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Crime Story Review

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This review is of the TV-14 edited version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

It’s time for a Jackie Chan film that was actually rather serious. I was on the fence about whether this would get a score or not since it’s based on true events. The names were all changed around and it seemed like it was lose enough though so I decided to just go with it. It’s definitely a reasonably solid film for most of the run but makes enough mistakes to keep it treading water in the middle. You’ve got a good amount of action here but the main character can be rather annoying with how much he puts up with the whole time. The villains definitely needed to get beaten up sooner.

Mr. Wong is a pretty wealthy guy and he has a lot of disputes with his workers over the conditions. He has reason to believe that he will soon be kidnapped and asks for police protection for when this happens. Unfortunately the cops don’t really believe him. Chan is put on as Wong’s bodyguard but he also thinks that the threat isn’t very tangible so he doesn’t take things as seriously as he should. At one point Wong is being followed by a car and asks for help but Chan thinks it’s just some disgruntled workers at first. Chan still does go over to help but it’s too late and Wong is gone. Chan must now find him before the villains do something drastic but can he pull the trigger as needed?

See, Chan is dealing with some PTSD from an earlier case. He was chasing a bunch of crooks through the city and they were just not cooperating so in self defense Chan ended up shooting. There were fatalities and in a way he blames himself although I would say he handled the mission well. Look, sometimes people are gonna die, that’s pretty much inevitable in this kind of situation especially when the crook isn’t stopping. Of course you want to aim for a leg so it’s not fatal but when the crooks also have a gun then that’s game over.

We have a bit of a subplot where Chan works with a counselor to try and get him through the distress. She’s a fun character and the whole time you’re wondering if she’s connected a bit deeper into the film. It’s just good acting in the end but she has such a big emphasis early on that the jaded part of you figures this is some kind of a trap. Either way this is part of why Chan doesn’t just mess everyone up because he’s a little more reserved than usual. He still does all of the usual parkour and running around but isn’t firing off the shots as quickly.

That’s fine, it takes time to get over trauma but what I didn’t like is how he takes so much abuse from the villains. At one point he is questioning a suspicious lady who has been seen with the corrupt cop Mr. Hung. While he is there, the guys minions are tripping Chan, shoving him, etc. They really mess with the guy and go for the ultimate disrespect and Chan just keeps on trying to run out of there. After a point you need to just beat these guys up straight away. There are a lot of ways you could promote this as self defense and if you think the force is too corrupt for this then you just have to hide the villains afterwards.

It was just annoying how he was a punching bag for so long there. I also think he could have handled the situation with Hung a whole lot better. Chan had his suspicions from the start but no proof so he sort of waited and bided his time. The problem with this is that it buys Hung a lot of time to do things. By all accounts Chan should have been dead in this film several times. It’s why you gotta be proactive and make a move based on your gut. The only time Chan really did this was when he roughed up a witness for a while despite everyone warning him not to. That was definitely a good move.

Meanwhile Hung doesn’t make for a great main villain. He may not be the head honcho but he has the biggest role because of his connection with the cops. The guy is a fairly high ranking official so everyone believes him with all of his false information. The guy does a whole lot of damage the whole time and you’re waiting for the heroes to take him out. I will at least give the guy props for his confidence because he really swindles the heroes like a champ even when they could have potentially called his bluff several times. Confidence is the first step towards messing everyone up after all.

He has this random toxic relationship with a girl who shows up a few times during the film. Unfortunately all this does is weaken the film as a whole. The whole affair in the elevator is rather crazy and didn’t have much of a purpose here. I won’t say the relationship itself is unrealistic because you could totally picture this being the case but it’s definitely not something that the film needed. We already knew that Hung was not a good guy and even if this was meant to drum up the slightest bit of sympathy for the guy and why he wanted more money, it definitely didn’t work.

The only one you really feel bad for here is Wong’s wife who is doing her best to comply with the demands and get her husband to safety. It’s just not an easy position to be in and that’s before you consider the corrupt cop and everything going on. All she knows is the cops don’t have a great game plan and keep leading her on a wild goose chase. She does everything she can to save her husband so I would definitely call her the best character in the film.

The film has some good action like I mentioned before and I think that’s something the film should have leaned on a bit harder. Give us more action scenes and solid athletics. That would have helped to also establish Chan as a better main character if he was fighting a lot. Toss the club scene and a few small rewrites would make this solid right off the gate. The film does keep your interest but you see all of the missed potential throughout the movie.

Overall, Crime Story is a film that has a lot of good moments and solid action throughout but definitely gets weakened by the lower points of the film. The whole scene of Chan being hazed at the club was just awful and made no sense. He was too slow to make a move and the toxic relationship with Hung was just wasting valuable screentime. The writing itself isn’t bad and there’s some decent pacing here but in the end these issues definitely start to add up and keep the film from reaching its full potential. I would sooner recommend most of Jackie Chan’s other films.

Overall 5/10

The Asphalt Jungle Review

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Now it’s time for a pretty fun noir title. It’s definitely got its share of intrigue, drama, and emotional beats. So on the whole it’s really the definition of being an all around complete title. I tend to enjoy heist films like this that have a lot of story and planning going on in the background. You can bet that none of the characters can afford to let their guards down for even a moment or it’s all over.

The movie starts by introducing us to Doc who has finally left jail. He was there for a long time but now he is free to terrorize the world once more. He doesn’t do this with violence though, instead he goes and uses his wits. So he’s got a full proof plan to rob a bank and make 500K but he needs a team to do this and someone to come up with the funds. He meets up with a guy called Cobby who knows a rich guy named Alonzo. Alonzo says he can handle the money part but Doc doesn’t trust him. So Doc asks Dix, to keep an eye out as he’s the only one that can really be trusted. Dix is the strong man of the group and assures Doc that nobody will be messing with his future money. Now it’s time for the crew to try and strike it rich, but do they have what it takes?

In a lot of ways this might be the easiest heist for a heist film. I wouldn’t say the villains ever have any real resistance. For the most part they are really only having to worry about each other which is definitely one of the risks of being a common crook like that. They don’t exactly have the strongest set of morals and ethics right? So it’s not surprising when everything begins to crumble around them. In fact, you could even argue that it’s probably expected. They’ve all got issues after all.

