Hell to pay

I really enjoyed this one, but not in the same way I usually enjoy these kinds of films.

An ex-cop turns revenge killer and he's given an option: go undercover or... well, it was never clear if the handler would bump him off on the spot or just toss him into prison forever - and straight away, I knew that this film would keep me enthralled!

The lead then partners up with a bona fide psychopath, who seems like a skinny boy faking a hard -man image - he's just too sweet until he snaps! Both men are actually psycho's, but one is the emotionally confused child of a suicide cult and the other is an almost emotionless thinker, on a path to accomplish his real mission, which he's using the yakuza to accomplish.

Some viewers may say the action is too violent, others may say it's stylish, while others still may say it's realistically brutal but, to me, the action scenes served the plot - as well they should in any good film!

The dialogue in this was excellent - I really enjoyed the scenes that took a much slower pace, because this is when the characters all really came to life and, ultimately, showed us the depth the film was striving to attain. And with its multiple layers, characters all working towards their own agendas and us never really knowing who's the good guy in this very grey world, there's a lot to be lost in the minutia, hence my giving this such a high rewatch value, when I seldom watch anything twice!

Is this a film for everybody?
Absolutely not! But for those who like character-driven dramas disguised as action-thrillers, this is superb!

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A spectacular piece of film-making

Many of you will turn this film off.

That's probably not encouraging... it is, however, the truth. To be honest, 10 or 12 minutes in, with nobody attacking Musashi from behind, no blood, men being hit and running out of frame to die, I wasn't impressed. When someone died, stayed down for a few seconds and got up to run around behind the other men to rejoin the "endless mass of opponents", I thought, "What is this amateur s***?" and I almost turned it off myself.
Thankfully, I didn't.

Yes, the limited extras/combatants hurt the production value almost to insulting levels, but get past that and you'll witness one of the most amazingly choreographed battles ever put on film.
That's not an exaggeration - the camera movements coupled with the technical brilliance of staging such relentless chaos is to be applauded.
Yes, the blood is CGI when it comes; yes, people conveniently die to one side so nobody can trip over them; yes, men move out of frame to die - and are even replaced by other dead men in different clothes, in different positions - and yes, there are boss battles like you're watching a live action Dynasty Warriors, and where you may even check your phone and the running time, deep down, there will be this sheer awe as to how the whole thing was pulled off.

The lead, Tak, must be insanely fit, as I didn't spot a single hidden take (you know: the camera whips or zooms in quickly to someone's back to mask the cut), and when he tiredly faces his final opponent, he genuinely looks like a man who's been through one hell of a battle! What keeps him on his feet is pure will power. This is acting at its finest, as Tak became Musashi!

I gave the story a high 7 and here's why: we don't need a stupid story! Too many times nowadays, bad writing has ruined great concepts; Musashi doesn't mess about: he's there to kill somebody and then to fight his way out.
Sorted.
Mad Max was praised for having no story... the difference is: I hated it! I hate cars and I didn't like Charlize Theron being ugly.
Crazy (Bad-arse) Musashi though, I thoroughly enjoyed (well, once I got past its obvious pitfalls).

And finally, the music: simply some of the best I've ever heard in a film!
Let me explain that...
Normally, I dont care much for the soundtrack and, unless it distracts me (cough. Umbrella Academy), I pay it no heed, but here, I was roused by the fighting spirit caught perfectly in audio; I felt the plight in my ears as Musashi was too tired to continue... and then as the music captured his sheer resistance to allowing any man the bragging rights of saying that he slew Musashi!

It's not a film I'd call a favourite, but I'm sure there's plenty to reference for film buffs who want to learn how to shoot a good, single take battle.

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Bad plotting, pacing and a jumbled final cut. How's that for an honest summary?

Wow, is this one a hot mess?

