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Arahan, directed by Seung-wan Ryoo, 2004
There was a subtitle for this film, something along the lines of Suburban Action Masters or something, but it's not on the title of the box and seeing as you can't skip the previews on the disc, I don't have the energy to look it up again.
I love martial arts films. There is just something about watching someone beat the hell out of someone else with extreme skill that gets my blood pumping.
But I'm sick and tired of seeing people fly across the screen on invisible wires. I don't want my fighting to be a carefully choreographed ballet. I want it to be a raw beat down. I want bones broken and I want blood.
I picked up this movie just because the guy who writes the blurbs for the back of the cases at Video 21 (since most of their Asian section is imported) wrote that it was a "beastly action flick". I'm all for a "beastly action flick", but screw this. If it's not going to be even moderately serious it needs to be so over the top that it's just funny (see Stephen Chow films). I have a feeling that in Korea this film would be marketed to the young teen audience, so it isn't a fault of the film, but it just didn't do anything for me.
The CGI used was actually above average for the CGI used in such fantasy-fight flicks, but it still was rather laughable at times. But it was chock full of cliche camera movements and fight choreography. The only thing original about it was the story of Tao masters working normal jobs in the inner city because no one has an interest in martial arts anymore. Hell, even that may not be all too original (though it was the first time I had seen it).
And my god was the hero of the film innnnnnnnnncredibly annoying. He was playing the bumbling idiot who can never get things right, always rushing in etc, etc, but it just went past the line and became nails on a blackboard anytime he opened his mouth.
1 out of 5
The One Sentence Review - Rent it for your tweens, Arahan isn't even a joke enjoyable by adults.
There was a subtitle for this film, something along the lines of Suburban Action Masters or something, but it's not on the title of the box and seeing as you can't skip the previews on the disc, I don't have the energy to look it up again.
I love martial arts films. There is just something about watching someone beat the hell out of someone else with extreme skill that gets my blood pumping.
But I'm sick and tired of seeing people fly across the screen on invisible wires. I don't want my fighting to be a carefully choreographed ballet. I want it to be a raw beat down. I want bones broken and I want blood.
I picked up this movie just because the guy who writes the blurbs for the back of the cases at Video 21 (since most of their Asian section is imported) wrote that it was a "beastly action flick". I'm all for a "beastly action flick", but screw this. If it's not going to be even moderately serious it needs to be so over the top that it's just funny (see Stephen Chow films). I have a feeling that in Korea this film would be marketed to the young teen audience, so it isn't a fault of the film, but it just didn't do anything for me.
The CGI used was actually above average for the CGI used in such fantasy-fight flicks, but it still was rather laughable at times. But it was chock full of cliche camera movements and fight choreography. The only thing original about it was the story of Tao masters working normal jobs in the inner city because no one has an interest in martial arts anymore. Hell, even that may not be all too original (though it was the first time I had seen it).
And my god was the hero of the film innnnnnnnnncredibly annoying. He was playing the bumbling idiot who can never get things right, always rushing in etc, etc, but it just went past the line and became nails on a blackboard anytime he opened his mouth.
1 out of 5
The One Sentence Review - Rent it for your tweens, Arahan isn't even a joke enjoyable by adults.