally recommend you go out and get this as I guarantee that you will not be disappointed in the least.