The animation style is striking and unlike anything I’ve
ever seen before. Sure it looks like comic
book panels come to life but it also somehow seems more tangible and quasi
photo realistic. I don’t mean the crazy
action or the exaggerated size of villain Kingpin but the textures and the
lighting. I like it better than whatever
the hell Pixar and Dreamworks are doing.
And it’s hard seeing this story playing out nearly as successfully if
they had done live action. So that was a
smart move.
Anyway, this piece is colorful, energetic, suspenseful, well
designed, well voice acted and it’s miraculous how the intricate plot isn’t
completely confusing. This one’s a
really good time. I recommend it.
Rapid Fire
At an art exhibition/party a mobster (Nick Mancuso (Under Siege, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory))
murders one of the patrons (really a Chinese crime boss) and Brandon is the
witness. Now he’s on the run and can’t
even trust some of the cops because they’re in the bad guy’s pocket.
With The Crow Lee
proved he could get more serious, melancholy and intense if he wanted to but he
could also give a real honest performance like he does here. Few action stars can pull this off, most
don’t even attempt it.
And yea, the action scenes are well done too. There’s a close quarters two on one fight in
a small cramped apartment, a large scale brawl and shootout in a restaurant and
he zips around on a motorcycle in the aforementioned art space dodging
henchmen.
So Rapid Fire is a
cool time. I always enjoy going back to
this one.
Legacy of Rage
Lee’s longtime buddy Michael (Michael Wong (Knock Off))
is a gangster who’s mob family is getting shook down by a dirty cop. They rub out the cop and decide to use Lee as
the scapegoat. Michael also covets Lee’s
fiancĂ© so he sees this as a chance to get with her, a double win in his eyes. While Lee’s in prison he figures out the
truth so by the time he gets out he’s good and vengeful.
At first the title may seem unfitting but the story spans
like over eight years and involves Lee’s unborn son and fiancĂ© fleeing to
Brazil and a whole stretch in the middle where he must survive prison life and
a bunch more. So as you can see the
scope is legacy appropriate. It’s
amazing how they were able to fit all this in just under 90 mins.
From Ronny Yu who started out making successful Chinese
pictures across all genres and then had a very weird and interesting career in
the US with shit like Bride of Chucky, Formula 51 and Freddy vs.
Jason. You guys gotta check this
out.
The Silent Partner Ending
Ok, this is gonna be all spoilers because I wanna talk about the totally off the rails ending to The Silent Partner.
Ok, this is gonna be all spoilers because I wanna talk about the totally off the rails ending to The Silent Partner.
You’re still here?
Alright, so to catch you up mild mannered bank teller Miles Cullen
(Elliott Gould (Capricorn One)) stole
fifty grand from his drawer before bank robber Christopher Plummer (The Return of the Pink Panther)
could. Chris finds out what happened and
has girlfriend Celine Lomez (Plague)
pretend to fall for Miles so they can pinch the loot from him. However Celine ends up betraying Chris by
becoming Miles’ partner. It’s a somewhat
taut and very straightforward thriller.
Nothing too special going on so far.
The part I want to bring to your attention though is when
Chris shows up to confront Celine and they tussle. He tries to drown her in Miles’ aquarium but
she fights back. Eventually the tank
breaks and Chris then slits Celine’s throat on the shattered glass wall. Ugh, jeez.
Second, where it gets totally strange is Miles comes home to
find Celine’s severed head in the aquarium!
Now nothing even remotely like this happens in the plot before or
after. It’s so gruesome and out of
place. And Chris either spent a helluva
long time cutting that head off with the glass or he had to go get a knife to
do it. In any event this was deliberate
and makes Chris so much more sadistic than was necessary.
After this event Chris and Miles agree to meet at the bank
where they’re supposed to exchange the fifty grand. The thing is Chris turns up in drag. I mean I get that he wants to put on a
disguise because they’re doing something illegal in a public place but he’s
clearly just a dude in a wig. There’s no
makeup or sunglasses or anything else to obscure his face. It’s like something you’d see in a
satire. And of course the deception
doesn’t work and Chris gets gunned down.
The movie is only mediocre to begin with but it suddenly
dissolves into a slimy goo that oozes through your fingers. What the fuck happened? These last couple of twists are damn weird
and not in keeping with the tone of the rest of the picture.
I wouldn’t recommend this movie for several reasons but it’s
certainly a curious case of a misreading of material.