City Hunter (1987) [Anime Review]

City Hunter; or, Mokkori Mania
     There’s a chance you will celebrate your next birthday in hell.
Inspired by the Netflix live-action adaptation of City Hunter that came out this year, I decided to finally check out the glorified anime series from the 1980s that ran for four seasons and was followed by theatrical OVAs. My motivation for picking up the anime consisted mainly of action-packed vibes of the previously discussed movie, but also of the opinions of my dear MDL friend, SumiTheCat.

Release Info

Developed by: Toshio Nakatani, Masuo Ueda Voice actors: Akira Kamiya, Kazue Ikura

Language: Japanese Original Title: シティーハンター No of eps.: 51 (season 1)

Synopsis
Ryo Saeba is a sweeper for hire. He basically rushes to action as a detective, bodyguard, or enforcer for hire whenever the police are helpless. Oftentimes, he aids beautiful women simply because… he likes beautiful women. People in need get in contact with Saeba by leaving the XYZ mark on a blackboard at Shinjuku Station. Initially, Saeba operates the business with a friend and former cop Makimura, but when he gets killed by mobsters, his sister Kaori takes over as City Hunter’s partner.

Get Wild
I have to say that as a person struggling with anhedonia, it’s really hard for me these days to find an anime that would satisfy me and hold my disastrous attention span, but City Hunter does the job! I was quite surprised how brisk and freewheeling it felt. Obviously, the manga and the first season of the anime are from the 1980s, so they are products of their times, and it was quite easy to replicate the sense of Bubble Era, City Pop-charged mania of lavish lifestyle that consumed Japan back then.

With regard to the storytelling perspective, I invite you to check out the anime in its original, uncensored form. Yeah, it has a lot of adult jokes (it goes without saying that Ryo Saeba is a perverted man), but these are kept within the safe-for-work confines and not as direct or brutal as in, for instance, the Golden Boy anime.

Jokes aside, I’m a big fan of crime dramas (even to such an extent that once I used to watch Columbo and Detective Conan religiously) and City Hunter very much delivers on that front as well. Of course, the show is not about murder mysteries, but I like the premise of Saeba doing “bare minimum” detecting to uncover the baddies and serve them the comeuppance they deserve.

When it comes to the animation style, I love the bright colours this anime uses. They are vivid, but subtle, not flashy. As a result, the nightly world of City Hunter looks all the more inviting. The action stuff is of course wonderful, and it makes you wonder that the only rival worthy of Saeba’s skill would be Golgo 13.

The music itself is also worth mentioning. It’s not very City Pop (unfortunately), but the incidental bits are quite jazzy and catchy. However, I absolutely adore the opening theme Cool City and the closing theme Get Wild. It’s awesome that the Netflix crew used Get Wild for the closing credits of their adaptation.

Recommendations
All things considered, I am writing this review right after finishing the first season of the anime, but I really want to continue on watching and check out the whole animated domain of City Hunter. Maybe perhaps I will reach out for manga at some point in the future, but this is highly unlikely. Yeah, I definitely recommend this anime if you are looking for something light and fun.Overall score: 8/10

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AD Police Files [OVA Review]

 AD Police Files; or, Stop! An officer will shoot

     At least she died as a woman.
The weather outside is as beautiful as ever this time of the year, so it makes me all the more surprised that I found myself in the mood for some gloomy cyberpunk feels. Needless to say, I decided not to look for the most popular instances of the genre recommended on the internet, but instead I went for something more obscure. As a result, I ended up watching AD Police OVA from the year 1990.

Release Info

Directed by: Akira Nishimori Voice actors: Toshio Furukawa, Youko Matsuoka

Language: Japanese Original Title: ADポリス No. of eps: 3

Synopsis
It’s the year 2027. The advancements in the field of cybernetics allow people to replace their organs with artificial substitutes. There are also fully automated androids known as Boomers. If Boomer goes haywire and commits a crime, they are chased by the special mad criminal investigation unit known as AD Police.

