Arahan

In the tradition of the latest good martial arts movies coming from Korea, this one really doesn't disappoint. The plot centers around an ancient secret weapon based on Chi guarded since ancient times by a secret society... The man character is an honest, pacifist, almost inept and at times strange, policeman not aware of his unknown strengh who seeks to learn fighting for revenge. There is a lot of CG in the movie but contrary to many Hollywood (and non-Hollywood) movies, the CG blends very well with the rest of this fantasy movie and add to the stunning visual appeal of the film. The movie has some very funny and surprising scenes, and many action-packed sequences. The fights are very well choreographed. I would give three thumbs up if I could...

As Eastern cinema grows more and more popular in the West, largely thanks to its being aped by such filmmakers as the Wachowskis and Quentin Tarantino, an increasing number of cinematic gems from across Eastern Asia are now arriving in the West. While films like Hero and House of Flying Daggers gain widespread theatrical releases, the more common place to find some of these films is on DVD and that's precisely where I found Arahan.

Having never heard of it before I was struck by the synopsis on the back of the box that likened it to Stephen Chow's (he of Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer fame) manic output I took a chance on it and was mildly surprised by what I saw.

Directed with confidence and occasional flare by Ryu Seung-Wan, Arahan tells the story of Sang (played Ryu Seung-Bum who you may recognise from Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance), a somewhat goofy and ineffective cop who no one can seem to take seriously. After a disastrous attempt to ticket the local congressman's chauffeur for running a red light, Sang spies a purse-snatcher and promptly gives chase. Unknown to him the purse-snatcher is also being pursued by Eui-Jin (played by Yun Soy), a Tao master in training. When Sang is struck by her errant palm blast he finds himself in the care of the Seven Masters (oddly enough there are only five of them). Harbouring a crush on Eui-Jin and a strong desire to kick some ass, Sang begins training under the Masters in the hopes of Maruchi, or enlightened male master.

One thing Arahan is not is slow. It moves at a brisk clip while at the same time managing to feel unhurried in reaching it's destination. It also boasts some fun characters. Seung-Bum is delightful to watch as Sang. The unusual combination of barrel bottom self esteem, stubborn pride and impatience is interesting to watch and Seung-Bum manages to carry it off wonderfully without ever letting the character descend into a mess of neuroses which could have so easily happened. Yun Soy makes a suitable foil and displays a lot of fire in her performance but her delivery sometimes falls a little flat. Admittedly she has less to work with as the slightly clichéd girl with great power and responsibility who just wants to lead a normal life has been a fairly common theme in recent years but all in all she acquits herself well. Jeong Doo-Hong is also well cast as the movies icy villain Heuk-Un, a former Tao Master with a neat line in martial arts moves and a PhD in not knowing when to call it quits.

In terms of action (for Arahan is a Kung Fu movie so not to mention it would defeat a lot of the object in a review of the film) Arahan manages to pull out some neat scenes, using the full gamut of tricks currently employed in the genre including extensive wire work in some of the later battles, occasional use of CG and a nice mixture of sword and fist fights to lend the scenes some variety. It never truly raises the bar and on occasion the fights can be heavily edited, perhaps to cover some of the performers lack of skill. By and large though it gets the blood pumping and will make you wince at just the right moments, all the ingredients of some decent Kung Fu.

Unfortunately Arahan does have one fairly large flaw. While billed as a comedy, Arahan can be surprisingly uneven in its tone. Much of the films humour tends to be slapstick although there are some knowing asides to Kung Fu genre in general particularly at the very beginning. The result of this somewhat broad humour combined with the manic performances will bring smiles to all but the most jaded. The downside to this however is when the film wants to get serious it pulls some nasty sucker punches that deaden the otherwise light and bouncy mood so suddenly you'll wonder if you're still watching the same film. Sang's ego destroying beating at the hands of a gang of thugs and any scene where Heuk-Un turns up are good examples of this and it's only toward the movies end that the two distinct tones of the movie begin to mesh any where close to successfully. It's a bit of a shame really. While the humour is welcome and largely on the nose (if a little broad at times), had it been reigned in slightly, perhaps been made a little more subtle, the films jarring changes of mood would have been less noticeable and the film itself doubtless would have been stronger for it.

