Wolf Warriors (2015)

The most 'MERICA Chinese movie ever made.

Directed by Wu Jing and released in theaters in April 2015, Wolf Warriors is a war/martial-arts film that takes place in modern China. Seargant Leng Feng (Wu Jing) is a marksman with the Chinese special forces. During an operation to take down a drug lord, Leng Feng disobeys an order to cease fire. While he saved the day, he endangered the lives of his comrades and is facing a possible court-martial. Colonel Long Xiaoyun recognizes Leng Feng gets results even if he doesn't play by the rules, so she recruits him to join the Wolf Warriors - the elite of the elite in the PLA. During this time, kingpin Ming Deng learns that his brother has been killed by Leng Feng and so he hires Tomcat (Scott Adkins) - a brutal mercenary with an appetite for destruction and a 100% success rate to help him seek revenge. Hunted by Tomcat, Leng Feng's first mission with the Wolf Warriors may be his last. I enjoyed "Wolf Warriors" for a number of reasons. Although the film is Chinese, it's something of a love letter to American action movies of the 1980s right down to the plot, action scenes, and characters. There's some particularly bad CG in this film which is contrasted with superb practical effects, big explosions, and spectacular action sequences. Ten minutes in and the movie probably has a higher body-count than most of the films you've seen in 2015.

 

Wu Jing

Another point in the film's favor is that it stars two of the world's best action stars Wu Jing (Invisible Target, Fatal Contact, SPL-2) and Scott Adkins (Undisputed 2, Undisputed 3, Expendables 2). Not only are both really badass martial artists, but they have acting chops to boot. Leng Feng is your typical 80's action hero - a loose canon who knows how to get things done and feels that bureaucracy gets in the way of taking down the bad guys. His higher-ups tend to paint him as untrustworthy, but he has the guts to do what no one else is willing to do in order to save the day. He's loyal to his country and his fellow soldiers, and he won't hesitate to sacrifice his life for the greater good if the situation calls for it.

Scott Adkins

Opposite of Leng Feng is Tomcat - a mercenary who fights only for money and who feels patriotism is a joke. In typical 80s action movie fashion, the villain is the complete antithesis of the hero and unlike in today's movie industry where film tries to humanize an evil foe and get us to empathize with him, Wolf Warriors does a superb job of portraying Tomcat as unquestionably evil. It's not the fact that he's a mercenary that makes him inherently so, but Tomcat by his own admission is willing to kill innocent people, start a war, and throw China into chaos just as long as he's getting paid. Not only are Wu Jing and Scott Adkins incredible martial artists, but they're great actors and they do a fantastic job playing off each other's character traits during their fight scenes.

The film has a large cast and there are a lot of great characters. It has shades of Predator (1987) in that there are a number of characters you get attached to because of their personalities and dynamics and you really feel it when someone gets killed - especially if they die while sacrificing themselves for a comrade. The film's score really drives home the epic manliness of many of these scenes. Two of my favorite scenes are when Leng Feng carries a fallen comrade over his shoulders as he dodges a hail of gunfire and when Leng Feng faces down an entire guerrilla army and dares them to cross the Chinese border.

The film has its flaws. The first 30 minutes can be a bit confusing as there are a number of characters and plot points introduced back-to-back-to-back. The movie does a good job of ironing out those wrinkles, but I was scratching my head quite a bit early on. There is a CG fight that pits the Wolf Warriors against actual wolves and it's so bad it's good. If you're not into war movies the film might not be to your liking. For me the film had everything I was looking for: great 1980s-style action, two of the world's best throwing down in a fight to the death, and epic manliness that American movies have been missing for a long-time. Wolf Warriors is available now and makes an excellent gift for action movie fans.

Berserk (1989 - Ongoing)

 

Don't ever get on Guts' bad side.

Written and illustrated by mangaka Kentaro Miura, "Berserk" is a Japanese comic set in a dark fantasy word inspired by medieval Europe. The story revolves around a warrior named Guts with a tragic past: born from a dead woman and raised to be a mercenary by caretakers who were a little too into the kids kind of tragic past. Over the years, Guts grows up to be a brutal and terrifyingly strong warrior who people soon call the Black Swordsman. Guts later joins up with a group of mercenaries called the Band of the Hawk who are led by a charismatic figure named Griffith and his 2nd in command the warrior maiden Casca. Griffith feels that the three are connected to a strange destiny by a mysterious (see evil AF) object called the Behelit.

