Il ritorno di Kenshiro

I literally grew up reading Fist of the North Star as a kid and to tell the truth, I was upset that they even tried to make a real movie out of it. I would like to answer some of the quetions from previous messages. Someone mentioned there aren't many martial art moves in the movie. Well... In original manga, every fight ends in 1-2 moves since either Ken is WAY TOO strong or the opponent is stronger. And yes, characters have Japanese names, but in manga, they DO look like white people.

Overall, the movie itself is not something to watch and the ONLY reason why I even bothered to hunt down this rare movie was because I was the biggest Fist of North Star manga fan about 15 years ago.

Anyone who's read the original manga or, er, 'witnessed' the anime may question the wisdom of a live-action remake, what with all the slightly extravagant fisticuffs involved. But don't worry: it hasn't been turned into a blood-free pacifism-fest with Kenshiro strutting around in sandals and a tweed waistcoat preaching the ways of non-violent protest to the post-holocaust plebs. Oh no. There's plenty of fights in here, mate. And some of them are even quite entertaining.

There have been concessions to your average action film punter who's probably never even heard of the original, however. The storyline has been simplified (in the sense of at least one major character being dropped and a couple of others rolled into one) and a more familiar Hollywood flavour given to the future wasteland scenario, so that the whole thing occasionally teeters on the brink of suddenly turning into Mad Max II. But it doesn't, so that's alright. It manages to stick to the basic story thread of one bloke being the Fist of the North Star, another bloke being the Master of Southern Cross and 'the teachings' apparently dictating that the two must never fight... for a while, anyway, then it happily bins this ridiculous idea and gets everyone in to have a good old-fashioned scrap. So it's all pretty straightforward at the end of the day.

Straight-to-video martial arts ponce Gary Daniels does somehow look the part as Kenshiro, and as his Aussie twang isn't called into play too frequently you don't keep expecting Home And Away's Alf Stewart to turn up with chins retracted and demand that "You get out of my store, young Ken." His nemesis, Shin, is played by some other even less famous bloke, while Reservoir Dogs' Chris Penn gets to be another nutter and the unavoidable Malcolm McDowell chips in a deeply strenuous performance as a bloke who gets killed in the first five minutes. Apart from that it's a cast of nobodies. Spot the irony.

But despite offering nothing spectacular or stunningly innovative to the world, Fist isn't as bad as it could have been. It's definitely a bit shaky all round, yes, but the exploding heads and bursting arteries are fairly well done and that's all any version of the story ever had going for it really, so at least you can't complain about the budget being spent in all the wrong places.

I was exciting when this came out in 1995 and saw it in Tokyo. This was my favorite Japanese comic at the time. Unfortunately, this was one of the worst adaptations I could have never imagined. Although there were a few good fight effects, it did not make up for the poor screenwriting and plot. I want to remake this film with a big actors, and all the characters needed. This could be like a Lord of the Rings trilogy. The comic is tight, and the story is deep. So please don't watch this film. Read the comic and then let your imagination soar!!!

I love the anime version. I knew this one would be a train wreck, but had to check it out. The fights bored me to tears. The guy playing Kenshiro looked too much like Kevin Nealon in a bad wig for me to take seriously. The fact that Downtown Julie Brown was the best actor in the mess should be enough to warn you away. Kenshiro's head-exploding move looked like something out of hot shots part deux. A for effort, but they just weren't up the task.

I thought this film was pretty good. Although, I do agree that the anime is better. I think the actors really did well for their parts. It's a lot different though from the anime. I recommend picking it up when you've got the chance. Watch it at night, it sets the mood better.