Animal World

First of all, "gambling for life" is not anything new. We've seen the idea development in many movies and books already. There were all kinds of such games: walking day and knight, card games, labyrinths, TV shows, computer games... Even the extra-dimensional space sliced into cubic rooms (you know what I am hinting at!) So you can hardly be surprised or entertained by yet another kind of a game where stakes are so high.

And you can hardly say that you couldn't guess what would be the plot in general. Really, you can roughly outline it since the very beginning.

Yet, this movie is really good! And what makes it good is how story writers turned a very simple kind of game into a very deep and complex human interaction. How the gaming process melts into background to highlight all the complex things that happen between characters downstage. How the plot twists are really powered by human passions, not just gaming activities. And this is really cool! This is where really good movie making begins!

I won't say this is the best film of the year, but it is definitely good, and entertaining, and also quite beautiful (even with all the surrealistic ugly monsters that appear on-screen). Unexpectedly "western" kind of movie for China, too. See it! It's fun!

Well first I gotta give it to the visual effects guys .. WOW ,.. even though it had little to do with the real story of the plot .. it added an amazing colorful style that transfer you into a Chinese Deadpool effect... and the set itself was all classic musty dirty cage fight style .. loved it.

The story might sound ridiculous at first ,,well it might be .. but still they presented with such thrill and edginess it actually looked like one of these famous poker movies like "21" or "Casino Royale" i really didn't htink i'd enjoy it that much .. i mean it might have been a bit long .. but that's how the chinese production usually works .. anyway .. the surprise is .. there will be a second part of the movie ..

The cast were phenomenal ,, Yi Feng Li was so convincing and did really well .. Michael Douglas did good too .. being the old evil guy .. the movie had a lot of nationalities in the cast .. and they all did wel-.

Final thought ,, you might think it's silly , but it is not .. it is recommended.

It reminded me a bit Sucker Punch, the protagonist dissociation create a parallel universe. Very worth to watch it.

Animal World is the Chinese adaptation of the Japanese film Kaiji Ultimate Gambler.

The effects in this film are extremely good. It's used in a way which highlights impact moments and helps the film explain its logic based obstacles. Not everyone will be able to follow the logic unfortunately. The film does it's best to explain to the audience but does not slow down. My partner who is a native mandarin speaker said she got lost at times, so it wasn't really the language that was the problem. I really enjoyed the puzzle / riddle type thinking exercises the movie places in front of you.

The characters aren't built up or developed and lack substance. The film isn't focused on that. It uses that as a background to set the stage for the main part of the film. Once it starts though, the film managed to me engaged and excited looking forward to what happens next. Through clever use of special effects and camera work, you get to enjoy some well executed cinematography.

I would actually recommend this to some of my family and friends who I know enjoy these kinds of films. I would watch it again once it comes out on my devices.

In conclusion, those who enjoy fast paced, straight into the action that requires a bit of thinking will enjoy this movie. It was definitely executed well for the type of movie it is trying to be. 7 / 10

It was quite different than the original Kaiji. I did not know what to expect when I saw the weird clown fights, but in the end they were a nice dark addition to the story, can't say the same about the other elements. The worst thing for me was that I could not see Kai Si's ultimate despair mode, and that is a bit lacking because that was the moment when Kaiji came up with all of his greatest ideas. And of course, I missed the "zawa zawa" onomatopoeia, as a mark of Nobuyuki Fukumoto.