Doomsday (2008)
48% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 63 reviews)
Runtime: 113 minutes (unrated version)
Directed by: Neil Marshall
Starring: Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, Craig Conway, Adrian Lester, Malcolm McDowell
From: Universal/Rogue/Intrepid/Crystal Sky
As this is the last day of the year and in the past some people have thought that the end of the year = end of the world, it’s appropriate that I talk about a movie released in early 2008 concerning a post-apocalyptic society, a deadly Reaper Virus and the lengths England goes through to find a cure for it. It’s by Neil Marshall, and the only other flick of his I saw was The Descent, which most people gush over for but I thought it was pretty overrated myself. But, with this…
Doomsday is about the Reaper Virus starting in Glasgow, Scotland in 2008, where it laid waste to the town and it got to the point where the entire country is walled off to the rest of the world and everyone in it is left to die, pretty much. Flash forward 25 years later and the virus manages to spread to London; big trouble. So, the government sends in a team (including Eden (Mitra)) to hunt for scientist Kane (McDowell) in Scotland who was working on a cure for the virus. From there you get everything from a Bentley Continental GT (hey, even if they’re sitting for 25 years they start right up, according to this flick) to young cannibal punks, from animals being destroyed by machinery to a medieval society. It’s also obviously inspired by such movies as the Mad Max flicks, Excalibur, Escape From New York, and quite a few others.
Sure, it’s clear that it’s a homage to those movies of old and in general the characters are just there, but dammit, if you go with it and not think too much about the plot, you should have a great time with it, especially if you’re a fan of the movies that it was inspired by. There’s a nice variety of action, from hand to hand combat, to shootouts, to a wild car chase involving that aforementioned Bentley. There’s also very black humor, reminiscent of that era also. The soundtrack at times sounds like something from the late 70’s to early 80’s and characters have names like Carpenter and Miller, further showing the nod to respect to those classic flicks of old. But, this wild mish-mash stands on its own, I say, and like with Rambo, if you enjoy very bloody violence, this is for you, as you often get that.
Note that from what I understand, the unrated version doesn’t add any sort of violence or nudity or anything like that, but rather expands random scenes with random stuff. I can’t say if it’s any better than the theatrical version or not, so either version is fine for viewing.
I'll be back in a few days with my first review of 2010; who knows what it will be, though.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Rambo
Rambo (2008)
37% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 140 reviews)
Runtime: 91 minutes
Directed by: Sylvester Stallone
Starring: Sly himself, Julie Benz, Matthew Marsden, Maung Maung Khim
From: Lions Gate/Weinstein Company/Millennium Films/Nu Image/etc.
Finally, I’ve returned and amongst other things, I was in Kansas on a vacation to hang out with family. But now I can do this, and at times I’ll be able to watch these movies on a Blu-Ray player. Yep, pretty great and now I feel like I’m in the 21st century.
I decided to rent this from Blockbuster, as I’ve heard from elsewhere that this is a quality Blu-Ray disc that will demonstrate how great the format is. And that was true. I saw this once on the big screen at a drive-in, of all places, then I saw it on DVD but it’s been more than a year since the DVD viewing.
I’ve seen all four of the Rambo flicks; it’s something that you have this series when it’s based on an anti-war novel that was much more ambiguous. First Blood is a really good dramatic flick about a Vietnam vet who gets mistreated in a small town and he snaps. The second one is a rousing action flick where we cheered on vicariously as Rambo kicked some Commie ass in Vietnam. The third one has him going to Afghanistan to assist a group that pretty much morphed into the Taliban (well, whoops, but at the time they hated the Commies! Still, whoops) to save his old SAS commander, Col. Trautman. This one, though, was different.
John Rambo is now in northern Thailand, operating a longboat for hire, and is an old bitter man at what has happened with his life. A group of Christian missionaries come to him to ask him to deliver them to Burma, a horrible war-torn place where the government are at constant battle with the Karen tribe of the country and as seen in the movie, do horrible things to those that oppose the military dictatorship. In fact, Stallone made the movie to give attention to what is a problem that is ignored by much of the world for whatever reasons. Much filming was done near the area and the evil military guys are actually the Karen people themselves that had to deal with the oppressive government and they risked a lot to be in this flick. It’s quite the story. But back to the movie… Rambo is finally convinced to take them to their destination, but they get kidnapped and it takes Rambo-having to resort to his old killing ways-and a band of mercenaries hired by the leader of the missionaries, coming to the area to look for his people, to try and make the rescue.
