Reviews

Tim Allen plays a hit-man who loves movies and kills time before killing Slater by listening to Slater tell his story. The catch, although I doubt Slater believes it, is that if Allen enjoys the story enough, he might let Slater go.

This is a fun, light-hearted crime movie. Not the greatest movie of all time, I can easily think of many films worse that the critics loved. This film on the other hand is distinguised by virtue of getting one of the worst ratings on Rotten Tomatoes I have ever seen. Coupled with an extremely small distribution, this film has zero chance of ever making one cent, but if you get the chance, check it out.

I saw this film so damn long ago, 1983?, and it was described as an older film. Well, it's 2000 now and I have never forgotten it. I have watched many times in the years since and each time I see new things to be amazed by. I think Miyazaki must have added something to each scene. There is one very brief scene, for instance, where the heroes drive through some trees and various things fly through the car, including a bird which loops around their heads. The bird is a small masterpiece of animation, gone in ten seconds. I have never seen another film with so much detail. Moreover the plot is one of those that would cost about a billion dollars and ten years to film, if it wasn't animation. Treat yourself to a great movie and go rent this one.

Nasty, dark, brooding piece of work about a guy who always seems to either kill the people he meets, or just get them killed. A long involved plot and the guy can't seem to get out of trouble any other way than to kill people. At least that's what appears to be happening, between the dark light, constant rain, chopping strobe effects, and general attempt to avoid an X rating, you're often left guessing as to what actually happened. This one is definitely for fans of Fight Club and Triumph Of The Will.

This film marries wooden acting, bad production values, a stupid script, and what I can only assume is contempt for the public to produce a multi-car pile-up you can only stare at in disbelief. What anyone can find to entertain them in this film is beyond me. Why can't they just dub Michael Wong into Chinese? The man is a multi-lingual ham, he can't act in any language! The whole film seems over exposed, you can't follow what's going on, and you can't believe it when you can.

Giving this film anything more than a 2 is an insult to the Hong Kong film industry, that has produced many fine films over the years.

I have just seen this film and I was completely blown away. The destruction of Earth in the opening sequence is enough by itself to earn this film the status of a classic, but the film repeatedly tops that with amazing action sequences, stunning visuals, and futuristic scenes. The fact this is animation, and, I think, a bunch of computer stuff, allows the camera to float in impossible positions, and show us stuff that we couldn't see. Frankly, and here is a sentence that well may become cliche but "This film has everything that SW: TPM lacks."

Plus, it has a plot! It even makes a sort of sense! Well, sort of anyway. The ending leaves me with a few questions, but maybe a sequel is in the works? Joss Whedon has his name in the writing credits, and he has shown in his Buffy TV show a dislike of cliff-hanger endings, but also a strange skill in writing endings that close things up and leave openings at the same time. Ben Edlund also has his name in the credits and signs his name in the story in a way that can't be missed by any fan of The Tick.

It's also got the usual problems that SF films always have, signs in english on alien bases, space ships dog-fighting like they are airplanes, but there really are only a few cases and anyway, who cares?

I'm afraid that a lot of people will give this film a miss. The film is animated, and a lot of people will think this means it is for kids. This is not a film, no offense, about a kid with a giant robot. This is space opera. People who skip it will be missing out on one of the great SF films of all time.

I loved this film and will go and see it again.

Firstly, you have to understand this film is at the very least a homage to Notorious, if not a remake. I don't know how the studio let them do it. That film, made just after WWII, is the kind of film that just doesn't get made anymore, it's not bloody enough for your average teenager. I love Hitchcock, my favorite is To Catch A Thief, and I see a lot of Hitchcock in this film. I'm sorry that so many people don't think there was enough killing in the first half of the film, but there isn't supposed to be and frankly I enjoyed it. I think Woo gets a pretty good level of thrill out of people NOT falling off cliffs, NOT getting caught in a secret meeting and shooting their way out, etc. I'm sorry there wasn't more of the sort of action seen at the race track, the slight of hand and people dodging around behind each other. People talking to each other on secret mikes while watching each other through binoculars just gives me a big grin, I don't know why. That said, I think that the original ending of Notorious is pretty lame, you almost feel sorry for Claude Rains. Woo gives us, well, a different one.

Secondly, and this is just my theory, the first time you see John Woo's work it hits you between the eyes. You're not quite sure what you saw, or why you thought it was so amazing, but you know you have to see more. And then it never seems quite as striking after that. It's good stuff, but you start looking at everything except the action. Lots of people seem to be complaining that they saw Face/Off and this isn't as good. Frankly, I thought Face/Off was an atrocity exhibition and not nearly as good as Broken Arrow. MI-2 has just the right mix.

An almost unbroken string of spectacles, wonders, stunts, fights, escapes and the rest of it. You can't help but cheer.

First let me say, I never really liked "Raiders of the Lost Ark" What is the body count in that movie? It's one long corpse generating, gore splattering, branding and bone crunching series of scenes in which Indy tosses bodies off cliffs, trucks, into propellers, flames, etc. etc. ending with the wrath of God impaling the Third Reich. Call this entertainment?

This film is worlds better on all counts. Sides shift, everybody gets a chance to kick ass, heroes triumph, are defeated, but in the end, by the skin of their teeth, they defeat the baddy.

If you want "My Dinner With Andre" (also out on DVD?) go see a stage play. If you want to see what a movie can do, go see this film!

Typical HK, really lousy, but with parts you absolutely must see. I loved it! As my wife said, "If you liked 'The Matrix', see this movie and you can see what Yuen Wo Ping can do with actors who are used to performing on wires." Really, you should see the 1999 re-mix in a theater on a big screen; it knocked my eyes out. And please leave your 8-year-olds at home. Please. You know who you are.