heatherderringer

One's impression while watching this film is fairly mixed: there were many parts that made it funnier than the typical Hollywood Asian rip-off (intentionally so) which kept me interested in the film. Furthermore, the acting is not as bad as typical of this genre, and I found some of the characters especially expressive and entertaining.

However, the fault of the film is that it falls victim to many of the errors of US rips on Japanese cinema: the quality being grainy and questionable, the simplicity of the plot and having shocking simplicity in the archetypes of good & evil, and furthermore, being overall rather corny.

But if you can stand for a typical "re-imagined" B movie, this is not so bad; I found it entertaining and its' pong scenes were not very shabby, either. And furthermore, the film did not fall victim to any ridiculous subplot or added Twilight-esque love-stories, nor was it ruined by an overwhelming personality clogging up the story, which can easily kill other films. For what they have, a decent film. If you see it for what it is, it is not hard to watch and enjoy it. Decent for anybody who has an attachment to the genre.

This film is an excellent depiction of how people construct narratives of their own past. They take what they like, exaggerate those aspects, try to fit it into a coherent story. They try to construct stories that depict them as who they want to be. People may tell these constructed stories to others, but they also try to convince themselves of the veracity of their constructed stories. This movie explores these ideas in a very powerful way, through the viewpoint of a boy growing up. I found it especially meaningful because I can personally relate to it. I'm not going to spoil the best scenes for you by telling you the way in which the ideas are presented.

This is what we've been waiting for since 9/11. Crazies want human rights for the terrorists and the government wants some quick intel, water boarding seems to be inhuman and hell some hardened terrorists can't be broken at all. Try locking them up in a cell with this movie playing, I assure you. They will beg for mercy, they'll give up all that they know, they will renounce their faith, heck they'll be rehabilitated from that moment onwards. This movie will terrorize the terrorists themselves, what it will do to us ordinary humans is anybody's guess.

If your an adrenaline junkie give it a go, but have your exit strategies planned. Either of the actors is a tormentor all on their own and when they come together, you'd rather choose a spinal tap over this.