Sure, at times some of the characters are dopey and one-note, but overall, this is a *very* violent and bloody film where you see some horrific stuff done by the military to innocent citizens, and extremely graphic stuff overall done by them and Rambo & gang in revenge. But, it’s a great character arc for Rambo and things come full circle for him and the ending is a satisfying coda for the character. Of course, there will be a 5th film in the franchise that has had several different plots and now will be around the Mexican slave trade, but the coda is still pretty nice. Stallone films the movie well (you can actually see what happens in the action scenes, as there’s no shaky cam BS; that’s pretty novel these days, so you get to see all the carnage) and there is little downtime; things move briskly. So, it’s a satisfying experience and if you enjoy the Rambo character in those other films and enjoy gloriously violent movies, this is a must-see, especially if it's on Blu-Ray, as that disc's picture and sound are stupendous.
I'll be back tomorrow with another take on a Blu-Ray movie.
37% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 140 reviews)
Runtime: 91 minutes
Directed by: Sylvester Stallone
Starring: Sly himself, Julie Benz, Matthew Marsden, Maung Maung Khim
From: Lions Gate/Weinstein Company/Millennium Films/Nu Image/etc.
Finally, I’ve returned and amongst other things, I was in Kansas on a vacation to hang out with family. But now I can do this, and at times I’ll be able to watch these movies on a Blu-Ray player. Yep, pretty great and now I feel like I’m in the 21st century.
I decided to rent this from Blockbuster, as I’ve heard from elsewhere that this is a quality Blu-Ray disc that will demonstrate how great the format is. And that was true. I saw this once on the big screen at a drive-in, of all places, then I saw it on DVD but it’s been more than a year since the DVD viewing.
I’ve seen all four of the Rambo flicks; it’s something that you have this series when it’s based on an anti-war novel that was much more ambiguous. First Blood is a really good dramatic flick about a Vietnam vet who gets mistreated in a small town and he snaps. The second one is a rousing action flick where we cheered on vicariously as Rambo kicked some Commie ass in Vietnam. The third one has him going to Afghanistan to assist a group that pretty much morphed into the Taliban (well, whoops, but at the time they hated the Commies! Still, whoops) to save his old SAS commander, Col. Trautman. This one, though, was different.
John Rambo is now in northern Thailand, operating a longboat for hire, and is an old bitter man at what has happened with his life. A group of Christian missionaries come to him to ask him to deliver them to Burma, a horrible war-torn place where the government are at constant battle with the Karen tribe of the country and as seen in the movie, do horrible things to those that oppose the military dictatorship. In fact, Stallone made the movie to give attention to what is a problem that is ignored by much of the world for whatever reasons. Much filming was done near the area and the evil military guys are actually the Karen people themselves that had to deal with the oppressive government and they risked a lot to be in this flick. It’s quite the story. But back to the movie… Rambo is finally convinced to take them to their destination, but they get kidnapped and it takes Rambo-having to resort to his old killing ways-and a band of mercenaries hired by the leader of the missionaries, coming to the area to look for his people, to try and make the rescue.
Sure, at times some of the characters are dopey and one-note, but overall, this is a *very* violent and bloody film where you see some horrific stuff done by the military to innocent citizens, and extremely graphic stuff overall done by them and Rambo & gang in revenge. But, it’s a great character arc for Rambo and things come full circle for him and the ending is a satisfying coda for the character. Of course, there will be a 5th film in the franchise that has had several different plots and now will be around the Mexican slave trade, but the coda is still pretty nice. Stallone films the movie well (you can actually see what happens in the action scenes, as there’s no shaky cam BS; that’s pretty novel these days, so you get to see all the carnage) and there is little downtime; things move briskly. So, it’s a satisfying experience and if you enjoy the Rambo character in those other films and enjoy gloriously violent movies, this is a must-see, especially if it's on Blu-Ray, as that disc's picture and sound are stupendous.
I'll be back tomorrow with another take on a Blu-Ray movie.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Avatar
Avatar (2009)
82% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 218 reviews)
Runtime: 162 minutes
Directed by: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez
From: 20th Century Fox
Here is a film that I’ve heard about ever since I heard a brief mention of it in the book The 50 Greatest Movies Never Made, which came out 10 years ago. It wasn’t one of the 50 movies, but rather it got brought up in the Honorable Mention section. Interestingly enough, a planned Star Trek movie about the original crew and their beginnings in Starfleet Academy was one of the 50 Greatest Movies; funny then that this idea was expanded upon and brought to life in the big hit movie that came out in May, which was better than what I thought it would be. I can also say the same about this movie.