Alonzo is actually dirt poor and right now he’s cheating on his wife with someone else. The guy is morally bankrupt and desperate which is a really dangerous combination. When you’ve got both of those things lined up, it definitely means that he can’t be trusted. Obviously I have no real sympathy for the guy. I mean all of these villains are crooks but this guy is definitely the worst of the bunch. He’s confident but doesn’t really have any skill of his own which is why he’s broke.

Then we have Cobby who talks a good game but only when the others have their backs turned. This guy isn’t confident in the slightest and definitely folds when the pressure is on. It was fun to see the crooked cop show up and take him out. It was interesting the way the movie presented the cop. Yes, he turned to the dark side for money and definitely made the wrong choices but ultimately he went straight once enough heat was on him. The whole ending has a speech about this as there may be a few bad cops around but the majority are still out on the beat stopping crooks every day. I thought it was an effective illustration on scale there. This cop wasn’t out murdering anybody either, he was basically not taking a law that he disagreed with all that seriously.

Still a bad thing without a doubt, yet a cut different than the hardened criminals all around him. As for Doc, I actually liked him for most of the movie. He kept his cool and always had a plan no matter what was coming up. This was a guy who could not be cornered too easily and had experience. It’s why his ending makes no real sense. I just don’t get the logic here at all of how he would take such a risk. Surely he would have the self control to wait to do anything that might delay him until he was out of the state? It all just felt like a big stretch. The film was probably going for some kind of irony or message but I wasn’t buying it. It was a weak way to get him out of there.

Then you have Dix who in a way felt like the main character. He’s a very prideful guy who takes no disrespect from anybody. He’s also honorable in his own way. The guy made a lot of bad choices and is absolutely a villain yet he doesn’t have a lot of malice like the others. He has nightmares about his past with the horses and is definitely going crazy but you feel like with the right circumstances he could be okay. Ultimately these were not the right circumstances but he did have a great shootout with Bob.

That’s probably the best scene in the film as the film was building up to the big fight between villains for a while. So seeing them all get to confront each other at the end was some good stuff. It’s a quick blink and you miss it kind of scene but when the characters have guns, that only makes sense. It’s not like these guys are bulletproof or anything like that after all. I also liked Bob. His screentime may have been a lot lower than the other characters but he made for a very imposing villain when he did show up.

I’d say one of the subtle messages here though is how the supporting cast all lost out due to the villain’s actions. The wife of Alonzo is certainly in for a rough time with her husband being taken out. The young girlfriend is also out of luck although she wasn’t very smart and was basically complicit so I don’t feel too bad for her. Then you have Dix’s girlfriend who is also going to be in a rough spot. Basically villains get the direct repercussions and anyone associated with them will fall as well. You can be sad about it without regretting it though. The villains absolutely did need to be stopped and the cops really did their job here.

The writing is strong and the pacing is good. This is the classic kind of noir title that really does the genre justice. I suppose if it’s not officially considered a noir then I may be giving it the wrong credit but the fact remains that this was good stuff. The film properly developed the characters and really got things moving. I didn’t even mind that the heist itself was fairly easy because it’s an interesting change of pace.

Overall, The Asphalt Jungle is a pretty good movie. It definitely had a solid climax with a lot of tension even if the way the mastermind goes down was definitely underwhelming to the highest degree. It just felt so out of character. I suppose anyone can have a vice but to go down like that are all of the build up and planning? I’ve never really seen anything like it, that was absolutely crazy. So you should check out this film either way and see what you think about how the ringleader is taken care of.

Overall 7/10

Odd Man Out Review

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It’s time for a film about how crime doesn’t pay. It’s a pretty fun story with a unique setup. You have an Irish gang trying to steal money from the government and from that point on everything gets a little crazy. The writing is solid and I enjoyed all of the characters. The villains were good in their roles and the cops definitely did a good job on their end. In a sense both factions got to have half of the movie although the point of view is always from the villains and heroine. It’s a film that has good pacing and replay value.

The movie starts by explaining to us that the leader of this gang is a guy named Johnny but he’s been in jail for a long time. After he returned, he spent 6 months hiding out in a house and so the rest of the group is thinking that maybe he has gone soft. Johnny is even talking about how perhaps violence isn’t the answer so jail really has changed him quite a lot. Still, Johnny refuses to step aside and still leads the mission. This goes very poorly due to Johnny freezing at the end and so he ends up falling out of the car and a policeman dies. Now the gang is really on the hot seat. Can they find Johnny or even escape with their lives at this point? Once you down a police officer, the heat absolutely multiplies several times over.

First off, Johnny should take a significant amount of heat for everything that happens in the film. When you really think about it, the guy was not ready to get back into the fold. I admire his enthusiasm and everything but he should have recognized that. Getting dizzy and messing everyone up is what caused someone to be dead. The plan would have went off without a hitch otherwise. There’s also not much point in talking about ethics and everything when you are still going to go ahead with the plan anyway. What this really told me is that at the end of the day, Johnny was going to still keep on going at it with the gang even if he thought it was the wrong thing to do.

The film doesn’t hold back on the high price that he has to pay though. He pretty much gets every kind of injury you can after this. The guy can barely stand or move by the end which is why Kathleen had to make a rather serious move. Johnny definitely could and should have done a whole lot better in order to make sure everything was fine. His deputy actually did the best here in that he was the only one brave enough to tell Johnny directly that this was a bad idea. He tried his best but the guy just wouldn’t listen to him at all. That’s just how it goes I suppose.

It was fun seeing everyone get bumped off one by one though. The worst way to go out was for two of them who stop at an old lady’s house. I think she was a friend of the family or something but how can you trust anyone when the heat is this high. It sure was convenient that she noticed them passing by right? Then immediately they start drinking up a storm so they won’t be in peak fighting condition. As always my sympathy starts to go way down when a character starts drinking because now they are really putting themselves in a rotten position. So yeah W for the old lady. I mean she’s a big traitor and all but that’s just what happens when you’re a villain.

Now I keep calling them villains but I admit I’m not super familiar with the Irish background here. Perhaps their cause was decent and all but as they say, once you start murdering then the line is really drawn. You have to be super sure that you’re on the right side by that point and at least from how this film appears, I would say they were on the wrong side. Nothing within made it seem as if they were somehow the true fighters of justice or anything like that.

