Re: Born

I hadn't heard of this movie up until I seen a trailer titled "The Japanese John Wick". As a huge fan of the action genre, I was immediately interested. Considering this movie has barely gotten a release outside of some film festivals a couple of years ago, it has got to be one of the best action movies that has just flown under the radar with no notice this year. It is absolutely jam-packed with wall to wall action, with the final 45 minutes being one extended action sequence loaded with some breakneck choreography, camera & stunt work. The story is pretty straight forward with an absolute bad-ass main character. Overall, a must watch for any fan of action films and one of the best of 2018. It puts most western, Hollywood action movies to absolute shame. Highly recommended & underrated hidden gem.

8/10

Re:Born is without doubt the movie with the most knife stabs and slices that I have ever seen. Blades flash across the screen in an almost balletic display of close combat martial arts skills, as flesh gives way to metal in a barrage of attacks that will have you wincing on many occasions.

Toshiro (Tak Sakaguchi) is a former special forces operative who now lives a quiet life as a shopkeeper. He is still haunted by the impulses that made him an unstoppable killer, and when his former commanding officer re-emerges from his past seeking revenge, Toshiro is forced to go on a killing spree against a squad of ruthless assassins.

Clocking in at 100 minutes, Re:Born isn't all about the action and gives time for the narrative to play out the backstory and life of Toshiro. However, it is the insane action set-pieces that drive this movie forward and have you looking open mouthed in astonishment at each and every fight scene. There is one particular 30 minute segment where Toshiro and 2 accomplices are making their way up a tree ridden hill facing a seemingly innumerable amount of enemies, that left me breathless by the time the last droplet of blood had been spilled. Toshiro's distinctive pre-fight shoulder movements encapsulating the fluidity of his deadly strikes with blades, fists, and even a folding shovel!

The close combat fighting is exemplified in one particular fight that occurs in a phone booth...while Toshiro continues his call as he fends off the attack of yet another person who is out to kill him.

Re:Born is an action movie with characters that are given the time for you to feel empathy with, all the while never far away from a crazy fight scene where knife will inevitably meet flesh. This deserves to be seen by everyone and looks absolutely superb on this first time Blu-ray release in the UK. Highly recommended.

Don't be fooled by the high rated reviews. This is a mediocre action movie that's part John Wick, part Taken and part Metal Gear Solid.

The "hero" is a cardboard cutout with the ability to dodge bullets and put a knife in a neck from nowhere and the villains are comical in the extreme.... one tries to hypnotise the hero to death.

Poor fight scenes where no one seems to see the hero despite him wearing a hoodie that stands out a mile and creaks everytime he moves, and most of it filmed in the woods or in a disused factory, this is a firm pass.

Great unique action, sometimes logic-defying it becomes dumb. A very simple story.

If you love John WIck and The Raid, this movie is worth your while.

Fast paced martial arts film with enough originality to be worthy of a recommendation. This is worth watching for the superbly executed fight scenes. The one in the phone booth sums up the style of the movie and is the most memorable for me. As the movie progressed I wondered how the pace could be held to the end, my mind can only take so much, but it just got more and more tense. I found myself almost holding my breath in the final scenes. OK so there is a background story to justify the high octane killing but the strength of the movie is mainly the action. Toshiro nicknamed the legendary Ghost was a former special ops soldier and unstoppable killer. He's now given that up and living as a shopkeeper but is still haunted by his past. His former commanding officer is seeking revenge so Toshiro has to return to killing and deal with what seems like an unlimited number of 'fight to the last' assassins.

My rating 6/10 Highly recommended if you're into exciting martial art knife combat with lots of blood. If not then this may seem like 115 minutes of ridiculous gratuitous killing.