In case you’re one of the few that don’t know, it’s set in 2154 and it’s about a human corporation that is on a planet called Pandora, inhabited by blue human-cats known as the Na’vi. Working with the corporation is a scientist team that creates avatars, which allow for humans to control a created Na’vi creature remotely. One guy, Jake Sully, joins the project after his twin brother is killed; Jake happens to be paralyzed below the waist due to his prior tour as a Marine. I won’t spoil too much after that as hey, the trailers made it clear how the movie would go.
I’ll admit that the story isn’t exactly complex; not that I was expecting The Usual Suspects or Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels here, but I can understand why some people didn’t care for it due to its simplistic story. Me, I didn’t really listen to the hype and how the movie “would be a game-changer” and all those grandiose claims, some of them coming from the filmmakers themselves. But, if you aren’t bothered by a pulp-y story and instead can kick back and enjoy the awesome visuals (especially in 3-D; next month I’ll see it in IMAX 3-D), then you should enjoy this, even though it’s a lengthy film; my patience was never tried and I enjoyed being in that world and how unique things were on Earth, even though a lot of it is based on Earth creatures. Fancy that. The film just looks great and in 3-D, it’s even better. It took Cameron so long to make this as it took that long for the technology to come along and make the movie possible. It ends up being amazing and it’s the best computer effects I’ve ever seen; it eclipses what has come before it, I say. The action stuff is a blast too.
So, overall, if you want to see this, do so on the big screen as seeing it at home just won’t be the same. Don’t listen to the idiot fanboys out there who expected way too much out of it or were expecting something else. Instead, if you can tolerate subtlety that is about as faint as a chainsaw to the face (the Na’vi being like Native Americans is laid on pretty thick) then you should enjoy the flick that is part action, part romance, part drama, and all entertainment, as you get to see the likes of sniveling corporate types, a macho Colonel (Lang, in a tremendous scenery-chewing performance), and a noble scientist (Weaver). The audience I saw it with Sunday night really dug it, giving it the loudest cheers and applause I can ever recall at a theatre. So, I think you’ll end up enjoying it too, and I’m saying this as someone who before the movie wasn’t sure how it would be, given the underwhelming trailers I saw beforehand.
I'll be back and post something by the very end of year at the latest, I promise.
82% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 218 reviews)
Runtime: 162 minutes
Directed by: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez
From: 20th Century Fox
Here is a film that I’ve heard about ever since I heard a brief mention of it in the book The 50 Greatest Movies Never Made, which came out 10 years ago. It wasn’t one of the 50 movies, but rather it got brought up in the Honorable Mention section. Interestingly enough, a planned Star Trek movie about the original crew and their beginnings in Starfleet Academy was one of the 50 Greatest Movies; funny then that this idea was expanded upon and brought to life in the big hit movie that came out in May, which was better than what I thought it would be. I can also say the same about this movie.
In case you’re one of the few that don’t know, it’s set in 2154 and it’s about a human corporation that is on a planet called Pandora, inhabited by blue human-cats known as the Na’vi. Working with the corporation is a scientist team that creates avatars, which allow for humans to control a created Na’vi creature remotely. One guy, Jake Sully, joins the project after his twin brother is killed; Jake happens to be paralyzed below the waist due to his prior tour as a Marine. I won’t spoil too much after that as hey, the trailers made it clear how the movie would go.
I’ll admit that the story isn’t exactly complex; not that I was expecting The Usual Suspects or Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels here, but I can understand why some people didn’t care for it due to its simplistic story. Me, I didn’t really listen to the hype and how the movie “would be a game-changer” and all those grandiose claims, some of them coming from the filmmakers themselves. But, if you aren’t bothered by a pulp-y story and instead can kick back and enjoy the awesome visuals (especially in 3-D; next month I’ll see it in IMAX 3-D), then you should enjoy this, even though it’s a lengthy film; my patience was never tried and I enjoyed being in that world and how unique things were on Earth, even though a lot of it is based on Earth creatures. Fancy that. The film just looks great and in 3-D, it’s even better. It took Cameron so long to make this as it took that long for the technology to come along and make the movie possible. It ends up being amazing and it’s the best computer effects I’ve ever seen; it eclipses what has come before it, I say. The action stuff is a blast too.