Have you ever read one of those comics with the "OP MC" (Over-Powered Main Character, for those who don't know) tag? Well, that's what we have right here!
The plot is almost nonsensical, the story jumps from set-piece to set-piece and the lead is so ridiculously OP that he literally walks through mobs, killing everyone without batting a eyelid. Dumb coincidences add to his invincible plot armour and, by the time this trash ends, you'll likely be thankful for a relatively short running time.

The fights are so-so, but the film is very well made - definitely not an amateur effort - and the woman who plays the lead's wife is gorgeous. These are pretty much the only pros I can think of!
An annoying female lead (the 17 year old), a toothless main villain and a motive revealed at the end that really doesn't make much sense are all pretty big complaints, but the film earned an extra half star for showing behind the camera clips during the end credits, which I've always enjoyed and were probably made popular by Jackie Chan.
Speaking of which, there are still a few of his films I've not seen and I'm sure any of those would've been more fun than this!

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Dudes play paper, scissors, stone for 2 hours. No, really!

I went blindly into this after seeing the rating. Sometimes, I prefer to not know what a film's about so it can surprise me... unfortunately, the only surprises here were that Micharl Douglas is in it and that some clown thought blokes playing a simple card game *to the death*, would be a good idea!

Some geezer has mental issues: he imagines himself turning into a clown and killing everyone he doesn't like, which he accepts as being okay by dehumanising them literally, as they all become monsters in his head.
While this all looks absolutely amazing - and for those who love crap like Transformers, prepare to be blown away! - for those of us who require a tad of mental stimulation, it's all a pointless distraction from the fact that, if you hate films about poker, like I do, this is 10x worse!

The set-up to the card games is competent, the nurse actress is super cute and I'm sure the male lead was picked to appeal to 13 year old girls, but, aside from this and the admittedly, astonishingly good CGI, there's absolutely nothing to recommend.

I actually turned this off just less than an hour from the end, when I decided that the hour I'd already given it was too much.
Knowing that they play paper, scissors, stone to the death, you can now decide for yourself whether or not you'll even give this film 5 minutes.

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Disappointing

When I heard the female star was a former gymnast who did all her own stunts, I was expecting some Jacky Chan-esque action; instead, all I got was some sword swinging and a cartwheel.

A girl who wants to be an action star gets isekai'ed into a parallel world, which desperately needs a hero... good thing she's trained her entire life for the role!
Yeah, it sounds cool and, though the tongue is firmly imbedded in the cheek throughout, there was a lot that could have been better, leaving my sole title word as a fitting description for this film: disappointing.

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Garbage trying to look pretty

I tried to watch this a few years ago, because someone recommended it, but it is pure crap!
Some actress goes to Germany - if memory serves correctly - to basically walk around, do nothing, tell her friend that she's been fucked by 200 men (well, okay, the exact number isn't given, but she implied she's a hoe) and to put some distance between herself and the married man she's currently getting shafted by.

Nothing happened for the longest of time and I ended up turning it off.
I'm only writing this review now because it popped up on one of my viewing lists and I recalled the absolute disdain I had for it.

Avoid.

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Excellent idea badly executed

This film started out great! In fact, I thought it was brilliant until it got to about 1/3 of the way through and then it plain nose-dived.

So some loser is framed for murder and he goes to prison, where he gets treated like the child-rapist is was convicted to be. He escapes and... the film went full retard (never go full retard!), right down to the lead turning Daredevil and the villain painfully over-acting his nervous breakdown.
Cliches abound, all plausability is stretched past breaking point, the plot becomes muddled... sigh, I really can't express how awful and stupid such a superb concept becomes when the writers - or whoever - simply cannot plot coherently.

Still, it gets a 4 for the great idea and an excellent first act... but honestly, once he breaks out of prison (maybe 30 minutes in), you'd be better off hitting the stop button and imagining your own ending.

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Give this a chance!

Honestly, when this started, it looked like a TV film, had hammy acting, a B-movie script and the shots were so cliché, I wondered if I was watching a spoof.
5 minutes in and I already wanted to turn it off. After 10, I was wondering how the Hell this "crap" got made!

