Fighter in the wind

I believe that this is one of the best movies to come out Korea in along time. It has got heart and soul and you can see that the director and the cast really care about bringing to life this story of one of the greatest martial artist in history. However despite how much I enjoyed this film there were a few flaws.

First some emotional parts in the story moves to fast and there are scenes f Korean and Japanese customs (such as shaving his eyebrows) that we don't understand and we are not given an explanation to. Another thing is that some moments of this movie are incredibly exxagerated and some are just made up for the movie. I don't understand why they did this since Oyama Mas had an amazing life without all the made up scenes.

Last is the action, I hear that most people didn't like the action because the fight scenes were short and brutal. However because I do martial arts and know a lot about Oyama Mas I believe that this was the right way for the movie. This is because Oyama never did any soft kungfu which you see in most movies these days, He did hard taekwondo and later created kyokushin karate and he always tried to finch his opponent with one punch. combat is not a dance where you can predict each other movements.

'Paramui Paito (Fighter in the Wind) is based on the events in the life of legendary Korean martial artist Choi Bae-dal. Or more precisely, the film is based on the comic book based on the martial artist's life _ a difference that can be felt throughout this entertaining but factually suspect movie.

The first of a handful of local films about famous Koreans who lived during the Japanese occupation period, ''Fighter in the Wind tells of the early part of Choi¡¯s life, how he sneaked into Japan in the late 1930s in hopes of becoming a pilot, joined the martial arts community there, and after training by himself in the mountains for 18 months, came down to become the top fighter of that country.

The film offers a seemingly sentimentalized version of the same story, especially playing up the outsider aspect of Choi's experiences, of his being a Korean in Japanese society. Given the story's xenophobic elements, which include evil yakuzas exploiting Koreans, it will be interesting to see how a Japanese audience responds to the film when it gets released there as planned.

''Fighter¡¯s best moments hint at the moral complexity of films like ''Raging Bull,¡¯¡¯ Martin Scorcese¡¯s boxing masterpiece. At first, Choi¡¯s motivation to become Japan¡¯s best seems to be connected to righting injustices felt by Koreans in Japan, but as he travels to martial arts schools enduring punishment after punishment, it becomes less clear as to what he is trying to prove.

But such insights are all too brief in the film, which is so heavy on the melodrama and action that it's difficult to take too seriously. By the end, the story resembles a kung fu film from Hong Kong, complete with a geisha girlfriend (Ara Hirayama), who tries to turn Choi into a lover not a fighter, and elder statesmen of the Japanese martial arts community who will go to any lengths to keep a Korean from becoming Japan's best. It's not the most inventive of plots, but the film keeps it entertaining throughout.

Singer and actor Bi (Rain) was initially cast for the lead role of Choi but had to pull out due to schedule conflicts. It¡¯s a good thing too, for the rail-thin pop singer wouldn¡¯t have been able to take the physical punishment the role required.

Instead, we get Yang Dong-geun, a burly actor who plays the part to near perfection. It¡¯s refreshing to see this young and talented actor take on a substantial role for a change, and he brings to ''Fighter the necessary savagery and physical presence to make it work.

I was pretty excited when this hit theaters. There was a lot of buzz floating around about it being the next great martial arts film. Unfortunately, for everything it does right, it does equal wrong.

For starters, this is a martial arts film, so you would assume there would be lots of fighting. And there is fighting, just not all that much. Most of the film is littered with lengthy dialogue scenes that are intended to deepen the characters, but this fails as well. Character motivation seems to be limited to "spur of the moment" reasoning and the ultimate plot is nothing more than standard fight-film fare (boy gets beat up a lot, boy trains, boy beats up everybody).

This isn't to say that the film doesn't have some positive aspects. The film is gorgeous; color, cinematography, lighting, all handled with expert flare. As for the fights (when the film gets around to them), they are excellent. Eskewing the modern trend penchant for treating fights like elaborate dance sequences, here instead we get some real hard-hitting brawls that also maintain a look of grace.

If only the filmmakers had put as much effort into the writing as they did into the look of the film, this could easily have been one of the top martial art films, instead of mild entertainment destined to be forgotten.

Score: 6/10

i cant believe the comments made about this movie!this has to be Korea's best output in the martial arts genre since musa!!the fights certainly pull no punches you can hear heads and bones crunching!!i suggest you take another look and as you will see this a fine movie!!acting is good,the locations brilliant as the camera takes you around ghetto's to the wondrous scenes in the mountains,the training he puts him self through would make rocky balboa blush!!!the ice climb is excellent,you also get a feel for the period,this guy took no prisoners i can tell you,don't be put off from some reviews see this as a ruff n tumble session of extreme!!the last shot has to be seen to be believed!!!10/10 for a real gem of the martial arts kind!!!

This korean movie claims to be inspired by the life of Choi Bae-dal, who founded the kyokushinkaikan variation of Karate, and the film explores the prejudice between the Koreans and the Japanese back then.

The setting is in post-WWII Japan, with Yakuzas and American GIs abound, not to mention the influx of Korean immigrants. This film narrates the life of Bae-dal in a fairly straightforward way, following his path to fame amongst fighters - taking on karate, judo and even kendo exponents.

Somehow this film parallels Stephen Chow's KungFu Hustle, which also narrates the life of a nobody to a somebody, with a pretty babe in tow for good measure, except this one is without the slapstick comedy.

The first half plods on, as our protagonist is still a greenhorn in the martial arts world. Once you've gotten past the first hour, things start to pick up when he trains himself to be the best of the best, but towards the finale, it somehow hints of Tom Cruise's The Last Samurai. Probably no fault of its own, as it explores the same theme amongst all martial arts - honour and justice.

The fight scenes, which looked spectacular in the trailers, actually offers nothing new. Most of it are quick cuts and slow motion, and given the premise, could've offered more in terms of actual fights.

This should appeal to those who wanna know more about the myth behind Kyokushinkaikan Karate. If you're looking for real Kung-Fu action, you'll probably be better off with a Jet Li martial arts movie.