Director: Mak Tai-kit
Year: 1992
Country: Hong Kong/Japan
Alternate Titles: Yiu sau dou si
Genre: Sci-Fi/Action
Plot:
Working in a futuristic version of Hong Kong, a pair of agents are among a team tasked with keeping order between humans and Rapters. The Rapters are a race of superpowered beings who live in harmony despite some outliers playing both sides against each other. After a series of incidents involving an entrepreneur who is trying to keep a drug known as Happiness that's been created as a way of trying to take over humanity and his daughter who was romantically involved with one of the agents in the past, the team discovers the nefarious plans and race into action to find the source of the drug and stop it from spreading beyond the city.
Review:
Overall, this was a serviceable if somewhat disappointing remake. Among its positive factors is a rather fun sense of energy and excitement brought about by the relentless visuals of the storyline. While still somewhat restrained and obviously low-budget in nature, the energy present in the confrontations that take place manages to generate a strikingly enjoyable sense of action. As the battles range from the various supernatural powers of the demonic beings being used against the human weaponry and guns, the use of wild special effects to put everything into perspective allows for a fun time.
Wild confrontations in nightclubs, hotel rooms, massive hotel lobbies, and out on the city streets bring a series of high-energy set-pieces that showcase a series of practical effects and virtual imagery. The creativity to pull off the use of the creatures' powers when they're cornered or trying to go on the offensive makes this one fly back incredibly quickly, generating a type of pace that keeps the interest going in the storyline. The twists and turns are handled well since the constant introduction of new factors that are quite enjoyable keeps the film up overall.
There are some big problems in the film that stand out here. Among its biggest drawbacks is the bizarre storyline that abandons a lot of the political ramifications of the original version into a rather underwhelming mafia-style soap opera involving the two agents falling in love in the middle of the confrontation between these two factors, trying to come to terms and create peace. That we're never really sure what they are, shifting between demons, mutants, aliens, shapeshifters, or just human-like beings from a different dimension interacting in our world, makes up a lot of this, causing a great deal of confusion over what the creatures are really after beyond the distribution of the drug. That's really the only part that makes sense, but this factor is merely glossed over in the grand scheme of the rest of the storyline involving the daughter trying to make things right with the agents so that they can then team up and take down the drugs sweeping the city.
This gives the film a distinct identity of its own, but it also loses much of the charm of the anime, which relied on the gonzo imagery just as much as the fantastic interdimensional storyline that's somewhat missing here. As well, the rushed nature of the brief running time has a hand in that, with there not being a lot of time to delve into anything, unanswered questions run rampant throughout here. Answering what the creatures are is a big one, much like how characters suddenly get superpowers whenever it's convenient in the scene to do so, or just randomly accepting something without hesitation. That would've cleared this one up quite a bit, and overall, is what brings this down.
Overview: **.5/5
An enjoyable if somewhat convoluted take on the material, this live-action version comes off fine for what it is, but does have more of a specific interest mindset. Viewers more interested in the over-the-top action and visuals over the convoluted storyline, want to compare the two versions against each other, or are just not interested in anime in their preferences, will be fine with this adaptation, while others looking for more coherent fare or turned off by the flaws should heed caution here. If you have not seen either and are presented with a choice, the anime is a bit easier to digest and access as well.
This review was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.
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