ozwozzle

Brighton Wok was made in my hometown of Brighton, UK so, as a big fan of independent cinema, I had been following it's progress over the years up to its release. That said, I like to be very critical of movies in general and am writing this review from a completely un-biased perspective.

When I saw the movie, it blew me away. I kind-of suspected that, being a little movie with no big stars or a big budget, Brighton Wok would only really be of interest to me as it was made where I grew-up. How Wrong I was. The small budget and very hand-made feel that the movie has, combined with Hollywood-level production values (I still find it hard to believe how they pulled it off) do not detract at all from the movie's credibility. I was absolutely entertained from beginning to end. I don't want to go-on about the movie's small budget, but, considering that a lot of 'big' movies made for hundreds of times the price fail to cinematically gratify me to this extent whatsoever, I have to say what an amazing job these guys have done.

The Plot: An Insane Itallian Ninja (Vafan Cuolo) takes-over Brighton with an army of thugs and begins to implement his own brand of martial law: anyone having a good time or expressing themselves in any way other than with violence, is forced out of town or killed.

A young man (Ryu), haunted by a troubled past, intrigued by the local newsreader/reporter Bella, and feeling shaken-up after a series of confusing and violent dreams and flashbacks, decides to try and enlist the help of the 'Crazy Old Man who Lives in a Tree', who points him in the direction of the fabled 'Ganja Master', a spiritual guru, shrouded in mystery, who lives in a secret location outside Brighton.

Obviously having taken several pages from 'Drunken Master's' book, our hero Ryu must train with the Ganja Master in the ancient art of Ganja Boxing, before entering in to an all-or-nothing final confrontation with Vafan where everything is on-the-line.

some of the supporting cast are a little weak, and a few of the characters feel merely like plot-devices, but the dead-pan hero Ryu, maniacally charismatic villain Vafan, along with the wonderfully over-the-top Crazy Old Man living in a Tree are easily enough to carry the film. That aside, the great photography and editing, an absolutely excellent soundtrack, hilarious tongue-in-cheek storytelling, break-neck pace of the action and utterly ridiculous concept handled in such a serious manner make this a movie that'll be on-my-mind for some time to come...

At a Q&A after the screening, the filmmakers said that it was 5 years in the making. After having seen the movie for myself, I'm really not surprised. you can really feel all the love and hard-work that has so obviously gone into it, and despite a couple of minor shortcomings, I feel that Brighton Wok is destined to become a gem of a cult classic. The Kung-Fu is pretty good too.

A deadly virus, The Grey Death, is ravaging a futuristic world (where science might have gone too far) and it is the US government that is using it to cull world population and make a profit by selling the vaccine to the wealthy.

As JC Denton, you must travel the world, solve countless problems and battle loads of foes to find out more, constantly uncovering new facts and changing sides as you go.

Deus Ex is one of the first games where you can make moral and tactical decisions that effect the story and it is partly this, along with: an incredibly diverse group of supporting characters, the ability to both customise yourself (using nano augmentations) and your weapons, the interesting moral dilemmas that the twisting story raises in the player and the continuous references to things like: other games, classic literature, films and philosophical works that makes it such a great game. but the underlying feeling you get from playing the game is one of complete immersion into a wonderful yet darkly twisted world.

I have played Deus Ex many many times and have discovered something new on each occasion. i think it is this that makes Deus ex the greatest game ever and this that will mean it is still the greatest game ever in 5, 10, 15, 100... years time.

11/10