Since I had been recommended this by a mate whose opinion I trust, I pressed pause, made a cup of hot chocolate and tried to continue... As it turned out, this film is incredibly tongue-in-cheek, it knows what it is and neither apologises nor pretends to be anything else, instead, gleefully cheeses its way forward, since all the "play it straight" versions of this kind of story have been told over and over already!

Having recognised this, to my surprise, after 30 minutes, I was really into this film!
Where other tales like this rely on the action or pretty photography to make them excel, The Assassin shies away from all that as it purposely underplays itself, sticking to its corny ethos, making itself a thoroughly enjoyable feature without much fuss.

As I type this review, the film over less than 30 minutes ago, I can 100% say that, not only did I really like it, but I'd definitely watch a sequel!
Seriously: give this one a chance and you might just be as surprised as I was.

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Steers away from the comics enough to keep its readers entertained, but pales in comparison

I'm going to again start out by mentioning how ridiculously high scores are on MDL - it's like, if something was good, it has to be a 9 or 10, and if something is 5, that means it's God-awful!
NO! 1 is terrible, 5 is middling a 10 is the best sh*t you've ever seen in your life!
That said, my rating reflects my honest opinion of this, based on a RELIABLE rating system, and I by no means hated it.

After the first episode of this, I was worried that it would be a direct live-action copy and paste, although the beating at the end of the episode was nowhere near as satisfying as it was in the comic.

Luckily, the creative team behind this chose to alter things, so that those who have read the comic wouldn't feel like this was a waste of time; paradoxically, that also ended up costing this quite a bit. You see, there's this really stupid sub-plot for a few episodes about how the gang takes down some loan-shark... yeah, kind of like Scooby Doo but with some violence tossed in! It was a really, really weak and unbelievable arc that, thankfully, was quickly brushed aside to focus on the main story.

I'll point out now that the acting in this was damn good!
I don't usually comment on the acting so much, but this would've failed utterly had the cast not pulled off their roles so well.

I won't go too much into things and risk ruining it all, but I ended this being, extremely disappointed that a certain recording wasn't spread online and the abusive scum-politician exposed because of it, which really left a sour taste in my mouth of how the absolute root cause of everything got away completely! It also meant that the main villain escaped too, and also the vigilante-style justice that only one of the antagonists actually properly received. So that was incredibly disappointing too, wanting to see certain people being unable to ever hold a pen again(!), or at least ending up in juvie, thanks to the aforementioned clip not being circulated.

In the end, it was a pretty good drama I'd recommend to younger adults, but a bit too immature and unrewarding for anyone older, or those who have already read the comics.

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Not for everyone, but for its target audience, it's brilliant!

Slow? Yes.
Pretentious? Some will say so.
Worth watching? See the above.

A man is found dead at the bottom of a mountain; the lead detective is very thorough but also unhappily married, and the widower is a stunner he feels himself gradually falling for. As emotions begin to cloud his judgement and the case becomes much too personal, can the detective re-establish a professional distance... and does he want to?

This film reminded me of Hitchcock's stuff; I personally enjoyed it a great deal but I can understand why others wouldn't like it.
The acting is really good - I was totally enthralled by the characters - the script is definitely faultless for the most part and, where I really liked the way it was shot and cut together, there will be many who will say it's "arty" or "pretentious"... and I can see their point, but it's by no means one of those crappy style over substance type of films.

Recommended.

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The last line of defence

(Important note:
I won't look up how historically accurate this depiction is, so everything below is based 100% on the film)

The Japanese army raged relatively unchecked across northern China, crushing the tiny, weak forces that stood against it. As Chinese soldiers fled towards the British-protected Shanghai, they were caught and executed by their own as deserters, the Japanese, who showed no mercy to the enemy... and ultimately, turned away from Shanghai by armed British troops operating under a makeshift peace treaty that meant no Japanese could enter, as long as Chinese soldiers didn't retreat there.

