Death Trance

Watching a lot of Asian action movies lately I saw the trailer for Death Trance and thought : Wow! Sowrds, motorbikes, guns, bazookas, Breakdance mixed with martial arts. But where was the story. Well, you don't often need a story in Good action flicks, but in this case : it was absolutely senseless. One fight after the other and you don't get why. And for being the ultimate fighter who only seeks destruction I didn't really understand why does Tak leave everybody alive??? The soundtrack really hurts. In movies like Versus and Azumi I felt the heavy rock music entertaining, but here you want to turn the sound off after short time before your ears start to bleed. If you are looking for a modern Japanese action movie go for Azumi, Shinobi, Aragami. But i wouldn't recommend this; except if you are a hardcore trash fan......

So what can I say about Death Trance, personally I loved it. I am huge fan of anime and most importantly of the final fantasy series and to see someone have the balls to pull off this sort of genre is a statement in itself. Unfortunately we do get the bad apples like "ultraviolet". The overall story is comprehensible to a certain point, only real problem I see was there was not enough back story to support what is going on. It's like being kidnapped and strapped onto a roller-coaster with a blind fold on, you know what's going on around you but you're not exactly sure how you even got there in the first place. Tak Sakaguchi does well as Grave, his demeanor suited this character more so than his counter part in "versus". The supporting cast do a great job of filling the void of this somewhat empty world and in typical Sakaguchi fashion the fight scenes can be somewhat lengthy. But seriously seeing a lone samurai smacking the crap out of Zombies with a stick in a forest full of vampiric spidermen is just classic. The heavy metal music sets the mood for the battles and fit in perfectly. It's not the greatest movie in the world but I guarantee you play this at a party and people will have their eyes glued. Death Trance's special fx is without doubt AMAZING, no ands ifs or buts. If the lack of story is what hinders the movie, the SFX more than make up for that. If you're looking to run through a quick final fantasy-esquire like story then rent it at blockbuster. If you really like it then keep it and pay the rest. That's what I'm doing, this is definitely a good "unknown" movie to pull out on your friends. Overall I dig this movie, they stepped out and tried something new with this movie and I think they pull it off nicely.

9/10

and that's the final word.

The hero drags a coffin behind him, an overwhelming number of enemies attack him, but only when the coffin is opened, hell really breaks loose... sounds like the summary for "Django" with Franco Nero, but actually it's "Death Trance" with Tak Sakaguchi. This rare coffin motif is something that will make you remember a movie which otherwise is fun, but not outstanding. Lots of fight scenes in a fantasy world where sticks and swords meet guns, motor bikes and an ultra-cool rocket launcher. Calling it a "historical costume movie" as its star did in an interview is not quite true, but few in the audience will care about history as long as it is fun. And it sometimes really is, e.g. when Grave (Sakaguchi) enters a "saloon" followed by a maybe 6 year old girl, orders a big glass of milk for himself - while the child drinks a whiskey. Or when Grave kills vampires by biting their necks in turn. No grave yet for Grave. Don't expect a masterpiece as "Death Trance" hasn't got the depth. Still worth a look if you like such kind of things.

I personally enjoyed this movie a lot. The best way to look at it is to go in with expectations of watching something basically the same as Versus. Don't expect some great story, because its non-too deep, however it does keep you entertained and interested. The action scenes are once again amazing, thanks to Tak and Yuji, both great at what they do. Any major fan of Tak will love this movie. Also, I have to say the ending is quite entertaining and original. Plus the soundtrack adds a good affect, since its pretty much ALL Dir en grey songs. It includes the new single "CLEVER SLEAZOID" by them, which goes along very great with the film. In all, any fan of Kitamura or fans of Asian cinema should enjoy this film, if only for a fun flick.

Death Trance is from the action director of Devil May Cry 3, if you've played that game then you should know what to expect!

Death Trance is a completely O.T.T. fantasy action movie, a few have criticised the plot but I found it to be good and the humour is genuinely funny which is something that Versus failed at. If you hate the plot then rest assured, it's the crazy action scenes that provide the entertainment and there's plenty of them!

My only disappointment with the movie was Steven Seagals son, if he takes after his father then it doesn't show, he has a small action scene at the beginning, and it's nothing special.