If anything, in the second half when the cops are taking them all out, I thought the officers looked really reasonable. They didn’t want to murder everyone but weren’t really given much of a choice. They also had to move with a sense of urgency after losing one of their own. They tried everything in order to find Johnny and it was tough since everyone was helping the guy out. You had a painter, Kathleen, a beggar, random people, and even a priest all being rather sympathetic to the guy. Some of them had their motives to be sure but none were being super helpful to the cops, that’s for sure. Even with all of those obstacles the cops managed to go and take names though.

The ending is definitely intense to be sure. When you can choose how to go out, often that is preferable to being taken alive so I get the logic. Kathleen had to make a difficult call and she did not hesitate. It’s a rather sad ending in some respects but also a sign to be careful who you fall in love with. Kathleen’s mother warned her about this as well but she just wouldn’t listen. It’s not easy to control your emotions of course but if you fall in love with a crook then it stands to reason that your end may not be great.

Overall, Odd Man Out is an interesting gang film. I have to admit that I really enjoyed the accents the whole time. I haven’t watched a super large amount of films taking place in Ireland after all. The plot is interesting and there are a whole lot of characters running around. Johnny is basically on the run for almost the entire movie. He’s out there in the rough conditions for over an hour in the movie which is crazy. He bumps into a whole lot of characters and while this can be the only part of the film that feels a bit slow, it works out well enough. It’s a satisfying movie and the strong script really backs it up every step of the way. You’ll definitely be entertained while watching it.

Overall 7/10

Black Angel Review

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Time for a film that reminds you of how your past skeletons will always come back to hide you. The characters here all tend to have shady pasts except for the heroine who is just trying to do her best but ultimately she ends up having to compromise herself as well. I would definitely say this is a movie where nobody really wins and so the victory ends up feeling a bit on the hollow side. Definitely would have been nice if the characters could have been slightly more heroic.

The movie starts with Marty being super drunk and he is surprised when Mavos doesn’t let him into her apartment. He notices that she lets another guy go up so the whole thing is pretty humiliating. What he doesn’t realize is she gets murdered and a guy named Kirk is the primary suspect. Kirk’s wife Catherine is sure that he is innocent and is determined to find out the truth of the events. Marty agrees to help but unfortunately he ends up falling for Catherine right away. So does he really want to help prove her husband’s innocence or is he content to let Kirk be executed so he can steal her away?

That’s definitely one of the most annoying parts of the film. The fact that Marty is so in love with Catherine when she is already married. The guy doesn’t have any real class and it felt like he was flirting since near the beginning. Catherine certainly notices but she is trying hard to save her husband and can deal with that later. It would have been nice if Marty could have been the bigger man about it and put his feelings aside to help her out instead of being such a nuisance throughout the film. He does help to be sure but he’s helping out from a mess that he really created here so it’s not much of a consolation.

We get a twist for Marty and it certainly doesn’t make him look any better. This guy just had way too many issues the whole time so you’re rooting for him to be defeated. I can’t say that I felt bad for him by the end of the film. He really stuck himself into all of this trouble and so he has to pay the price there now. The guy’s a full antagonist when you really think about it.

Meanwhile you feel bad for Catherine the whole time. She’s in a tough situation with a very fast deadline so she’s doing everything she can in order to find some evidence. This even includes going into super shady locations and even having to perform at a location like that. Then she has to put up with Marty being there the whole time and even the boss Marko wanting her. Where the film takes an unfortunate turn is with her having to be with Marko in order to win his trust and get close to the safe. It all ends up being for naught anyway which is a real shame since that’s adding insult to injury at that point.

I never like any plan that involves compromising yourself to that degree. At that point you have to find another alternative even if it’s a longshot. Like just call the cops to have them take a look or bring in Marty and overpower Marko. Marty’s always looking for a fight and he would definitely assist her there even if it’s for the wrong reasons. Catherine never even led Marty on at all, the guy was just being way too desperate. The whole mission was about saving her husband after all, Marty got way too greedy.

I did like Captain Flood from the cops though. He may not have been convinced of Kirk’s innocence at all but why should he be? The case seemed rather open and shut here with Kirk cheating with Mavos. Kirk even admitted to her blackmailing him about exposing the affair so that makes perfect sense that he would take her out. When you add up all of the circumstantial evidence surrounding the case it definitely pans out. Flood seemed reasonable to me and wasn’t someone who easily jumped to conclusions. But after a point there is really only so much that you can do about these things.

This also made it harder to root for Kirk to be innocent here. Sure, he didn’t murder anyone but we already know that the guy is a complete cheater. It’s a super bad look for him and just makes the guy really awful. It’s another reason why it’s a shame that Catherine had to stoop to his level in order to save him. It’s just such a rough outcome that you can barely even call it happy. I don’t see any of the characters being all that well off by the end of the film. If anything their problems are really just getting started. It’s safe to say that Catherine can never really trust Kirk again so the relationship is ruined. Once you lose trust then you never really get it back. It’s time for her to make a fresh start at this point but at least she won’t have to worry about Marty. Again, I can’t say I have any sympathy for that guy. As always I would say to watch out if you like getting drunk because things can get tricky. I am still of the mind that being drunk only makes you a bigger version of yourself so everything you do is still the true you. So if you aren’t sure just how noble you are deep down, make sure you never take a drink.

Overall, The mystery itself is pretty good in this film. As always the writing is on point and you are interested in learning the truth behind the murder. As the film goes on though, that interest starts to wane a bit with how unlikable the characters arc. Marty is a jerk trying to get Catherine to cheat and her husband is a cheater. You feel like Catherine deserves so much better. Then the film going out of its way to lower her to their level was definitely a real low blow. I’m glad that she at least kept Marty at bay and never gave in there but the film just didn’t end up being a super satisfying watch. That keeps it from being higher and more in line with other noir titles.

Overall 4/10

Curse of the Demon Review

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It’s time for a really old creature feature film. This one deals with an actual demon so you already know that the heroes are going to be in a real pinch here. How do you stop a creature that is basically invincible and moves with such speed? The main character doesn’t even believe in demons but his scientific approach is certainly about to be tested.