Blade Running
It should be noted that AD Police is a spin-off series of the Bubblegum Crisis franchise. Actually, the title card at the beginning of each of the three OVA episodes says directly “Another Story of Bubblegum Crisis”. The events of the OVA take place before the first series of Bubblegum Crisis and indirectly focus on the cop character of Leon McNichol and his partner Gina Marceau.

With regard to AD Police,I have to say that I really like the traditional animation style because it’s really evocative of its late 80s/early 90s era. In terms of the visuals themselves and storyline themes, however, you can’t help but notice the overwhelming influence of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. AD Police grows out of the world crafted by Phillip K. Dick in which the uniqueness of human life is constantly questioned amidst hordes of androids who also have their fair share of desires, fears, and personal introspection.

That being said, I kind of regret watching this OVA primarily because of its NSFW content. With each episode, things get so adult-oriented and explicit that by the end of it, I felt as if I was watching hentai. Sure, the plot of each episode is engaging enough, but the way these are handled leaves a lot to be desired.

Allegedly, there were supposed to be more episodes of the OVA, but the studios responsible for it fell into some sort of dispute. As a result, AD Police had its continuation years later in the form of another short-lived series and a reboot OVA. People responsible for the creation of AD Police were Tony Takezaki and Suzuki Toshimitsu, who also crafted a manga called AD Police: Shuuen Toshi.

Recommendations
All things considered, AD Police Files is a product of its time when there was a huge boom on cyberpunk in the anime industry. Some franchises grew larger than life and lived to tell the tale through decades (see Akira and Ghost in the Shell) but many weren’t so lucky, including AD Police. If you want to get some entertainment value from this, I suggest you watch the whole OVA series at one go in the middle of the night and crank up the volume for the intro song and ending songs. It’s a fairly nice schlock anime experience for one time.
Overall score: 5/10

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High Risk (1995) [Film Review]

High Risk; or, Die Hard, Jackie!
     A man should rely on himself.
I think I should acknowledge this right off the bat. I would not have penned this review had it not been for a great video essay by Accented Cinema called Someone Made a Movie to Diss Jackie Chan. Evidently, the subject of the analysis is Wong Jing’s 1995 action flick High Risk with none other than Jet Li in the leading role. I remember seeing this film like 8-9 years ago, not thinking much about it then, but in view of the YouTube video, I decided to rewatch it and provide my thoughts on it.

Release Info

Directed by: Wong Jing Starring: Jet Li, Jacky Cheung, Chingmy Yau, Valerie Chow

Language: Cantonese Original Title: 鼠膽龍威 Runtime: 100 min

Synopsis
Kit Li (Jet Li) was a cop working for the Hong Kong bomb squad a couple of years ago. While trying to prevent a terrorist attack, he lost his wife and a child in a school bus explosion. Nowadays, Kit works as a bodyguard for a famous movie star, Frankie Lone (Jacky Cheung). When Frankie attends a jewellery exhibition, Kit discovers that a man at a party, calling himself the Doctor (Kelvin Wong), is the same guy behind the school bus incident. Kit rushes to action to stop the bad guys.

Stunt Meltdown
I really do not want to repeat the main points of the Accented Cinema video, so I simply encourage you to watch it. Let me just say that, in my opinion, Wong Jing wanted to make High Risk not just to diss Jackie, but out of the general bitterness over working on City Hunter (1993). The director really wanted to make a faithful anime adaptation, but production problems forced him to change the script on a daily basis. What is more, Jackie’s unfavourable comments about the project and about Wong Jing himself certainly did not alleviate the situation.

Consequently, Wong Jing was determined to make a proper action flick from start to finish, but without Jackie as the main lead. That’s why we get High Risk. It is a very entertaining movie indeed, especially in view of the fact that the plot was heavily inspired by the classic Die Hard (1988) film with Bruce Willis.

