Re:Born

I hadn't heard of this movie up until I seen a trailer titled "The Japanese John Wick". As a huge fan of the action genre, I was immediately interested. Considering this movie has barely gotten a release outside of some film festivals a couple of years ago, it has got to be one of the best action movies that has just flown under the radar with no notice this year. It is absolutely jam-packed with wall to wall action, with the final 45 minutes being one extended action sequence loaded with some breakneck choreography, camera & stunt work. The story is pretty straight forward with an absolute bad-ass main character. Overall, a must watch for any fan of action films and one of the best of 2018. It puts most western, Hollywood action movies to absolute shame. Highly recommended & underrated hidden gem.

8/10

Overall, I would recommend "Re:Born" to fans of the action genre. It may be short on story, but if you like martial-arts and well-choreographed fight sequences there is a lot to enjoy here. A solid thriller that puts some effort into creating an interesting world, characters that you care about, and some great set-pieces

Don't be fooled by the high rated reviews. This is a mediocre action movie that's part John Wick, part Taken and part Metal Gear Solid.

The "hero" is a cardboard cutout with the ability to dodge bullets and put a knife in a neck from nowhere and the villains are comical in the extreme.... one tries to hypnotise the hero to death.

Poor fight scenes where no one seems to see the hero despite him wearing a hoodie that stands out a mile and creaks everytime he moves, and most of it filmed in the woods or in a disused factory, this is a firm pass.

Re:Born is without doubt the movie with the most knife stabs and slices that I have ever seen. Blades flash across the screen in an almost balletic display of close combat martial arts skills, as flesh gives way to metal in a barrage of attacks that will have you wincing on many occasions.

Toshiro (Tak Sakaguchi) is a former special forces operative who now lives a quiet life as a shopkeeper. He is still haunted by the impulses that made him an unstoppable killer, and when his former commanding officer re-emerges from his past seeking revenge, Toshiro is forced to go on a killing spree against a squad of ruthless assassins.

Clocking in at 100 minutes, Re:Born isn't all about the action and gives time for the narrative to play out the backstory and life of Toshiro. However, it is the insane action set-pieces that drive this movie forward and have you looking open mouthed in astonishment at each and every fight scene. There is one particular 30 minute segment where Toshiro and 2 accomplices are making their way up a tree ridden hill facing a seemingly innumerable amount of enemies, that left me breathless by the time the last droplet of blood had been spilled. Toshiro's distinctive pre-fight shoulder movements encapsulating the fluidity of his deadly strikes with blades, fists, and even a folding shovel!

The close combat fighting is exemplified in one particular fight that occurs in a phone booth...while Toshiro continues his call as he fends off the attack of yet another person who is out to kill him.

Re:Born is an action movie with characters that are given the time for you to feel empathy with, all the while never far away from a crazy fight scene where knife will inevitably meet flesh. This deserves to be seen by everyone and looks absolutely superb on this first time Blu-ray release in the UK. Highly recommended.

Casting and story is good. And the main characters can actually do martial arts, so nothing looks bad. But they look uncoordinated and there's a lot of digital help. It's more action than anything else, but it's like Ninja Kali/Eskrima and it looks off. And the protagonist has ninja pyschic powers. It's just a really weird mix of Fantasy Japanese with WWII Filipino guerilla. Not bad at all. And techniques were real. It was way better than the Jason Bourn stuff. Just weird for me seeing Japanese fighting like Filipinos. And mixing psychic powers with practical killing techniques. Better than Hollywood anyday, though.