Moon Child

It may be possible that the cultural difference makes me rate it lower than I would, say, an American film, but really, what a long, boring, pretentious, often ridiculous film!

First you have the two protagonists, Japanese pop singers, both dyed blond, Gackt (please attempt to ignore the name sounds like something a Klingon would eat) wearing blue contact lenses, trying to look cooler than God. I could buy that. Then there is the story setting: somewhere in a fictional Chinese city where a blend of poor Japanese immigrants and Taiwanese and Chinese people live and fight each other. I could buy that, too.

Now it gets ridiculous: all of this is set in the future (2025-2045) and one of the rising gangsters is a vampire. Does that mean we see cool gadgets, special effects, even vampire teeth? No. The whole story could have been set in the 1980's for all the tech and cars. Then there are the gun fights: long coated heroes stand in the middle of rooms and shoot from akimbo guns without moving (or even aiming). Occasionally, they remain out of ammo and reload their guns by throwing ammo clips to one another.

The thing is that if you ignore the vampire angle (which is very very easy, since not much of the lore is used in the film) and the future angle (which is also very easy: just remove the two captions showing the year), then the movie becomes a coming of age, clan gang story. The Godfather this is not, of course, but for that genre and allowing for Asian weirdness and removing about 30 minutes from it, the movie could have fought for an average rating, but as such it is a pretentious borefest.

Update: after reading the reviews of other people I can say with almost certainty that its rating was artificially raised by fakers.

Moon Child is touted by its producers as a "wildly entertaining hybrid of futuristic science-fiction, John Woo-style gunplay and Gothic vampire horror." I found it to be one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Terrible acting, writing, and direction prove that pop stars should not be allowed to write or star in movies; the characters are underdeveloped and generate absolutely no sympathy -- in fact, the viewer is hard pressed to care if they live or die; the plot is all over the place; the special effects are cheap. Takahisa Zeze should never be allowed to direct another film. Gackt and HYDE are insufferable -- the movie should have been titled "Hairdressers on Fire."

The two stars of the movie Moon Child Gackt (ex Malice Mizer, solo artist) and Hyde (L'arc en Ciel, solo artist) are both rock idols in Japan, so it goes without saying that my expectations were fairly low for this film heading in.

The plot is quite a piece of work. On one level it's a typical gangster picture about orphans growing up in the slums and trying to carve out a piece of the pie for themselves. And on another level it's about the transience of life and the value of happiness, which is shown to us through the presence of the vampire Kei (Hyde), who is forever trapped in his youth. Yes, there's a vampire. But the story isn't actually about the vampire, it's about Sho (Gackt).

The movie opens with Sho, his brother Shinji and Toshi as children innocently robbing a local gangster. In the midst of the retreat Sho comes upon Kei, who is burning in the sunlight, Sho takes Kei to their hideout and before you know it Kei's true nature is revealed. Flash forward a few years and we see a young Sho on the verge of manhood, and Kei, still unchanged but smiling a lot more.

The movie has the traditional three acts of a gangster picture. Predictably the first act has a happy go lucky quality to it, but all the while the director shows you glimpses of the dark clouds looming beyond. Act two is the fake smile on the frown, and Act three is the tears and redemption. As far as pacing and writing goes, I think the movie does a top notch job of trusting its character's motivations and histories. I was genuinely moved by the story.

The problem isn't with the script, the problem is with the action. The action scenes though some are creative and funny, are monotonous and unbelievable. For all the drama in the comedy/drama scenes there is very little in the action scenes. Which are so full of gun shots you're likely to get a headache. Sho walking into machine gun fire is so ridiculous it makes Rambo look plausible.

I also had a few qualms about the performances, especially Hyde's Kei. While he was good as the stranger standing aloof, or the morbid figure smiling dully, he failed to convince me of his 'curse', and he failed to step up when it came time to be dramatic. This was his inexperience as an actor showing.

Overall I think the story is such a good one that I'm willing to forgive most of the film's shortcomings. It may not be the prettiest film, but it definitely has some great shots, and great moments. You won't see another movie where the vampire is a secondary character this year or possibly any other. Moon Child is a unique experience and though it takes some getting used to, when all is said and done, you'll be glad you invested time and emotion in these characters.

I must admit, at first I wasn't expecting anything good, at all. I was only expecting a cheesy movie promoting Gackt's and Hyde's image, but I'm glad to say it has much more to offer.

Yes, the acting is not that great, but it doesn't suck either, all the cast's well disciplined and they bring enough strength to their characters. Effects lack consistency but action scenes are satisfying enough.

What really hooked me up was the essence of the storyline, although it merges fantastic elements, it also displays a crude reality. The developing of the characters, their doubts and their feelings really got on to me and I think that's the key of this movie. It puts you to think and it does well transmitting all the angst.

It fulfills any expectations for a good drama. I would definitely recommend it to everyone.

I voted 8 for this movie because of some minor childish flaws. Other than that, this movie is one of my favorites! It's entertaining to say the least. The shooting scenes are ridiculous though, and I think Gackt (who wrote the book) takes a little bit too much of his "Matrix obsession" into it. It seems like their enemies just stands there...waiting to get shot at. However, this movie is touching and it always makes me cry. It has a lot of GREAT humor in it so it makes me laugh as well. Gackt is a superb actor I must say..he shows so much emotion. This was Hyde's first time acting and he did okay. The role fits him. Wang Lee Hom is absolutely great. The whole cast is what I would say, perfect for this movie. DON'T MISS IT! YOU'LL REGRET IT!