Wicked Game

This movie features some good fight and stunt choreography done by Koichi Sakamoto's Alpha stunt team(Power Rangers T.V. series; Drive). Other than the cool fights and stunts, this movie has absolutely nothing to offer. Just like most, if not all, made-for-cable movies, this is filled with poor dialogue, poor camera work, and lousy acting and settings...but hey, you should expect that; right?! Well this movie has a grainy look to it, which I don't personally like. I kinda feels like Jackass..I don't know why, but it does to me. This is a decent film to watch if nothing else is on...just don't expect greatness.

When I first saw this movie I got the impression that it was a vehicle for some stuntmen trying to turn actors. After looking at IMDB I realized I was not far off. I would not even be surprise to find that some other Power Ranger folks were also involved. The plot is a simple get something from bad guys and fight bad guys off. The sets are unrealistic much like those on the aforementioned Power Rangers. Nothing was truly outstanding action-wise either. All in all although there are action flicks worse then this movie there are many that are far better.

Okay, let's get this out of the way early – this movie is terrible. It features horrible acting, annoying characters, a clichéd script and shoddy shot-on-video cinematography. So why on earth would I recommend this to anyone? Because of the amazing fight scenes. Co-directors Koichi Sakamoto and Makoto Yokoyama may not be immediately recognizable names to action genre enthusiasts, but chances are you have seen their work. Both supply the action choreography for the US versions of the POWER RANGERS. However, Koichi's main claim to fame is that he was the stunt coordinator on Steve Wang's THE GUYVER 2 and DRIVE. Anyone familiar with those films will know what I am talking about. With this film, both Koichi and Makoto's stunt teams (Alpha Stunt and AAC respectively) combine to create some strong stunt work.

Whereas celebrated HK veteran Yuen Woo Ping's Hollywood efforts have become increasingly airborne and unrealistic (THE MATRIX films are a perfect example), this team's style is reality based and hard-hitting. Some of the stunts in this one are absolutely amazing. Fights break out every 10 minutes or so and they are flawlessly choreographed. Major set pieces include a fight on top of moving cars, a skydiving gun/fist fight and the obligatory warehouse fight where guys bump off the equipment as if it were rubber. Lead Johnny Yong Bosch (formerly the Black Ranger on the POWER RANGERS) does a majority of his own stunts and is amazingly agile. One wishes he would get more work to showcase his martial arts talent. There are also three instances of stunts gone wrong that made it into the final film (you will know them when you see them).

This Movie has great fight scenes. Now its true that the acting is a little rough. But If I wanted to see a movie based on acting skills I would watch a Cheesy movie Like American Beauty. But If you want to see a movie with true martial arts in it and with Amazing stunts WITHOUT the use of wires and flying threw the air like so many movies around now which are over killing the matrix. Then Watch this. Now it's true the two main stars in the show where in the kid show the power rangers and another cast member of that show has a bit part in this movie. But hey the fight scenes are enough to make Jet Li p**s his pants. And the stunts are worthy enough for Jackie Chan to sit threw and admire.

The problem with Koichi's film is that while people like Jackie Chan and Jet Li can get away with weak scripts and acting (or even singing), they possess a certain charm that Koichi does not. The action sequences and "charm" in their films make up for any weaknesses in the script. Koichi doesn't realize this and instead say's "look at my stunts!". He has others put themselves in grave danger to advance himself. Great stunts don't make a movie, which is why Jackie Chan and Jet Li films are entertaining and Koichi's films are almost frustrating to watch. Even when he tries to be funny, it falls flat, because he has no sense of humor. On top of everything else I've written, if Koichi wanted to be a "star", he would star in his own films, but he does not, because he knows he is a bland, unattractive person, as opposed to Jackie Chan or Jet Li. If he stuck to stunt coordinating and not "success", he might make it in the film industry.