The movie starts off with a guy begging Karswell to remove the curse before he gets murdered. The guy will leave Karswell alone going forward but alas it is too late for that and so a powerful demon bumps him off. The poor guy never stood a chance. Karswell isn’t done yet though and he is going to continue inflicting damage onto people. We then cut to our main character John. He doesn’t believe in any of his supernatural nonsense and that’s why he is here. He is supposed to be helping to disprove all of this but with one of his colleagues being bumped off, it’s all a bit suspicious. He supposes the best way to debunk all of this is to confront the guy himself and so that’s exactly what he does. It may end up being a dangerous endeavor.

The weakest part of the film is definitely the really long seance scene hat happens later on in the film. I suppose we needed John to see how crazy this kind of thing could look but it definitely dragged on. Seance scenes rarely ever end up being all that interesting and this one was no exception. The whole time you’re just shaking your head but at least it does give John more time to think that maybe there is nothing supernatural going on since that would help me think everything was a scam too.

Karswell’s first attempt to prove his supernatural abilities wasn’t the most effective either. He made a bunch of wind and while the guy claimed that it never got super windy like that in the area, John could easily just think he was lying. Once we get to the cats turning into panthers, then it all starts to be a little harder to deny. I would have actually liked this part to have been done a bit quicker so we could get to the real intellectual struggles here.

What I mean by this is it turns out that the demon activates in relation to a parchment paper that is passed around. Karswell makes sure to give it to people and whoever gets it, will be murdered by the demon in 3 days. The only way to escape the curse is to give the paper back to the person who gave it to you. At that point you are freed from the curse. It’s a pretty interesting set of rules and of course what this means is the one who cursed you is hyper aware of this. It’s going to be difficult to hand the paper back. Although unless the film specified against this, I would assume just beating the guy up and stuffing the paper into his hand would work. This is a matter of life or death after all so I don’t think a little violence would be outside the realm of possibility right? It’s at least something to consider.

Still, we don’t go the violence route here so instead it’s time for some mind games to trick Karswell. This is all at the very end of the film but was a pretty fun way to end things off. The trick itself was definitely clever so I could believe Karswell being taken in by all of that. John was also a fun main character with how he so strongly opposed the supernatural stuff. I definitely appreciate that in a character. Sure, we know that the magic is real as a viewer but to someone who’s led a life of science, I’m glad he wasn’t converted so easily.

The main heroine Joanna doesn’t get a ton to do though. She helps with some of the info dumps and getting John where he needs to be but inevitably she is hypnotized and kidnapped. Considering that she had more of an affinity for the supernatural it would have been good if she could have had some extra defenses. Something to help keep her safe and running away from this guy. In a way that was definitely Karswell’s undoing though. He shouldn’t have gotten greedy and gone after Joanna. Even if he felt like his victory was inevitable he should have stayed hidden until the days were fully up. Make it very hard for himself to be found by John because there’s nothing good that can come out of meeting the guy. People get awfully desperate when they are about to die after all and you can’t predict what the next move will be.

I’ll give the film a shoutout for the cool demon design. He definitely looked fierce and was one of those opponents you would no want to bump into in a dark alley. A single strike from this fighter would really deal a whole lot of damage. Nobody in the film really tried fighting the demon which is too bad. Sure, it would probably be futile but you’re about to die anyway so you may as well give it a shot right? Better than just lying there and yelling the whole time.

Overall, This film shows why you have to be careful accepting anything from strangers. Sure, it’s pretty unlikely that you will be handed an actual curse with a demon built in but you could still be framed for stolen money or something like that. Odds are if someone is trying to hand you something outside then they have an angle. It could be as innocent as handing out flyers for an event in which case you’re fine…or it could be handing you a bomb and you end up being blown to pieces. So just watch out for your surroundings and be careful at all times. Like in this film, your only shot would be handing it back to the person real quick before anything happens.

Overall 6/10

Spriggan Review

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It’s time for an action title that I really was not familiar with before starting it. It’s got a pretty unique premise and I tend to enjoy government type stories like this quite a lot so that was pretty cool. Pretty much every government makes an appearance in some capacity here and America in particular definitely comes across as rather ruthless the whole time. Definitely not a group that you really want to mess with.

The series follows a kid named. Yu. He works for ARCAM, a global organization that finds all kinds of supernatural relics and guards the, from those who would use these for evil. Basically it turns out that just about every folklore, superstition, rumor, and historical event is real. You’ve got the Holy Grail, and many other items that have been scattered throughout the world and could end it in an instant. Naturally every government would love to have a weapon like this and so everyone is always ready for action. Yu isn’t just any worker though, he’s a Spriggan.

Spriggan’s are the absolute elite of the elite in terms of overall fighting ability. He is many times faster and stronger than the average person and this effect is amplified by a special suit that ARCAM made him. Yu can take out a whole squad of soldiers and he’s not even the strongest Spriggan around. The toughest part is really just trying to pass his school classes while saving the world. He can only be absent so many times in a semester after all and he also doesn’t have unlimited time to cram either.

For the most part the series is very episodic. You will have a case that has 3 parts or so, and then a new case after that. Aside from some very minor plot elements, you could jump into any story with no issues at all. It’s only near the very end that it starts to all go somewhere. It works well enough for this kind of story though as the fun is really in seeing what relic will be used next by the different villain groups. As with just about any story, it probably would have gotten a boost if it actually did have a big plot the whole time though.

The cast also remains fairly small as a result. There are a number of characters running around of course but most of them tend to be one shots or maybe return once. Also while the art is good, I would say it is the kind where the author has a tendency to draw some characters very similarly. There are a few guys who try to murder Yu throughout the series who look a little too similar. I would say this issue also shows up for a number of the heroines who appear and I can’t really tell them apart until they start talking and then that works as their introduction.

For example there are two girls at school (3 if you count the thief) and they look extremely similar the whole time. Neither one of them ever get super important but the tougher one was starting to be played up as a potential love interest at one point. Then you have the transfer student who decided she wanted to break Yu’s cover which didn’t go well but her design wasn’t super unique. At least the childhood friend girl looked a little different but maybe that’s because she was one of the first characters in the series. I was surprised she didn’t appear more.