So, overall, if you want to see this, do so on the big screen as seeing it at home just won’t be the same. Don’t listen to the idiot fanboys out there who expected way too much out of it or were expecting something else. Instead, if you can tolerate subtlety that is about as faint as a chainsaw to the face (the Na’vi being like Native Americans is laid on pretty thick) then you should enjoy the flick that is part action, part romance, part drama, and all entertainment, as you get to see the likes of sniveling corporate types, a macho Colonel (Lang, in a tremendous scenery-chewing performance), and a noble scientist (Weaver). The audience I saw it with Sunday night really dug it, giving it the loudest cheers and applause I can ever recall at a theatre. So, I think you’ll end up enjoying it too, and I’m saying this as someone who before the movie wasn’t sure how it would be, given the underwhelming trailers I saw beforehand.
I'll be back and post something by the very end of year at the latest, I promise.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Porky's
Porky's (1982)
Runtime: 94 minutes
Directed by: Bob Clark
Starring: Dan Monahan, Mark Herrier, Wyatt Knight, Kim Cattrall, Nancy Parsons
From: 20th Century Fox
My apologies for getting this up so late but I’ve been busy with various things the past two weeks, so it’s only now that I’m able to do this; it isn’t something I have watched recently but I’ve seen at least parts of it many times before (it’s very re-watchable to me, and most movies aren’t like that with me), so here you go.
If you’re a fan of raunchy comedies (such as, hey, The Hangover, which I’ll get on DVD sooner or later) then this is something for you. It’s set in South Florida (and based on actual exploits, so they say, in the lives of in the 1950’s and it’s a group of wild and horny teenagers at Angel Beach High School and it’s basically a set of vignettes in them attempting to get laid, spying on girls showering, and going to a nightclub in the middle of the Everglades known as Porky’s, in order to score with the ladies there. Throughout you had various subplots that all play off in the end, such as Catrall’s character and why she’s called Lassie. Not to spoil anything, but she doesn’t spend the entire movie fully clothed and I’ll put it that way.
It’s something you should have a good time with, as you can tell it’s a flick that the cast had a good time with. Many lol’s all around. It moves at a fast pace, too. There’s even a moral thing with a Jewish character that just moved to town, and even the edgier characters find out that he’s not so bad after all. The ending is a lot of fun. So, you can either check it out on a channel like Fox Movie Channel or you can find the Ultimate Collection of all three Porky’s flicks for a cheap price. As for the sequels, the second one is entertaining enough, although it falls apart with about 20 minutes to go; I guess it isn’t surprising if it includes everything from the KKK to a Seminole Indian, to a random guy playing a zombie, to Shakespeare and censorship! The last one has Porky returning and it involves blackmail, a riverboat gambling operation, and a high school basketball championship. It’s dopey at times but I still had fun with it. The first one is the best, though.
Now, there’s been talk of a remake (from Howard Stern!) of the original but it hasn’t come through. Apparently, there is going to be a college sequel that ignores the third flick and the remake still may arrive one of these days. I don't have high hopes for those flicks.
I'll be back by this time next week, as by then I will have seen Avatar, and now I'm real interested in how that flick turns out.
Runtime: 94 minutes
Directed by: Bob Clark
Starring: Dan Monahan, Mark Herrier, Wyatt Knight, Kim Cattrall, Nancy Parsons
From: 20th Century Fox
My apologies for getting this up so late but I’ve been busy with various things the past two weeks, so it’s only now that I’m able to do this; it isn’t something I have watched recently but I’ve seen at least parts of it many times before (it’s very re-watchable to me, and most movies aren’t like that with me), so here you go.
If you’re a fan of raunchy comedies (such as, hey, The Hangover, which I’ll get on DVD sooner or later) then this is something for you. It’s set in South Florida (and based on actual exploits, so they say, in the lives of in the 1950’s and it’s a group of wild and horny teenagers at Angel Beach High School and it’s basically a set of vignettes in them attempting to get laid, spying on girls showering, and going to a nightclub in the middle of the Everglades known as Porky’s, in order to score with the ladies there. Throughout you had various subplots that all play off in the end, such as Catrall’s character and why she’s called Lassie. Not to spoil anything, but she doesn’t spend the entire movie fully clothed and I’ll put it that way.
It’s something you should have a good time with, as you can tell it’s a flick that the cast had a good time with. Many lol’s all around. It moves at a fast pace, too. There’s even a moral thing with a Jewish character that just moved to town, and even the edgier characters find out that he’s not so bad after all. The ending is a lot of fun. So, you can either check it out on a channel like Fox Movie Channel or you can find the Ultimate Collection of all three Porky’s flicks for a cheap price. As for the sequels, the second one is entertaining enough, although it falls apart with about 20 minutes to go; I guess it isn’t surprising if it includes everything from the KKK to a Seminole Indian, to a random guy playing a zombie, to Shakespeare and censorship! The last one has Porky returning and it involves blackmail, a riverboat gambling operation, and a high school basketball championship. It’s dopey at times but I still had fun with it. The first one is the best, though.