For the handful of Chinese we're introduced to at the beginning, separated from their unit whilst heading to the last line of defence by Chinese troops, there was little hope, as only deserters and the dead got separated.

Being captured by their own and made do the "traitors' work" of repairing defences under threat of sniper fire, these few men - a mere boy, one of them - are soon forced to flee, but to see their comrades slaughtered as they ran... is that really an option?
But to stay means to kill. How can a simple farmer kill another human being?
And so, the 3 day battle changes each of them; we see how men bond as brothers in life and death situations; how a few soldiers could inspire an entire nation to rise up off its knees and fight.


As for the actual film: well, it's amazing (but be sure not to miss the necessary exposition explaining why the Japanese can't just bomb the building, or you'll think there was a serious plot-hole (there wasn't!).

The running time is well over 2 hours yet it never drags, and not a single moment feels wasted.

It used to be that China envied Hollywood's war epics, but the tide may well be turning.
Definitely recommended.

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You've seen it all before... and better

Tae kwon do fights, beautiful women, evil gangsters and a kick-arse cop, surely all the right ingredients for an amazing action film?

With the first act being a flashback - with a flashback - and some pretty poor editing, the jumbled mess renders all those spinning kicks and stabbings quite meaningless. Actually, the first 20 minutes or so are kind of frustrating to watch, but it all eventually leads to a former cop deciding that he's going to die anyway, so he may as well do the right thing before he passes.
Following him is a reporter whose video camera has infinite battery life, who makes it his mission to document the cop's ultra-violent path of righting wrongs, which includes slashing the faces and ending the lives of anyone whom he judges to be an ally of his arch-nemesis.

It's honestly tough to get into a film that's so shabbily put together, which is a shame, because, had the camera angles been better, it at least could have been a decent action film, even if it is a brainless one, with the two sisters the only characters even remotely worthy of giving a damn about.

So, what could - should - have been at least an average 5/10 instead scores lower... and that's a pity because, with a tighter screenplay, a better editor and camera crew, this easily could have had the potential for an 8.

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Don't let the bad poster turn you off of this excellent film!

I was always taught not to judge a book by its cover... unfortunately, the sucky poster put me off of this film for way too long. Luckily, I happened upon the trailer and thought, "Damn, that looks cool!"

The film follows a talented climber who hasn't been able to find a job. Korea being the way it is, that kind of makes him a loser, despite the fact that the very opening scene shows his sheer will power and talent. We then get to know him as being polite, caring and... well, not the loser a lack of employment paints him as. I mean: I'd hire a bloke like that!

Going to a family party, he meets the love of his life, who had previously turned down his advances, as she was probably too worried about ruining their friendship to escalate things. She's beautiful and a great climber herself - which is just as well, because a terrorist attack unleashing poisonous gas on the city means that the pair have to keep climbing, higher and higher, until they can be rescued.

I can't recommend this film enough! It has action, suspense, pure unselfish heroism and it kept me engaged on an emotional level that is surprising for the genre.

The stinker of a film poster/cover literally reads, EXIT, but trust me: once you get into this, you'll love it.

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SUCCESS!

Let me start of by saying: this is a totally different film to the first.

The original, The Fable, was action packed throughout, had some really funny moments, cool characters and ended, not just making me want a sequel, but hinting that there would definitely be one.
To my surprise, this sequel had almost a totally different tone, didn't deliver on the hinted at tale to come, yet still delivered a very good story... with the bonus of one of the best action scenes I've seen in years!

I don't want to overly compare the two films after stating that they're very, very different, but I only watched this because of the first; that said, although - aside from the above mentioned scene - this didn't live up to my expectations, it was a damn good film and I'd recommend it.
Just don't go in hoping for more of the first of even expecting this to be closure.

I'm really looking forward to the third film!

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