Die Hard influences are indeed visible in many sequences and exposition scenes (for instance, helicopter crash or bad guy using high-tech to get the booty), but Wong Jing manages to put his personal spin on the entire thing by throwing a whole array of toilet jokes (which do take place in toilets) and, of course, the aforementioned parody of Jackie Chan played by Jacky Cheung.

In his video, Accented Cinema states the following: “First, how do we know he's supposed to be Jackie Chan? The film seems to have trouble deciding if he's Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee. So it makes fun of both” (source). I beg to disagree on this matter. I believe Wong Jing knew perfectly what he was doing from the start. He wanted to parody Jackie, but a) the director wanted to avoid probable lawsuit for spreading bad PR about the actor, and b) Bruce Lee reference is in itself an additional diss on Jackie! One has to remember that at the very beginning of his career, Jackie used to work as a stuntman on the set of Bruce Lee movies (for instance, please refer to this short clip). Interestingly, after the untimely passing of Bruce, Jackie himself jumped on the Bruceploitation bandwagon by starring in New Fists of Fury (1976) directed by Lo Wei.

All in all, I think it is quite funny actually that Wong Jing decided to throw shade at Jackie Chan and gently highlight the fact that even such an action legend resorts to using stunt doubles. Jacky Cheung pulls off this comedic role really well, and I can’t help but express my words of appreciation for the final fight between him and Billy Chow.

Obviously, we cannot forget about the leading man, Jet Li himself. It is always so good to see this man in action, especially when the film blends kung fu showdowns with bullet ballet spectacle. His commanding presence is enough to make even a weak motion picture watchable. As of today, Jet Li is not battling onscreen baddies but health issues. I wish him all the best and I hope he is feeling better.

Last but not least, I have to compliment Wong Jing for one more thing. He may have done many schlock productions, but he always had an eye for casting beauties. In High Risk, we get to see the director’s regular- the always-great Chingmy Yau (this time playing a pesky TV reporter), the wonderful Valerie Chow as the hot-headed villainess, and Charlie Yeung as a damsel in distress. What is more, I have to give a big shout out to supporting actors: Wu Ma as the witty dad of Jacky Cheung and the late Kelvin Wong as the suave bad guy.

Recommendations
If you want to see a remix of Die Hard and have a few laughs, then I recommend High Risk. The movie is available on Amazon, Vudu, and Tubi. I hope that in the future either Eureka! or 88 Films will give this movie a proper Blu-Ray release.Overall score: 7/10

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Heroic Duo (2003) [Film Review]

Heroic Duo; or, Laiception
     There are many doors to the human brain. If you know the code, you can open them and see the secrets inside.
It was a sunny afternoon a few years ago. I was peg hunting at a local bookstore when I suddenly noticed a whole shelf with down-priced DVDs. The store was clearly trying to get rid of the titles, mainly obscure documentaries, but I managed to notice a cover with a title... “Hong Kong Cops”. I was like “What is this?” A quick look at the back revealed that this film is actually Heroic Duo, directed by the late Benny Chan, and starring Ekin Cheng, Leon Lai, and Francis Ng. I thought to myself that half a dollar for a HK flick is a good deal, so I grabbed the disc. Is Heroic Duo really worth 50 cents (or more)? Let’s find out together.

Release Info

Directed by: Benny Chan Starring: Ekin Chen, Leon Lai, Francis Ng

Language: Cantonese Original Title: 雙雄 Runtime: 100 min

Synopsis
Senior Inspector Ken Li (Ekin Chen) investigates the bizarre case of a police officer who was hypnotised to commit a crime. He consults a specialist in the matter, Professor Jack Lai (Leon Lai), who currently serves a sentence in prison. The two men with contrasting personalities have to work together in order to counteract the outrageous diamond heist orchestrated by a dangerous mobster known as Au-Yeung Hoi (Francis Ng).