That ain't no ordinary MacGuffin son.

Over the years, Guts becomes close to his allies as they travel the continent, righting wrongs, and committing a few along the way until their exploits catch the attention of demonlords called the Godhand. These horrifying fiends wield powers just short of absolute, and they have taken an interest in the Behelit and Griffith. What follows is a tragedy unlike any you've ever seen before as Griffith sacrifices his comrades to the Godhand in exchange for the power to bring destiny itself under his thumb - irreparably scarring Casca and Guts in the process. Broken, beaten, but far from dead, Guts takes up his sword once more and nothing, not destiny or even god will stop him from making Griffith pay.

Not even Cthulhu will sate Guts' appetite for revenge.

There is a lot that I've glossed over due to possible spoilers. It may seem like I've already revealed quite a bit, but the first chapter of Berserk takes place years after the summary I've just shared. In addition, what is technically Berserk's prologue is an entire arc. While manga fans have a habit of calling everything under the sun "epic", Berserk truly is epic in every sense of the word. Not only is the story long (having been in serialization since 1989), but the world this story is set in is immense with a variety of kingdoms, each having their own cultures and meta-religions. The cast of characters play host to a variety of personalities, ideals, and even personal short-comings which the manga doesn't hesitate to show us. It's captivating to see how characters develop overtime especially when their beliefs clash with those around them. There are few if any flat characters to be found here as they are always growing, always changing sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. Oh so much worse.

Unspeakable evil, thy name is Griffith.

Berserk is a manga of contrasts and we see this throughout. In the art department we see breathtaking scenery and landscapes right out of Tolkien, together with European inspired castles and towns, but we also see hellish creatures and nightmarescapes that you would swear were taken right out of Clive Barker. In terms of themes, the manga addresses camaraderie, but also isolation and the effect the two have on people. There is even dichotomy between objects of worship as spirits in nature which are typically good, strive to maintain peace and order in the natural/supernatural worlds while on the other hand, the absolute god of Berserk is an entity of evil.

The manga also explores whether or not humans are fundamentally good or evil and so we see characters who are capable of admirable acts of heroism, but we also see characters capable of some of the most horrific acts you've ever seen in a comic. I'm no social justice warrior, but I've seen characters do things so terrible that if I were to describe them to you, you would flee from this room in horror, disgust, or both. Even though seinen (adult comics) are known for having graphic content, Kentaro Miura could give Go Nagai a run for his money with some of these chapters. Make no mistake, Berserk wears its genre with pride. Whether or not it should is up to the reader.

That's not even the biggest one Guts has killed this week.

As mentioned before Berserk is home to a large, dark fantasy world and with that in mind it's no surprise that our heroes come across an assortment of fantasy creatures like trolls, fairies, elves, titanic sea monsters, phantoms, demons, and the like. Creature designs range from nauseatingly grotesque to awe-inspiring. There is an OCD-level of detail in these panels and some of the more questionable design choices aside, Miura's artwork is superb.

Guts always has time for the kids.

Let it be said that Berserk has its heartwarming moments which will sometimes come from the least likely person; Guts. If you've ever read Berserk you know that Guts is one of the most badass characters in fiction - period. Even if you've never read Berserk you know his name. Yet despite what Guts has been through, and despite how many people & monsters he's killed, he can be surprisingly tender towards children and understanding of adults, always taking the time to help people emotionally and psychologically - even if he doesn't want to. The characters in this manga left such a strong impression on me that it motivated me to keep reading even if I had to slog through some [really] graphic content.

Tis but a flesh wound.

Since 1989 Berserk has spawned more than 30 volumes, an anime series, three OVAs, and two video games: Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage for the Sega Dreamcast in 1999 and Berserk Millennium Falcon Arc: Chapter of the Record of the Holy Demon War for the Playstation 2 in 2004. It has a large following and it may be one of the extremely rare cases where the mainstream has yet (yet) to ruin a great title. It has its flaws, but overall its a fantastic title especially for those into dark fantasy stories. There's some great stuff in here, but be warned. It's a very "trigger happy" manga so just know what you're getting into.

Casshern (2004)

Mah feels!

