The fighting was dull and unspectacular, the story was likewise rather boring and cliched. The action tries to get by on the sheer force of its violence rather than by exciting, well choreographed sequences. There certainly is a lot of violence, rather graphic in relation to other movies of the genre (many beheadings and dismemberments, and most notably an eye-sewing-shut scene), but it is a VERY poor substitute for good action. I think it's terribly unfortunate that this movie has received full DVD release and The Blade (Dao) (1995) has not, as that movie shared the same form of unnerving violence, but it was much, MUCH better done on every level.
Reviews
6 Reviews
What is everyone complaining about? It's great!
19 July 2001
I've heard numerous complaints as to the supposedly "terrible" plot of this movie. I don't understand what everyone's problem is.
One of the more common complaints was that the story line is cliched and dull. While there really aren't any shockers in terms of the story line, I don't think it's fair to say that much in the movie is really cliched to the point of being really unwatchable. The characters are somewhat caricatures and stereotypical (in particular, Ving Rhames' character), but they aren't as one-dimensional as they might be, especially in terms of the film's villain.
There's nothing worse than a one-dimensional villain, but Final Fantasy does manage to flush out James Woods' character enough so that he's not TOTALLY the prototypical villain for the situation (it's not that far off, but far enough off to make him more interesting). I think that James Woods really does a great job of making his character actually hate-able, which is something that is not possible for cardboard cut-out villains.
The other horrible thing that Final Fantasy could have done but didn't, which would have contributed to the cliche criticism, would be to have a sickly-sweet happy ending, which it completely passed up, in favor of a very dark downer ending. Which, I suspect, is the reason for a lot of people's dislike.
The other criticism I've heard is that the story was incomprehensible, that questions important to the movie were never answered and that interesting subplots were never explored.
The only subplot that I feel really could have been explored any further was the relationship between Jane and Neil. The questions of the origins of the phantoms are rather thoroughly exhausted, at least anything of any importance is. I mean, come on people, this isn't Lost Highway. If you can't figure out the plot, you must have some serious comprehension skill problems.
Like I've said earlier, there aren't really any shockers in the story, but it's not a direct rehash of any movie I'm immediately familiar with (ie, NOT an ALIEN rehash).
I don't need to speak of the visuals, because everyone already knows how amazing they were (the kiss was absolutely over the top). I will say, though, that the voice acting, particularly Steve Buscemi and James Woods', was also great.
My biggest disappointment was that it turned out to NOT be Harrison Ford voicing Major Elliot as I had thought during the movie.
One of the more common complaints was that the story line is cliched and dull. While there really aren't any shockers in terms of the story line, I don't think it's fair to say that much in the movie is really cliched to the point of being really unwatchable. The characters are somewhat caricatures and stereotypical (in particular, Ving Rhames' character), but they aren't as one-dimensional as they might be, especially in terms of the film's villain.
There's nothing worse than a one-dimensional villain, but Final Fantasy does manage to flush out James Woods' character enough so that he's not TOTALLY the prototypical villain for the situation (it's not that far off, but far enough off to make him more interesting). I think that James Woods really does a great job of making his character actually hate-able, which is something that is not possible for cardboard cut-out villains.
The other horrible thing that Final Fantasy could have done but didn't, which would have contributed to the cliche criticism, would be to have a sickly-sweet happy ending, which it completely passed up, in favor of a very dark downer ending. Which, I suspect, is the reason for a lot of people's dislike.
The other criticism I've heard is that the story was incomprehensible, that questions important to the movie were never answered and that interesting subplots were never explored.
The only subplot that I feel really could have been explored any further was the relationship between Jane and Neil. The questions of the origins of the phantoms are rather thoroughly exhausted, at least anything of any importance is. I mean, come on people, this isn't Lost Highway. If you can't figure out the plot, you must have some serious comprehension skill problems.
Like I've said earlier, there aren't really any shockers in the story, but it's not a direct rehash of any movie I'm immediately familiar with (ie, NOT an ALIEN rehash).
I don't need to speak of the visuals, because everyone already knows how amazing they were (the kiss was absolutely over the top). I will say, though, that the voice acting, particularly Steve Buscemi and James Woods', was also great.
My biggest disappointment was that it turned out to NOT be Harrison Ford voicing Major Elliot as I had thought during the movie.
L.A. Heat
(1996–1999)
Best show on late afternoon tv.
25 July 2000
This show combines ever action movie stereotype and compacts it into one hour segments every afternoon, and it's the funniest show on afternoon tv because of it. Every episode is guaranteed to have a car chase and shootout. Witty one liners abound. While it is undeniably low brow entertainment, what else do you want, really? The show will amuse you, unless you are utterly humorless.
Saving Private Ryan
(1998)
Raising the bar for violence in movies.
2 July 1999
Although unintentionally, this movie is creating a new envelope for violent movies to push. The next movie that is made along the lines of Starship Troopers, which was only a notch behind in my view, will certainly rival Saving Private Ryan. In fact, I didn't find much difference between the two movies, save for how utterly pretentious Saving Private Ryan was. An all star cast that went completely unused throughout the entire movie. People often say that this is a movie with a message, a message of the utter horror of war. However, I personally prefer the delivery in such movies as All's Quiet on the Western Front, which relies on acting rather than a multi million dollar budget (was it that low?) used to create a gore fest. Frankly, I believe that most people won't get the message, and a lot of people will treat it as an action movie, say, "Hey cool, that guy's got no arm!", instead of being sick to their stomach, like they should be. I faced the same thing with Starship Troopers; the violence in the movie made me sick, but for most people, it was a joyride. Well, y'all had better get used to it, because thanks to this movie, there will be plenty more along those lines.
Last Hero in China
(1993)
Strangely out of line with the other Wong Fei Hong movies.
18 February 1999
I was surprised at this movie. It seemed so unlike all the other Wong Fei Hong movies starring Jet Li. There were several hilarious gags in the movie, really funny stuff, but I also had a real problem with the casting for the role of Fu. Why they chose somebody who isn't a young rascal like the character has typically been, instead going for someone who looks much older than Jet Li, is beyond me.
The kung fu in this movie is pretty good, but the movie itself is overly comic. It's good, but not what I was prepared for in a Wong Fei Hong movie.
The kung fu in this movie is pretty good, but the movie itself is overly comic. It's good, but not what I was prepared for in a Wong Fei Hong movie.
The Shaolin Temple
(1982)
Holy cow!
18 February 1999
Jet Li's first movie, and it set the stage for his future success. Really good kung fu, really good action, and not too many slow points. Pretty typical storyline; evil warlord kills boys father, boy escapes to Shaolin temple, improves his skill and fights a lot of people. But for a movie this old, the fighting is really done well. I'm sure that this is a pretty hard movie to come across, but if you ever get the opportunity to see it, by all means take advantage of it.
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