Hypnotic Affairs
Judging from the synopsis, you would think that Heroic Duo has an interesting premise. Indeed, the first half of the film is quite engaging. It is quite refreshing to see Ekin Chen playing a frustrated and egocentric cop, but who still values order and justice above anything else. He and the laid-back Leon Lai have an awesome onscreen chemistry together, which is a shame to see this potential wasted in the second half of the picture.

That is to say, after an interesting heist sequence, Heroic Duo goes completely bonkers. The police (the same police who were aware of who Jack Lai is) are now convinced that Inspector Li committed the robbery, so they are chasing him. In the meantime, it turns out that Lai actually knows the main baddie, whose actions are also erratic and do not make any sense.

It seems that the scriptwriting team had a great idea for a short film, but they just kept adding layers of plot twists and action scenes, just to make this movie hit the two hour mark. I also believe that the presence of Leon Lai and Francis Ng is not without a reason. All in all, both actors were fresh after the success of the Infernal Affairs trilogy in which they played supporting roles.

Without revealing any spoilers, let me say that the bombastic finale just made me roll my eyes. The scenes are thrown at you without proper explanation, so you find yourself rewinding the film a couple of minutes backwards to make out what the heck is going on. It is almost as if you were hypnotised to misunderstand Heroic Duo… If that was the intention of the filmmakers, then congratulations. Mission accomplished.

Recommendations
All things considered, the cast is great, the beginning interesting, but the storyline gradually falls apart. I would appreciate it if the film was a standard crime thriller with Ekin Chen and Leon Lai working as partners throughout the whole thing. Additional word on the DVD release I have: Actually, the picture format is letterboxed, and for some reason, the distributor chose to convert the film into PAL system, which inevitably resulted in noticeable frame skipping here and there. I would say that Heroic Duo is not really worth half a dollar to watch.

Overall score: 5/10

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Negotiator (2003) [Film Review]

Negotiator; or, Seeking Justice
     Selflessness. Killing the self, is the hardest thing to do.
I admit that I am not a massive fan of Takashi Miike, but I don’t mind checking out his earlier works from time to time. In fact, I think that his movies from the 1990s/early 2000s are more interesting than later endeavours (such as Ace Attorney (2012) Shield of Straw (2013)). As a result, I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled upon Negotiator from 2003 (not to be mistaken with Negotiator: Mashita Masayoshi (2005) and The Negotiator: The Movie (2010)). This somewhat forgotten entry from Miike’s filmography serves as a proof that the director can craft an engaging drama with a touch of suspense.

Release Info

Directed by: Takashi Miike Starring: Hiroshi Mikami, Mayu Tsuruta, Shiro Sano, Kumi Nakamura

Language: Japanese Original Title: 交渉人 Runtime: 107 min

Synopsis
Inspector Ishida (Hiroshi Mikami) and Captain Tohno (Mayu Tsuruta) are two professional negotiators who handle the most difficult stand-off situations. There are rumours circulating that they might have been in a relationship but nothing is confirmed, especially in view of the fact that Ishida takes care of his ailing wife (Kumi Nakamura). All of a sudden, a group of masked men robs a convenience store, only to leave and barricade themselves in a hospital and take 27 patients as well as 3 doctors hostage. Tohno arrives at the scene and begins the negotiations, but she is relieved from her duties by Ishida who takes over the case. It turns out that Ishida’s wife is one of the captives. Although the negotiations go smoothly and the patients are quickly released, the criminals vanish without a trace, together with the physicians...

In the Line of Duty
One could think on the basis of the title that Negotiator is yet another police procedural endowed with standard cliches and plot twists of the genre. Indeed, this seems to be the first impression at the very beginning when we are presented with Ishida’s inconsequential actions towards the mysterious criminals (who basically have no motive for taking over a hospital). However, as the story progresses, more and more backstory is revealed through extensive flashbacks (the perspectives of Ishida and Tohno are especially essential). Evidently, I am not going to spoil anything (although the film is 17 years old already), so let me just express words of appreciation for Kota Yamada and his thoughtful screenplay.

