The Wicked City

I loved the Japanese anime of this movie - saw it 15 years ago and loved it. Found this the live action version at a roadside VHS sale. I was so excited! Then I watched it and was disappointed at how BAD it was. Our jaws hit the floor when the guy was having sex w/the Pinball machine/lady. Gave it another chance and watched it with hubby, found new life as a comedy! Would make a great MST3K movie. I still own the VHS copy, wouldn't part with it for anything now. I definitely would still like to see a decent modern adaptation of this movie. The effects were so bad, I just couldn't get past was the scenes with the lasers(?)that looked like those glow necklaces from the Dollar Tree.

I've seen this movie at least a dozen times, and never once, never, didn't I cry at the end! I'm glad this is my first impression of sci-fi movie (besides ET, when I saw it at 6, which I don't quite remember what was really going on until I become a grown-up) since I first saw it at the age 18. It forever influenced my view of sci-fi movies. Whenever I go to see sci-fi films, I always pay attention to the styles, the messages contained within, the connection between the imaginative world and the real life. For me, that is what sci-fi movies really about, not some fancy special effects.

The other day I was surprised to find out we have copies for sale in America, I order a copy at once. But I was also shocked to find that this wonderful film, probably the best Hong Kong movie I'd ever seen, was not received well here in America. Almost all the people who praise the film are Asian. I don't think this has something to do with culture gap, because this is a very unusual Hong Kong films, it didn't contain anything specific about the Asian culture. And that's the point. It is not anything you expect to see in a Hong Kong, or any other Asia films you can find here in the United States. It didn't have fancy martial art, no strange custom (which I strongly disagree with. They always portray Asia as bunch of strange, mysterious, sick places. Because that kind of films can easily won the prize in European film festivals). This is simply a film about humanity. At the same time, it was so beautifully done. Very stylish, with the music that was so heartbreakingly beautiful. But do see this film in its original language with subtitle. NO FOREIGN FILM SHOULD BE WATCHED IN ENGLISH DUBBED VERSION! IT IS ALWAYS THE BIG DISASTER!!! Do take a moment to think about what you see and enjoy that beautiful ending.

This movie just goes to prove that most anime or manga "A" titles do not translate well to live action. Taken from the Anime of the same title (or AKA Supernatural Beast City) by Kawajiri Yohiataki, it lacks the visceral punch of the original. I was sorely disappointed with the "soft-core" shots and "soft-core" action. It coulda been a contenda...

I would call this a bad movie, it doesn't follow the original in any way and the acting sucks. But this movie is insane! I can't help but recommend it, this movie makes no sense and so much happens I can't help but like it. Random stuff happens out of nowhere, characters say random stuff, and all if a sudden the Police Cheif has random powers even though he isn't a Reptiod. You know, that's all this movie is, it's just random stuff happening. It's a bad movie but if you have some drugs laying around I would recommend it.

This film is a mess. No amount of suspension of disbelief will overcome the real world short comings. This is a special effects laden film, but the letter box format, ruins the impact by greatly reducing the size of the effects. Far worse is the use of a blue filter on many of scenes, which were shot entirely at night. Then, when the filter wasn't used, the backgrounds were in blue. Then, I guess for a diversion, some scenes used a bright red filter. I mean everything was red. Blue, red and dark. In conclusion, everything was difficult to see clearly, you had to use your imagination.

A foreign film has to be really good to gain acceptance from me. This film wasn't close. However, I am not meaning to put down people who like this sort of stuff. I am sure that this film does include elements that will be are greatly appreciated by some viewers. This is not a main stream film. Steer clear of this type of film-making.