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.
Review by DeletedBlockedParent2013-02-04T22:15:30Z
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.