Apart from focusing on the themes of crime and (in)proper punishment, Negotiator also excels at building a very grim and dark tone. This is what I regard to be the film’s only disadvantage because even though the third act is extremely powerful and provides a social commentary on the modern judiciary system, it is also very harrowing as well as depressing. As a result, the rewatch value of the film is brought down to zero.

With regard to performances, I am not that familiar with other roles of Hiroshi Mikami and Mayu Tsuruta, but they did a great job as the leads. In addition, Kumi Nakamura was excellent as Mrs Ishida. Shiro Sano was also convincing as a police detective who is outwitted in the film’s finale. What is more, such awesome stars as Kenichi Endo, Masato Ibu, and Yoji Tanaka appear in small supporting parts.

Recommendations
If you would like to check out Takashi Miike who does not rely on a wacky screenplay, excessive gore, and special effects, then I recommend Negotiator. It is a very neat crime flick if you are in the mood for reflective dramas. Yet another Koshinin deserves to occupy a place next to Yusuke Santamaria’s film and Ryoko Yonekura’s franchise. Overall score: 7/10

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In the Line of Duty 4 (1989) [Film Review]

In the Life of Duty 4; or, Someone to Watch Over Me
     We can't be responsible for her emotional state. You know what, Yeung? You are too sentimental. Luk is lying there because of it. I'm beginning to doubt your ability.
After the release of In the Line of Duty 3, D&B Films Company pressed on with the action series about badass police officers by commissioning a fourth instalment with Cynthia Khan slated to return as fearless Inspector Yeung, and accompanied by young and cocky Donnie Yen. Directed by Yuen Woo-ping and produced by Stephen Shin, In the Line of Duty 4 is a classic entry in the series which provides death-defying stunts and exciting fist fights.

Release Info

Directed by: Yuen Woo-ping Starring: Cynthia Khan, Donnie Yen, Yuen Yat-chor, Michael Wong

Language: Cantonese Original Title: 皇家師姐IV直擊證人 Runtime: 94 min

Synopsis
Seattle, USA. Police officers are monitoring a Chinese drug smuggling operation. A local cop witnesses the trade in which a CIA agent takes part. He takes a photo of the agent and tries to escape, but he gets shot by the drug dealers. In his dying moment, he passes on the photo negatives to harbour worker, Luk (Yuen Yat-chor). Luk barely survives the confrontation with the dealers and, fearing for his life, he flees to Hong Kong. Considered to be a suspect who participates in the smuggling endeavour, Luk is now wanted by the police. Inspector Yeung (Cynthia Khan) and Captain Yan (Donnie Yen) are sent to Hong Kong in order to find Luk; however, they are repeatedly interrupted in their search by Captain Wong (Michael Wong).

Witness Protection
I remember seeing In the Line of Duty 4 a couple of years ago and, obviously, I found it to be extremely entertaining. My original copy must have been a rip from a laserdisc due to visible poor quality, but this week, I got my hands on the Blu-ray release and the modern remaster really gives this movie justice it deserves.

From beginning to the end, the movie is filled with bombastic action set pieces revolving around the graceful Cynthia Khan and the brass Donnie Yen. Be it a confrontation with a bloodthirsty biker, fight on top of a speeding ambulance, or sliding down the elevator shaft, all sequences crafted under the watchful eye of Yuen Woo-ping are breathtaking and definitely stand the test of time.

Some fans point out that this movie is more of a Donnie Yen vehicle, than a proper Cynthia Khan flick. Well, I tend to disagree. Both of them have many opportunities to shine in the film, and especially Cynthia seems to be at the top of her game. My favourite girl with a gun plus the leather jacket à la Indian Jones is a double win for me.