Written and directed by Kazuaki Kiriya, Casshern is a 2004 tokusatsu based loosely on the 1973 anime Neo-Human Casshern by Takao Koyama. The film stars Yusuke Iseya as Tetsuya Azuma/Casshern, Kumiko Aso as Tetsuya's love interest Luna Kozuki, Toshiaki Karasawa as the antagonist Burai, Kamen Rider Agito's Jun Kaname as Barashin, singer/musician/actor Akira Terao as Dr. Azuma, and actress Kanako Higuchi as Midori Azuma.

Definitely earns those four stars.

Casshern (2004) takes place in a distant future in the aftermath of a fifty-year war between the Eastern Federation and Europa; a war which has devastated the environment and the human population. A brilliant (see mad) scientist named Dr. Azuma has discovered Neo Cells within the genes of a subspecies of humans. In theory, the Neo Cells would be able to regenerate limbs, organs, and even cure disease. During this time, Dr. Azuma's son Tetsuya enlists in the army and is soon called upon to help put down a resistance movement in Eurasia Zone 7 - where he is killed shortly after. One fateful evening when Dr. Azuma is researching Neo Cells, a lightning bolt strikes the pool of genetic material he keeps in his lab - reconstructing and reanimating the bodies therein -giving birth to the Neo Sapiens in the process. Lead by the powerful and intensely focused Burai, the Neo Sapiens set out to destroy humankind and take their place as the dominant life-form on this planet. Dr. Azuma uses the Neo-Cells to resurrect his son Tetsuya - reborn, rearmed, and rejuvenated Tetsuya now called Casshern is the only thing that stands between mankind and extinction. What follows is a long, complicated, epic that will stir the heart and make you question everything you know about these characters, their motives, and the nature of human existence.

Make It Right

The summary I've written is rather complex and even a bit disjointed because the film is two hours long (longer than that in the original version). Despite its Transformers-esque length the movie doesn't feel like a slog and much of the narrative does thread together more organically even if the plot is often more fantasy than science fiction. From a thematic standpoint Casshern is much, much different from its 1973 predecessor, but this is not a detriment to the film. At its core the film's primary themes deal with war, family, and how trauma affects how humans relate to each other. The film deals with these incredibly complex themes while drawing inspiration from classic literature. For example, the film has elements of Frankenstein given the nature of the Neo Sapiens, the circumstances of their creation, and Dr. Azuma's relationship with them. The Neo Sapiens seek Dr. Azuma's acknowledgement his love even, but it's not something he can give to them because they are abominations.

Film legend Toshiaki Karasawa delivers a powerful performance as Burai.

Our hero Tetsuya and our villain Burai are in some ways both victims of their circumstances, but paradoxically enough are reaping the karma for their own actions towards others. Tetsuya and Burai develop a Cain and Abel-esque relationship even though deep down Burai doesn't want Tetsuya's death he wants Tetsuya's understanding. The language of Kazuaki Kiriya is pain and these characters fight through a profound level of suffering and violence is their only outlet. During his battle with Tetsuya, Burai even admits that he hates mankind so much that he doesn't know how to stop even if he wants to. While Tetsuya himself has to fight for the survival of all mankind even though he's aware that people will never stop fighting wars and will one day destroy each other. Whether they are acting in the name of revenge, love, science, or the future every character is locked in a situation where lose-lose is the only real outcome. Even so they keep moving forward, doing all the good they know how to do until the end. There are some shocking revelations in the movie that may leave you as devastated as the characters themselves.

Casshern Solos

Don't think for a minute that this film doesn't have badass credentials. Casshern is tokusatsu and with that in mind it has some super cool fight scenes. We're talking cinematic speedlines, action poses, some brutal beatdowns, and one particular battle where Casshern single-handedly destroys an army of robots in a fight so over-the-top that it's worth watching the film for that battle alone. Aesthetically, the film is a mix of urbanpunk and Russian Avant-Garde and if like myself you aren't familiar with either of those the film is visually stunning.

Shiro Sagisu composes the film's score which can only be described as fantastic, and Japanese rock band The Black Horn drops a few tracks as well. Casshern may not appeal to everyone. It does take a long-time to get started which might turn off some viewers. Traditionalists may not be pleased with the liberties the film has taken with the source material. Also, the first English release had issues wherein the subtitles would not always display which is a localization issue. These flaws aside, I found Casshern to be a powerful film about war, sacrifice, and humanity that falls just short of a must-own, but is still a great movie.