Now, there’s been talk of a remake (from Howard Stern!) of the original but it hasn’t come through. Apparently, there is going to be a college sequel that ignores the third flick and the remake still may arrive one of these days. I don't have high hopes for those flicks.
I'll be back by this time next week, as by then I will have seen Avatar, and now I'm real interested in how that flick turns out.
Friday, December 4, 2009
The Thing
The Thing (1982)
Runtime: 109 minutes
Directed by: John Carpenter
Starring: Kurt Russell (no relation, I swear), Keith David, T.K. Carter, Richard Dysart, Wilford Brimley
From: Universal
Here is a flick that I’ve only seen twice now, but I need to have in my collection one of these days rather than borrowing it from the local library.
If you haven’t seen this classic horror flick yet*, it’s about a research team representing the United States in Antarctica and how they ran into trouble once a crazy Norwegian chases a dog into camp and the Norseman gets killed. The dog isn’t a dog, but actually an alien organism (the title creature) which can assimilate any living organism and once it comes into contact with a human being while they are alone, they’ll kill the person and transform into that person and do a perfect imitation of the person. Explained like that, it may sound goofy, but the film is pretty great. It’s very suspenseful as there’s paranoia all around with people arguing with others over whom is real and who is just an imitation. It’s quite tense and it’s all great, especially the special effects, which still look tremendous 27 years later and in the planned prequel movie to this which is supposed to be made one of these days, it will be computer CGI and you know that it won’t look as good. Also, I have a feeling that they won’t be able to get the quality of actors that you had here and have them deliver as good performances as you had here. I tell you, Wilford Brimley here wasn’t the kind old fellow who shills oatmeal or diabetes medication!
• Which is based on the short-story Who Goes There and was previously made into the 1951 movie The Thing From Another World, although this film is more faithful to the story than TTFAW was.
So, if you haven’t seen this movie yet and you like scary flicks which have some horrifying/strange images, this is a must-see.
I’ll be back in about a week’s time with at least one new review.
Runtime: 109 minutes
Directed by: John Carpenter
Starring: Kurt Russell (no relation, I swear), Keith David, T.K. Carter, Richard Dysart, Wilford Brimley
From: Universal
Here is a flick that I’ve only seen twice now, but I need to have in my collection one of these days rather than borrowing it from the local library.
If you haven’t seen this classic horror flick yet*, it’s about a research team representing the United States in Antarctica and how they ran into trouble once a crazy Norwegian chases a dog into camp and the Norseman gets killed. The dog isn’t a dog, but actually an alien organism (the title creature) which can assimilate any living organism and once it comes into contact with a human being while they are alone, they’ll kill the person and transform into that person and do a perfect imitation of the person. Explained like that, it may sound goofy, but the film is pretty great. It’s very suspenseful as there’s paranoia all around with people arguing with others over whom is real and who is just an imitation. It’s quite tense and it’s all great, especially the special effects, which still look tremendous 27 years later and in the planned prequel movie to this which is supposed to be made one of these days, it will be computer CGI and you know that it won’t look as good. Also, I have a feeling that they won’t be able to get the quality of actors that you had here and have them deliver as good performances as you had here. I tell you, Wilford Brimley here wasn’t the kind old fellow who shills oatmeal or diabetes medication!
• Which is based on the short-story Who Goes There and was previously made into the 1951 movie The Thing From Another World, although this film is more faithful to the story than TTFAW was.
So, if you haven’t seen this movie yet and you like scary flicks which have some horrifying/strange images, this is a must-see.
I’ll be back in about a week’s time with at least one new review.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Ninja Assassin
Ninja Assassin (2009)
28% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 78 reviews)
Runtime: 99 minutes
Directed by: James McTiegue
Starring: Rain, Naomie Harris, Ben Miles, Rick Yune, Sho Kosugi
From: Warner Brothers/Legendary Pictures/Dark Castle Entertainment
Here is a movie that I saw on Saturday night, due to me being bored and not having anything to do; having a theatre that’s only 3 and a half miles away from where I live is pretty convenient. It’s a flick I’ve heard about for months now but when it came near releasing time, there were mixed reviews, and I’m not talking about the critics; I’m talking about action/martial arts fans.