The jewel thief is definitely the one who stands out the most but that makes sense because she is a lot of fun. I like her personality and she’s one of the only heroines who feels like she can come close to outwitting Yu. Typically he tends to come out on top but she still gets her subtle victories in there most of the time. She’s dedicated and skilled which is always a tough combination to surpass. She also had a gun and could actually use it as necessary so then fact that she was actually useful in a fight was a big deal.

Throughout the series we also get glimpses of Yu’s backstory. Surprisingly I feel like we never got to see the whole thing but it’s easy enough to piece together from what we did get. He was basically in a child soldier program that tried turning him into a robotic murderer. He would take out any target and was one of the best in the biz. One day he was rescued from there and recruited to ARCAM where he can use his skills but doesn’t have to be murdering anyone anymore. We occasionally see him fighting with his past but I don’t feel like that plot fully ended. We have a separate plot near the end where he learns to fight as himself and not in the suit but I felt like that was a little different.

Considering that he surpassed the other murder soldiers you could call it an ending if you absolutely had to I suppose. I’m still a bit 50/50 on it myself. Either way he is a good character though. At the end of the day he wants to protect as many people as possible. Yu also enjoys a good fight but is always able to prioritize the situation so he will complete the mission first. The fact that he is able to duck a fight when the timing isn’t appropriate is fairly unique as most main characters will just keep on fighting for as long as possible. So he is a really solid lead.

The best character in the series is his rival Jean though. Jean has the ability to turn into a werewolf type creature which is pretty cool. He had to go through a whole lot in order to obtain that power so it’s definitely not the most fun ability to have but it definitely comes in handy during a pinch at times. He can already fight super well without that ability though so with it he is one of the most powerful fighters in the series. I like his confidence and he’s the kind of character that is just super cool all around.

The actual strongest character is Oboro though and I don’t think it’s even close. Even by the end you never get the feeling that Yu has actually surpassed him in any way. It’s more like Oboro just started holding back which makes sense. Oboro is able to use Qi in order to amp up his attacks, overcome supernatural attacks and also increase his speed. Basically he becomes an absolutely unstoppable fighter and pretty much every fight in the series is one that he wins without any real effort. For that reason the series has to basically write him out of almost every confrontation. If he is around then there isn’t much danger at all. I do wonder why the group doesn’t assign him to more missions but my headcanon is that he probably just refuses them and the government is smart enough not to call his bluff. Honestly that’s a smart move on their part because you don’t want to make an enemy out of him.

One of the big villains is Bo and while I wasn’t impressed with him at first, he got considerably better as the series went on. He actually has some fairly emotional moments by the end and was working on a redemption arc. Considering that like a few of the other villains he was on the neo-nazi camp that seems unlikely but yeah the guy was definitely a tough fighter and at least he had honor in combat. I never took him seriously as a thread to Yu or anything like that but he could definitely fight.

Then we have Iwao who was real tough at the start. He was treated as being semi equal to Yu but his stocks just crashed after that. He became more of a character who was known for a lot of good banter but couldn’t really back it up when it counted. I’m not even sure if he thought he could hang with Yu by the end of the series and it’s just such a large departure from his original appearances. The guy really sank down and by no means am I saying he was a bad character but he was underwhelming. I wish he had stayed as more of a threat.

Sho ended up being more of a final boss threat but even then he didn’t appear a ton. Still he was a good foil to Sho the whole time. He was also raised to be the ultimate soldier and unlike Yu he never really got out. So you feel bad for him because while he may be a villain, it’s not like he had much of a choice about it the whole time. Sho also took his abilities as far as they could go and you could argue that he had surpassed Yu for a while there. He ultimately just couldn’t match him with Qi.

Like I said earlier the art is good with the exception of how similar the characters can look at times. The fight scenes are all on point and there is definitely a whole lot going on there. I should note now that the series can get rather graphics at times. The characters are all working in a war setting after all and the series makes no attempts to keep that hidden or mitigate that fact. Everyone on the opposing sides tend to get blown away. Yu spares his opponents but he’s really the only one to do that. Everyone else just wants to murder the opponents and complete the mission. Nothing wrong with that considering the stakes and situation but it is nice that Yu goes the extra mile here.

The series has a lot to say about government corruption and people jumping ship but ultimately I don’t think it’s harsh enough on this. For example, at one point ARCAM gets super corrupt with the leader trying to murder everyone and he’s basically just allowed to walk away. I know that the group is secret so it’s not like he can go to court but at least arrest him within a private jail or something. It’s a little much just how easily he got away from repercussions here and it didn’t make sense. He really needed to pay for that.

I was glad Yu started giving Arcam the cold shoulder for a while there. Unfortunately they are still the lesser of two evils here when compared with the rest of the groups but he needs to reform the group somehow. They’ve basically become almost as bad as the rest. The United States tends to look the craziest which is pretty funny. Their rep always gets rather tricky in manga/anime but they make for solid antagonists. There are also quite a lot of Nazis running around here. Hitler himself even shows up although I don’t think he was handled very well. Trying to make him sympathetic even for a moment is a bit iffy to say the least.

I do think it’s reasonable to try and make some of the villains more human though. For some of the Nazi characters we get to see them as full characters as opposed to being super one dimensional. I do think this is important because often times the most evil people will be the ones who don’t act so obvious about it all the time. Real life is often complicated and that’s why you never know where the enemies are at. If the Nazi’s were running around yelling about how they were Nazi’s the whole time that would be a bit much. This way you realize a lot of characters won’t even realize this until it’s too late. It makes for good tension.

Because Yu is so powerful, the series also has to come up with a lot of creative ways for him to have a challenge. One particularly effective one was when he had to take down a living computer along with a squad of normal soldiers. The computer was just too strong so one by one they sacrifice themselves to open a path for Yu. It’s definitely one of the sadder stories and a lot of plot armor is used but it was a good example of Yu seeing his limits. Each off the powerful characters (Except for Oboro) come up to a point where they have to acknowledge their limits at different points in the story. No matter how strong someone is in this verse, they are not invincible after all.

