Dong wu shi jie

It was quite different than the original Kaiji. I did not know what to expect when I saw the weird clown fights, but in the end they were a nice dark addition to the story, can't say the same about the other elements. The worst thing for me was that I could not see Kai Si's ultimate despair mode, and that is a bit lacking because that was the moment when Kaiji came up with all of his greatest ideas. And of course, I missed the "zawa zawa" onomatopoeia, as a mark of Nobuyuki Fukumoto.

Animal World is the Chinese adaptation of the Japanese film Kaiji Ultimate Gambler.

The effects in this film are extremely good. It's used in a way which highlights impact moments and helps the film explain its logic based obstacles. Not everyone will be able to follow the logic unfortunately. The film does it's best to explain to the audience but does not slow down. My partner who is a native mandarin speaker said she got lost at times, so it wasn't really the language that was the problem. I really enjoyed the puzzle / riddle type thinking exercises the movie places in front of you.

The characters aren't built up or developed and lack substance. The film isn't focused on that. It uses that as a background to set the stage for the main part of the film. Once it starts though, the film managed to me engaged and excited looking forward to what happens next. Through clever use of special effects and camera work, you get to enjoy some well executed cinematography.

I would actually recommend this to some of my family and friends who I know enjoy these kinds of films. I would watch it again once it comes out on my devices.

In conclusion, those who enjoy fast paced, straight into the action that requires a bit of thinking will enjoy this movie. It was definitely executed well for the type of movie it is trying to be. 7 / 10

First of all, "gambling for life" is not anything new. We've seen the idea development in many movies and books already. There were all kinds of such games: walking day and knight, card games, labyrinths, TV shows, computer games... Even the extra-dimensional space sliced into cubic rooms (you know what I am hinting at!) So you can hardly be surprised or entertained by yet another kind of a game where stakes are so high.

And you can hardly say that you couldn't guess what would be the plot in general. Really, you can roughly outline it since the very beginning.

Yet, this movie is really good! And what makes it good is how story writers turned a very simple kind of game into a very deep and complex human interaction. How the gaming process melts into background to highlight all the complex things that happen between characters downstage. How the plot twists are really powered by human passions, not just gaming activities. And this is really cool! This is where really good movie making begins!

I won't say this is the best film of the year, but it is definitely good, and entertaining, and also quite beautiful (even with all the surrealistic ugly monsters that appear on-screen). Unexpectedly "western" kind of movie for China, too. See it! It's fun!

Animal World got some great publicity because of the train scene that went viral across social media, a martial arts clown battling monsters through train carriages! Memorable stuff. For this reason that's what I assumed Animal World would basically be, I was mistaken and in a good way.

It tells the story of a young man who finds himself in tremendous debt and forced to play an elaborate game of rock paper scissors hosted by Michael Douglas to save himself.

Okay fine the premise sounds a bit ropey but in fact it's the concept that makes this such a remarkable film. It looks like a AAA Hollywood film not the Chinese movie it is, it's well cast, very cleverly written and I was gripped more than I have been by a film in quite sometime.

So the clown? the cgi monsters? the incredible over the top fight scenes? Well they're the weakest part of the film! Not because they're bad, in fact quite the opposite they're incredible stuff. No the problem with them is that they're entirely unnecessary, they detract from the movie rather than contribute to it. Instead of seeing more (Because there isn't much) I'd rather they had not included that at all, maybe make a separate movie altogether for that stuff.

Such a clever well constructed film with entirely forgivable flaws.

The Good:

Some incredible visuals

Solid soundtrack

Michael Douglas

Fantastic concept

The Bad:

Side concept is unnecessary

Unfinished story with no assurance of a sequel

It reminded me a bit Sucker Punch, the protagonist dissociation create a parallel universe. Very worth to watch it.