The only drawback of the movie is heavily underused Michael Wong. He appears to be a perfect fit for a suave villain, but he has very little stuff to do, apart from the final showdown with Cynthia. Interestingly, Michael also played a police officer in Royal Warriors (1986) (a.k.a. In the Line of Duty Part 1).

From the trivia, I could not help but spot an Easter Egg for Polish viewers. Namely, a Polish trawler called Antares GDY-341 “played” in the opening sequence as the drug boat. Unfortunately, the unit was decommissioned in 1991, so it can’t serve as a relic for movie fanatics like me.

 Recommendations
I highly recommend In the Line of Duty 4 for the fans of Hong Kong action flicks. Watch it for the awesome duo Cynthia Khan and Donnie Yen as well as well choreographed and well paced action that does not let go. In the Line of Duty 4 is a classic cops vs. bandits story.
Overall score: 8/10

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Vixen (2018) [Film Review]

Vixen; or, Return to Nakatomi Plaza

     Sir, she's Chinese. She's alone and she's a woman. Seriously, how much trouble do you think she's going to be?

Vixen is a 2018 action film directed by Ross W. Clarkson and written by Bey Logan. Are you in the mood for a kung-fu action flick with a female lead? Let’s take a closer at the film:

Release Info

Directed by: Ross W. Clarkson Starring: Lie-rin Chen, Luc Bendazza, Bryan Larkin

Language: Mandarin, English Original Title: Vixen Runtime: 90 min

 

Synopsis

Sunny Lee (Lie-ri Chen) is a Chinese police officer who attends a top secret, international Weapons Expo conference. When she leaves the panel and goes to the bathroom, a group of terrorists, led by a mysterious man called Benza (Luc Bendazza), take over the building and take all the attendees hostage. Lee manages to contact her ex-boyfriend, an Interpol agent, via cell-phone, but he is unable to get any help. Lee has to act on her own to take down the bad guys.

 

Diamonds Are Forever

From the first scene, this movie clearly follows the footsteps of the classic action movie Die Hard (1988). However, at times Vixen repeats certain plot points of Die Hard too closely, even to such an extent that it acknowledges its source material. In the scene when the ex-boyfriend tries to persuade a cop about the police situation, he responds: “So, you’re calling me from Binhai city, China with some cheap rip-off of Die Hard? Die Hard with a chick? Starring your girlfriend who is the only one free in there?”

 

Nevertheless, unlike Die Hard, Vixen is more focused on stealth. Although her femininity is repeatedly questioned by an American politician taken straight out of the 1980s TV shows, the main protagonist does not want to fight and she does not have a “saving the day” attitude. Most of the time, we see her sneaking around the ventilation shafts. She engages into a fight quite accidentally.

 

The screenplay is definitely not original, but Bey Logan managed to come up with some great one-liners and funny moments. The factor that keeps the story from falling apart is the commanding presence of a stunt woman turned actress Lie-ri Chen. She really has that classic vibe of a Girl with a gun (Am I the only one who remembers In the Line of Duty movies?). Allegedly, actress Veronica Ngo herself was originally scheduled to play the leading role, but she had to be replaced because of an injury. I guess it’s for the best, because Chen could showcase her action skills, whereas Ngo moved on to do the critically acclaimed Furie (2019).

 

While watching the film for the first time, I was under the impression that some of the actors had difficulties speaking English dialogue, but I found out the information that, in fact, the sound was improperly recorded on the set, which resulted in studio redubbing. In addition, director Ross W. Clarkson claims that he was left out of the post-production process. In consequence, shoddy sound editing seems to be the only major flaw of Vixen.

 

Recommendations

I very much recommend Vixen. It is certainly one of the better Die Hard-esque movies (unlike *choking sounds* that The Rock flick from 2018). Vixen is not The Villainess (2017) type of entertainment, but it is still very much enjoyable.  We really need more action movies with Lie-ri Chen. My thanks go to TriCoast Studios for sharing the screener. They released the film under their DarkCoast label. See the trailer below:

Overall score: 7/10