Also the environment is often times very crazy so Yu has to adapt quickly. We’re talking time travel to the dinosaur age, alien artifacts, supernatural powers, etc. There’s always something going on and I appreciate the fact that Yu is really quick on his feet the whole time. He always jumps into action no matter what is going on. The series also blends history and supernatural elements really well. We have some characters who can shoot fire, cause instant combustion, and then other suits that mirror his own. There’s a large variety of different weapons and techniques going on here. If anything it’s a shame that the series ended so quickly because you could really keep on going with different relics and adventures for a very long time. After all, there are millions of different artifacts you could play around with.

It’s also a fun relic of the times with the art being rather old school and the main character being a real punk. In some ways it reminds me of Yu Yu Hakusho. Hey demons exist in this world along with everything else so the extra similarities are there. The series also gets to give us some screen time of Yu outside of the ARCAM adventures which is nice. It’s a series that is fleshed out well within the amount of volumes it got. I’d also say it’s got a good amount of replay value with how dense some of the adventures could get. There’s a whole lot of dialogue and exposition here so make sure you have your reading glasses on.

Overall, Spriggan is a very good title. I had a good time with the various adventures and the way the author handled all of the governments was definitely fun. Yeah ARCAM was ultimately always one upping them but that makes sense as the main group. There is a good amount of action and intrigue to keep you entertained the whole time and the series is still long enough to really get to the various storylines without having to finish too quickly. I would have liked a little more time in the plot based area but I can still recommend this to anyone looking for a fun time.

Overall 7/10

Universal Soldier Review

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It’s time for a thriller about knowing when to break your programming and defy orders. It’s got some good messages to be told for sure but in the end this film isn’t all that good. The main character is a little too slow every time so the villain always has the edge. It’s pretty crazy stuff not gonna lie and nobody is smart at all here. It just doesn’t seem like a very practical project even by corrupt government standards.

The movie starts with showing us the end of a big battle and a village was completely destroyed. Squad leader Andrew completely went off the deep end and turned evil. He ends up executing a hostage for no reason and so Luke is forced to take him down. It’s a mutual defeat though and their bodies are brought back to the government for experimentation. They decide to revive these two as mindless soldiers that can be used to handle any threat. They do not feel emotions or any previous memories. In theory they simply obey all orders without question. So they will be a really good unit for any commander and if the test is successful they can mass produce these kinds of soldiers from dead men.

Unfortunately things go sideways as you could have probably guessed immediately. Andrew is still as crazy as ever and enjoys murdering people a little too much. A local reporter named Veronica does some snooping with her partner and Andrew murders the guy even though it is against the rules. So Luc quickly takes her to safety and the government orders Andrew to pursue. But wait Andrew can’t be trusted because he’s already showing clear signs of a personality and violent tendencies right? Yeah the government barely cares at this point so Luc better run real fast.

Luc is still not his old self though so while he has some memories and such he doesn’t have his personality yet. This means…uh oh he basically has amnesia. One trope I never love is when the main character doesn’t know anything and gets into a bunch of misunderstandings. That happens here as he doesn’t know what money is and why he has to pay for food, he doesn’t know what his body is supposed to look like, etc. I don’t even get why we needed this part of the plot. For the most part I don’t think it would change much about the film if he was totally himself. The main villain basically got his whole personality back after all. Luc deserved better.

So the film’s attempts at humor here really didn’t do that well. Meanwhile I didn’t really care for Veronica all that much. You know the type of character they are going for right away. She’s constantly yelling and panicking and making the wrong decisions the whole time. It’s pretty clear that Luc saved her from getting shot but she still complains for a while and it takes a minute before she really gets on board with the fact that he is the only reason she’s alive. I would have thought that was rather obvious to be honest but it is what it is I suppose.

The film tends to be rather excessive on the violence as well. People are really getting blown up here and the villain collects ears from his prey. It’s definitely a good way to show that the guy is a psycho but I don’t think that was really enough justification. Also, the girl in the intro having to see her boyfriend/husband get blown away right in front of her was absolutely crazy. Then after all that she still doesn’t survive? That’s not really a great way to start the film, I was certainly salted the whole time at the very least.

Also considering who the main actor is, I was expecting way more hand to hand fight scenes. We really don’t get much of that at all though. Aside from the gunfights we get a mild skirmish at the start, a little mixup with the cook later on, and then the final fight. They really didn’t make the most out of his talents which is a shame because I know that the fights would have been really good. Perhaps they would have even elevated the film. Without them, you have more time to really focus on all of the other elements of the film which aren’t nearly as solid.

Now on to the government, the film just makes them look way too inept. They often underestimate the villains and get themselves into trouble but this was a bit much. So by this point in the film they already know how absolutely insane the main villain is. This guy absolutely must be stopped at all costs but they will keep using him since he’s the only one who can stop Luc. Okay fine but then they figure they should reset his memories just in case. So they tell him to go inside the freeze room. Andrew first threatens them a bit but suspiciously complies. So the guy walks in there with the needle before the ice can really do anything and naturally he is violently murdered. That’s just really dumb to be honest.

I don’t get why the government couldn’t do more to stop both Luc and Andrew if they were serious to be honest. It’s not even like you’d have to worry about outlasting them because both characters have a massive weakness where they overheat just by existing. So you just keep fighting until the two of them start melting and then you have the massive advantage. Case closed right? That’s also such a random weakness but I am cool with it because I think it’s only fair that a super soldier would have some kind of downside. It’d be a little convenient if there was none.

Aside from the over the top violence and the lack of hand to hand fight scenes the film could have done with more likable characters. Again you’re looking at a duo of a semi mindless main character and a main heroine who doesn’t seem to understand the danger she’s in for a while there. This doesn’t really let the characters have any banter either so while I generally would say that the writing is pretty good here, it’s really nothing to write home about either. It’s trying to survive in spite of the main characters when they should be the ones trying to prop it up.

Overall, Universal Soldier was a bit of a letdown here. I like the idea of the film but it’s not exactly a fun watch and throughout the film you are waiting for the heroes to do more. The government have no idea what’s going on and it feels like the villain has way too much control here. There’s no way he should be making it nearly as far as he does and so in the end everyone looks real bad. Not really a film I would recommend to anyone looking for their quality action title.