In the end Arahan overcomes its flaws to provide a largely entertaining and irreverent slice of Kung Fu with a sideline in unexpected brutality. It may not be able to go head to head with best of Chow's output, but that it can be mentioned in the same sentence is more than praise enough.

I ain't no fan of chop-socky Asian martial arts movies. You could run off a list of any of the 1000 films Jet Li made before going to America and I'd say, 'Um...Kiss of the Dragon?' So, that's how bad my knowledge and devotion is. It was surprising therefore to discover that Arahan is actually a very funny and very exciting movie that zips along loud, fast and funny.

Sang-Hwan is a lowly beat cop. He's clumsy, accident prone and bumbles more than the average bee. He doesn't believe he has any special powers, but when he makes friends with a group of five old masters, they recognise his potential and recruits him to help preserve the balance of the world from evil...or something. Which is great timing, because an ancient bad guy has come out of a long, long hibernation to seek the key to the ultimate nirvana and spread order over the whole world...or something.

Yes, it's gobbledygook. In fact, it's alarmingly similar to Bulletproof Monk, only not total crap. There are loads of laughs to be had. Arahan has a great sense of comic timing and the ability to jump from silly gags to serious action in just a few seconds.

When it comes to plain old hands-and-feet fighting, Hollywood movies seem to be lacking of late. It's all CGI and spandex. Eye candy it may be, but it's good to see something filled with practical fighting effects, despite the final showdown going on a bit.

The one bad thing that costs it half a star is the nasty Eighties synthesised score. Doesn't Korea have anything better than those shoddy Yamaha keyboards that I used in music class in high school? Hell, I could do better myself.

You can criticise the film for being mindless - hey, just because it's subtitled doesn't mean it's artsy fartsy - but for two hours of fun, Arahan will do nicely.

This is the story of the Seven Masters who recruit a bumbling police officer into their group in order when its discovered that he possesses a high level of Chi. The timing is very fortuitous since an ancient enemy has awoken and is once more spreading evil in the world.

I first read about this movie when several on-line reviews said that this was destined to be the next big thing in movies. Later reviews were positive, but were less glowing noting that the film has several parts that don't fully mix together. I'm in the camp with the later reviews since I find the mixture of styles works against the parts.

I should begin with the action. If you want to see great action this is the movie for you. Hand to hand and weapons such as swords are used through out the film to great effect. Sure its done with wires and computers, but it doesn't matter since its so much fun to look at. Very often you watch the madness on screen and go "OH Cool" even though you know how its done. I loved when our hero throws a cup at the villain who catches it on the flat end of his sword, and then sends it spinning back with even more force. Amazing.(You really should try this film for the action if nothing else.) The humor in this film is both knowing and very funny. The opening round-table of the masters discussing the difficulty of training is priceless, especially if you've seen any martial arts movies. There is a nice friendly edge to it, that is mostly right on target. The problem is that our hero is often much to bumbling to be believed, especially after he's been in the training program for a while. The too slapsticky attitude is what really hurts the movie since there is no natural progression, just silliness for silliness sake (The ending for example).

The cast and the characters are great. These are people you can really root for. The villain is also suitably evil.

If you were to take all of the movies parts and look at them separately you'd be amazed at how good they all are. The problem is that when you put the bits together the film doesn't quite work together. As I said the slapstick doesn't hold up all the way through. The film is overly jokey at times, even in serious moments. Its hard to keep a light edge when characters are spewing blood and being run through with swords. It takes a bit of the love for the film away and leaves you with admire and simply like. The film also suffers from a pacing problem with slow period in the middle with the training bookended by a funny beginning and an action packed end.

Still I think you should give the movie a shot especially if you like action movies, especially when they have a humorous side to them. In all probability you're going to be like me and like this movie, but you won't love it.

I've seen ARAHAN at the FantasyFilmFest. It based on a Korean manga. Sang-hwan isn't a hero at first sight. He is a police officer, who is taking his job too serious. After he was beaten up, he met the Seven Masters. They see that this dumb has huge chi-power. And its time to get in shape, because evil is coming back to earth. So he and Eui-Jin (a real babe) train to fight... ARAHAN could be yours, if you liked TOKYO RIDERS or DUEL. Don't be like Sang-hwan and take it too serious. Its loud, fast and funny. This colourful urban martial arts action feast won't allow you much time for breathing. Fasten your seat belt. This is a ride you won't soon forget.