This is about a young ninja (Korean pop star Rain; there's a joke about him looking like he was in a boy band; he WAS in a boy band way back when. Some people laughed in the theatre in a way that suggested they were "smart" and knew that bit of trivia too) and it shows his current life and how he grew up to be a ninja; that process was arduous and very difficult, to say the least, especially if it’s run by a legendary martial arts actor like Sho Kosugi. Mixed in with that is an investigation by EUROPOL in Berlin (where much of the current-day scenes are set in) into the role that ninjas have had in history in assassinating people, thus explaining the title. Without giving too much away, Rain’s character ends up being a protagonist that you root for.
The action and blood… you’ll get to see in the opening scene that it’s *very* bloody and violent; a ninja lays waste to some ruffians at their hideout and it’s glorious stuff seeing them get torn to shreds (literally) and all the blood flying about, even if it’s CGI and it’s not that realistic. The rest of the movie doesn’t match the opening in terms of intensity, but there’s a good amount of wild action that you get to see. Sure, it’s filmed in a way that isn’t what I’d call “shaky cam” but it’s very quick editing and the camera doesn’t stay in place and moves around a lot. It’s an unfortunate trend of action moves in recent years but given the gimmick of ninjas being so stealthy, I can excuse it somewhat, and it didn’t bother me too much in this movie as much as it did some others. The action was entertaining and there was bloody carnage.
As for the story.. it’s for the birds. Then again, even in those “chop-socky” movies that I rate highly (such as some of Jackie Chan’s American flicks or the great duo of Tony Jaa’s Ong-Bak and The Protector) have stories that aren’t worth talking about but the action stuff is so grand you don’t care that much about the stories. If the story would’ve been better and the action filmed more satisfactory to my tastes, this would’ve been pretty awesome; as is, though, I had a good time with it and if you like this sort of flick, you may want to go see it on the big screen… at least in a dollar theatre in like 2 months or so if you must.
28% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 78 reviews)
Runtime: 99 minutes
Directed by: James McTiegue
Starring: Rain, Naomie Harris, Ben Miles, Rick Yune, Sho Kosugi
From: Warner Brothers/Legendary Pictures/Dark Castle Entertainment
Here is a movie that I saw on Saturday night, due to me being bored and not having anything to do; having a theatre that’s only 3 and a half miles away from where I live is pretty convenient. It’s a flick I’ve heard about for months now but when it came near releasing time, there were mixed reviews, and I’m not talking about the critics; I’m talking about action/martial arts fans.
This is about a young ninja (Korean pop star Rain; there's a joke about him looking like he was in a boy band; he WAS in a boy band way back when. Some people laughed in the theatre in a way that suggested they were "smart" and knew that bit of trivia too) and it shows his current life and how he grew up to be a ninja; that process was arduous and very difficult, to say the least, especially if it’s run by a legendary martial arts actor like Sho Kosugi. Mixed in with that is an investigation by EUROPOL in Berlin (where much of the current-day scenes are set in) into the role that ninjas have had in history in assassinating people, thus explaining the title. Without giving too much away, Rain’s character ends up being a protagonist that you root for.
The action and blood… you’ll get to see in the opening scene that it’s *very* bloody and violent; a ninja lays waste to some ruffians at their hideout and it’s glorious stuff seeing them get torn to shreds (literally) and all the blood flying about, even if it’s CGI and it’s not that realistic. The rest of the movie doesn’t match the opening in terms of intensity, but there’s a good amount of wild action that you get to see. Sure, it’s filmed in a way that isn’t what I’d call “shaky cam” but it’s very quick editing and the camera doesn’t stay in place and moves around a lot. It’s an unfortunate trend of action moves in recent years but given the gimmick of ninjas being so stealthy, I can excuse it somewhat, and it didn’t bother me too much in this movie as much as it did some others. The action was entertaining and there was bloody carnage.
As for the story.. it’s for the birds. Then again, even in those “chop-socky” movies that I rate highly (such as some of Jackie Chan’s American flicks or the great duo of Tony Jaa’s Ong-Bak and The Protector) have stories that aren’t worth talking about but the action stuff is so grand you don’t care that much about the stories. If the story would’ve been better and the action filmed more satisfactory to my tastes, this would’ve been pretty awesome; as is, though, I had a good time with it and if you like this sort of flick, you may want to go see it on the big screen… at least in a dollar theatre in like 2 months or so if you must.
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