Overall 3/10

They Live By Night Review

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It’s time for a noir title with a lot going on but it does not execute as well as it could have. It’s not super out of the ordinary for the main character to be unlikable in a noir title like this but at the same time you still need to have some kind of redeemable quality to really let the film go through smoothly. Mix that in with the underwhelming romance and this is not really one for the books. It can keep you entertained but the characters tend to get you annoyed more often than not which throws you right back out of the title.

The film starts off with Bowie and two other inmates escaping from jail. Bowie supposedly murdered someone which is a pretty big charge so he needs to lie low. The other two criminals are hardened veterans so they find a safehouse with people they know. The next challenge will be to rob a bank so they can free another criminal but this time doing it legally. Bowie is really just along for the ride but he ends up falling for the girl who lives there. Her name is Keechie and she doesn’t know a whole lot about the world. Bowie’s out of his depth as well so this could really work well as a match. Can Bowie get out of this crime circuit though?

Okay so I don’t really sympathize with Bowie because of how far this goes. At the end of the day it may be peer pressure but he was still doing everything. Robbing a bank is a crime no matter how you slice it after all. I do think he at least made the right call in skipping town with Keechie when the stakes were getting real high but at the same time he played it sloppy once one of the other criminals, Chicamaw caught up to him. You have to take the guy out of the picture. The longer you keep him around the worse things will get.

Yeah, taking someone out isn’t easy but this guy’s a villain through and through so you can’t really feel bad about that. Bowie also has Keechie to think about at this point so that really means he has to go all in. Ultimately things don’t go great for Bowie and you weren’t expecting them to considering what happened throughout the film. Right through to the end he was outplayed and that’s why he was not meant to be in the criminal game. In a way you could say it’s probably a good thing when you aren’t cut out for the competition but of course it’s even better to not even get involved in the first place.

Now why was the romance so bad? Well I think they overplayed the naive angle for Keechie. She just didn’t seem to know much about anything and so she wanted to take things slow but Bowie was the one always getting upset and trying to speed things up. It’s hard to see what she saw in the guy. From her perspective he’s another crook and someone who is trying to move rather fast instead of getting to know her. Yes, you can say she is desperate because no other guys have wanted her and that definitely throws a sad element into this but it doesn’t make the romance itself any better. In fact you could make the case that it makes the whole thing worse.

Keechie isn’t properly developed at the start of the film. I would argue that she gets a little development later on as she stands up for herself more and makes decisions. It’s not as if it’s a bad relationship all the way through but the start is just way too rocky to buy into. At least it was a way to escape the villain base which was really just a powder keg for a while there.

Also Chicamaw isn’t the best main villain. He’s jealous of Bowie for getting all of the credit for the latest crime but that means the cops won’t be looking for him as hard. That’s almost objectively a good thing from his point of view in every way. The fact that he is so petty that he would put all of this in jeopardy for clout is absolutely crazy. The guy also gets drunk quite a lot so I wouldn’t call him the biggest threat. It’s why Bowie needed to take him out a lot sooner. Yeah he can’t win a straight fight but he could absolutely do something from the sides using trickery.

I will say that the writing is solid as always though. The dialogue between each of the characters is on point without a doubt and the pacing isn’t bad. The film moves from plot point to plot point well, the problem is really that the plot itself wasn’t good enough here. You need to really rewrite large sections of it for the film to be better. It just isn’t the most entertaining film and with so many other better titles to check out, this one just ends up fading into the background.

Overall, They Live by Night is not a film that I would recommend as much as the average noir title. It could have used a mystery or something. Just watching the main guy making various mistakes doesn’t really do anything for me. The main part of the film is also about a romance that I just didn’t care much about either so there was no real saving that part of the film. I was just shaking my head by this point. I do think you could make an interesting story here about the heroine changing a villain from his old ways but you’re not really going to find that here. If the film was aiming for the ending to be a solid book-end to the subplot of Bowie not being ready for these stakes then I do think that was really clever tho.

Overall 4/10

Time Without Pity Review

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Time Without Pity is definitely a very interesting movie. It’s one of those stories about trying to stay within the realm of the law for as long as possible and only really moving to vigilantism once the options have dried up. It’s a suspenseful mystery and definitely one that has good replay value. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes this kind of murder mystery.

The film starts with a girl getting murdered and so David flies over because his son is the primary suspect. Unfortunately it took a very long time to find David because he was off being drunk. There is a lot of tension here because David was never really around when it counted. Even now, he has only arrived when there are 24 hours left before Alec is to be executed. The reason David didn’t find out sooner is because he was stuck in a treatment facility after being super drunk again. David may have failed Alec in the past but he swears to do right by him this time. He will find the actual killer and save Alec.

The interesting thing about this film is that we see Robert as the murderer in the very first scene. So we know the whole time who the killer is and we’re just waiting for David to put the pieces together. The film allows Robert to look real crazy the whole time since there’s no pretense for trying to make him look even remotely likable. That might sound like maybe David should suspect something but honestly I don’t think that would be enough. The fact that the guy is crazy and abusive doesn’t automatically make him the murderer or anything. Lots of jerks out there after all but they’re not going around sticking it to people.

You are definitely rooting for his downfall the whole time though. This is definitely the kind of film where nobody is perfect though. While we know that Alec didn’t murder the girl, it doesn’t help matters that he didn’t have the best reputation. He also likes Robert’s wife Honor which isn’t good. Keep in mind that his girlfriend his dead but he is still excited to see Honor and have a moment while in jail. I don’t think that should be a priority when you only have a few hours left to live. Or if he’s thinking it doesn’t matter since he’s so close to death that’s arguably just as bad. Alec panics a lot and everything too but I suppose since he’s about to die I’ll cut him some slack there.

As for David, well he’s trying hard to get to the truth of the matter which is great. Full points there of course but then you also have to consider the fact that David being drunk all the time didn’t help matters. He drinks several times during the movie as well and breaks down in a few instances. He was still able to come up with a good plan though which helps. Ultimately he ends on a high note which makes up for a lot of his issues early on. How you finish the race is a big part of how likable a character is after all.

