Absolutely horrible in every single way.
This movie may in fact be a crime against humanity.
one of the worst martial art films ever. dont waste your time on this.
This is seriously one of the worst movies I've ever seen. The dialogue was awful, the fights were laughably unconvincing, and the timeline was all to shit! But hey, if RZA wants to make movies in his spare time that's his business, I just can't believe Russel Crowe and Lucy Liu agreed to be in such a turd of a movie. It looks so low-budget I wonder if they even got payed, or just did it as a favour.
What the hell was Russell Crowe thinking when he read the script 'hmm get to kiss and fondle multiple chinese women...I'm in!!'
Avoid this movie, pick something else to watch.
It's an entertaining movie but nothing more. It's great the RZA got to make this movie but I liked him better in californication.
The voice over not neccessarry and the music felt mostly out of place.
But all in all enjoyed it.
Japanese fighting movie in an American style.
I loved it :-) it's extremely over the top and you have to keep that in mind when you start watching. It's not a serious movie. I had fun watching it. The story is a bit thin but it works and the action and camera work are perfect for the type of movie.
Rza has done a good job setting a certain atmosphere and keeps that up for most of the time.
This was a fun movie to watch but it may just be for a specific audience.. I am definitely in that audience :-)
You can feel Tarantino hand in this. I cannot resist his over the top kind of filmmaking.
This all you can eat Japanese smorgasbord tries so hard to be an hommage that it winds up a parody. Still, it does have some fun visuals and tries harder than most movies.
American movie in chinese style :) Like
While watching the movie I thought "it has to be exaggerated on purpose"... And with that attitude I took it all in and really, really loved it.
Thought the movie will be good, it wasnt so exciting as i thought..
The only thing I would give RZA credit for is having all the old kung-fu cast cameo. Other than that, this movie was cringe worthy to watch.
I am not a big Quentin Tarantino fan so I had very low expectation of this movie to start with. I really did hope it was a decent popcorn film to watch. Unfortunately the jumble story, horrible dialog, bad acting, and meh fighting choreography was too much. There are some clever fighting part, but it's not enough to save this movie.
You know it's bad story telling when you have to voice over explain the story at the beginning, then during any flash back. The story should be able to tell itself.
In my opinion, its not that bad a film... if you take it for what it is - a martial arts film fan's homage to the movies, culture and lifestyle he loves, on his directorial debut. You would be hard pressed to find someone who made a phenomenal film on their debut. The fact that RZA wrote the lead role for himself should make this point fairly obvious.
Perhaps the credit line, 'Presented by Quentin Tarantino' has served as a negative in this particular case, by raising the expectations of everyone who goes to see this, so they think its another Kill Bill. If you are one of those people thinking that, you are going to be disappointed, and then unfairly downvote and critisise this movie.
RZA manages to create this world full of conflict and interesting characters, and while the dialogue is lacking in some parts, the cast generally performs well. At times, the action that occurs distracts you from the story, and the gore and the violence can get completely over the top, but in a good way. Its not meant to be a super-serious film.
Anyone who has ever watched a martial arts movie in their lives will know that the whole point of them is the fights, more fights and even more fights. There may be some overarching plot - hero's girlfriend is kidnapped/killed, hero seeks revenge, hero fights his way to the boss bad guy, hero defeats boss bad guy after epic fight scenes, hero rescues girlfriend/gets revenge. The End. Or something like that.
RZA attempts to follow the same pattern with this movie, and I personally think he succeeds. A lot of critics complained that he brings nothing new to the genre, but I argue that that is the point. Why add something new to a genre that you as a fan consider perfect? Wouldn't that be a disgrace? They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery, and I think this is what RZA set out to do.
Martial arts movie buffs may spot some veteran martial arts film actors such as Chen Kuan-tai, Gordon Liu and Bryan Leung, and you can also spot Pam Grier and Jin tha MC, and David Bautista (aka Batista from WWE).
I think that the Blacksmith character played by RZA, although he is meant to be the main character, he at times fades into the background, drowned out by the stronger personalities and screen presence of the other characters, most notably Mr. Jack Knife (Russell Crowe) and Madam Blossom (Lucy Liu). These two characters have an onscreen presence that really makes the film; Russell Crowe seems to be having the time of his life, wallowing in decadence at the Pink Blossom, Lucy Liu's characters' establishment, and she being the matriarch, commands your undivided attention when she is on the screen.
I am still in two minds about Byron Mann, though. It's great to see him in a lead role (he is the lead antagonist, Silver Lion), the last time I saw him was when he played Ryu in the live action Street Fighter movie, and his acting is for the most part great. There are a few parts where he could improve, but generally, he is brilliant.
There are some cool moments in the film, loads of beautiful women, and good use of wirework and CG, and generally its is a good story. The story needs to be refined and fleshed out a bit more, with some of the irrelevant details removed, and it could be a great story. I would say it is a very rough diamond, it really needs a lot of work in places, but it goes to show what a few good actors can do for a film.
Shout by ceccaBlockedParent2020-08-03T20:03:03Z
No way. One of the ugliest movie ever watched. Avoid it