His friend the attorney was also really good. The guy really did everything he could and postponed the execution multiple times. Without him, David would have absolutely been too late so he definitely owes him a whole lot of credit. There are also a few other suspects in the film from David’s point of view like the secretary Vickie or Alec’s best friend Brian. Brian in particular always appears to be hiding a whole lot and playing both sides of the field. It’s why us knowing who the murderer is makes things interesting as you are forced to watch David bark up the wrong tree at times.

There technically isn’t a whole lot of action in this film which makes sense because why would the murderer want to take any chances right? It’s mainly a battle of words with Robert being the only one who is panicking the whole time. David knows deep down that the odds are stacked against him because without any fingerprints or witnesses at the scene of the crime, his only real chance is a complete confession from the murderer. Why would the murderer do that though? There would be no benefit to him, particularly when he knows that the case can’t be solved.

So the film actually addresses this and does it better than I anticipated. I thought we’d have a lazy moment where the villain admits to the crime in front of a bunch of people or something like that, but this doesn’t happen. The villain is caught without confessing to the crime and the way the movie does this is really creative. It goes back to the vigilantism part I referenced earlier. The plan is certainly not legal and actually relies on a lot of deception. It’s a plan that involves a heavy price so most wouldn’t do this even if they thought of it. So the plan worked well here in showing just how far David would go to save his son and it’s also a plan that is realistic enough to work. The villain didn’t really have an out by this point and was completely outplayed.

Overall, Time Without Pity is a really fun film. It’s also a super clever one that tackles what would otherwise be a standard plot in a new way. The first of course is the fact that we know who the murderer is. It’s not the first film to do that of course but the vast majority do not so it’s still a fresh take. Additionally you have the fact that the main character has to solve this case in under 24 hours or Alec will be executed even if he is innocent. So you’ve got the time factor there to make things even more urgent. It’s a really solid set of parameters to fit the film into and it works out really well. The ending is very satisfying and so in the end I would definitely recommend watching this film. It has aged extremely well.

Overall 7/10

Escape Plan: The Extractors Review

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This review is of the TV-14 edited version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

Another Escape Plan? Hey some characters have a hard time staying out of jail but at least you know they have a lot of experience by now. This one really goes back to the original in a lot of ways with the main character getting more screentime and doing a lot of fighting. I would even go as far as to say that it’s definitely the most intense one. It has its moments but you can definitely tell that the series is faltering somewhat.

All right so the film starts with reminding us why a bunch of bodyguards just aren’t worth it. Daya’s group is immediately defeated and she is kidnapped. Always better to have one all star than a group tbh. Her father is a big time criminal who operates a lot of prisons and so Ray has decided to take him down. It won’t be easy though because Ray’s group isn’t all that great and they are defeated along with Abigail getting kidnapped. Ah well…looks like Ray is gonna need to do a lot of the heavy lifting here. He’s fairly used to it though. Can he murder all of the villains before they execute the final hostages or is it already too late?

One thing you can definitely tell about this film is that it’s quite a bit edgier than the first two. Gone are the more sci-fi type prisons in place of a very dusty, sand type of area. It looks more like a prison you would see in real life which in a way is good for realism but by film 3 it’s not like that should be a huge consideration right? That’s already all done with by this point. Even the fights are more on the realistic side without all of the big choreography. You just have people getting shot and stabbed.

The fight scenes aren’t bad but they do tend to end with rather violent finishers. You may think Ray is a little too old for all of this but he definitely handles himself well in a fight. you can expect him to typically dominate in the ring. Of course he does have a lot of rage due to the events of this film. There is definitely a body count to be had here and with films always needing to top themselves and elevate things to the next level, you could say that this film took the next logical step. Can’t say it’s one that I’m a really big fan of but hey….that’s how it goes. It’s a big spoiler to say much more than that but one character ends up biting it and I would say this was unnecessary.

I feel like it could have set up some sequels since the dynamic is different but I suppose they didn’t have enough fuel in the tank to squeeze out a 4th one of these. It would definitely be nice if Ray’s teammates could hold their own a bit better. Yeah they each have their specialties like we have the jokester hacker, but at the end of the day it doesn’t feel like he will come through when it counts. You actually want to have someone inside the jail with you taking down tons of opponents.

Ironically the best assistant Ray has is DeRosa who isn’t actually part of the main team. When he shows up the villains start falling like dominoes but his role isn’t quite as big here. He shows up a few times and then at the very end but this is not really his film so think of him more like a guest star. He would do pretty well in continuing the franchise if you had to switch main characters I would say.

The film does give the main villains a connection to the first film so that helps in terms of connecting everything together. I can appreciate that as a writing strategy even if you don’t really need to do it. I understand how you want to end things on a bang and that makes everything feel more personal. It reminds you that you really can’t trust anyone in the prison breaking game. At the end of the day everyone is out for themselves and will mess you over if given half a chance.

If we did get another film we’d have to see how they force Ray back into a prison. Are we going with the ole hostage routine again, some kind of challenge like a mega prison? The latter would look bad for Ray while the first would feel lazy. I dare say the best thing to do is ditch the prison theme. It’s not called prison break after all. Have Ray be on an island where a coup happens and now he has to escape or maybe put him on an airplane that gets hijacked. This franchise could have really expanded in a whole lot of ways but instead it just ended.

The writing here isn’t bad either. Perhaps a bit on the generic side but I had no real problems with it. The setup is decent and the film’s pacing is good. If you just take away some of the excessive violence and grit here then this would really be fine. It may be hard to avoid all of that in a prison film but I would say the first two films did a better job of this. It all just feels a little less hopeless with how things are going. You feel like there really is something worth fighting for while by the end of this film things are a bit too far gone. Still not pointless by any means as there are people to save but it doesn’t hit in quite the same way.

Overall, Escape Plan 3 is probably the weakest one here. It goes a bit far at times to be sure. I don’t think the plot itself was bad. The supporting cast may be a bit annoying in how they hold Ray back but realistically he is the leader for a reason. It makes sense that he would be the strongest after all. Maybe they can just make his teammates a bit stronger next time, I liked the main fighter in film 2 after all and DeRosa is solid. Put them as the main trio for a whole film and then we’re talking. Still, unless you absolutely need to watch the whole trilogy I would say to watch the first two films and then call it a day.

Overall 4/10