Plot
In the year 2014, Japan has collapsed economically and thus its people emigrated in large numbers and settled in other parts of the world. In a corner in Asia, there is a little street called Mallepa, a big melting pot where Asians such as Hongkongers, Taiwanese and Japanese live together. It was a place where people fought for order, food and freedom. It was there where Shou (Gackt), raised as an orphan and Kei (Hyde), who could live forever, met and became the best of friends. However, they were unable to escape from the fight for power involving gangs of different ethnicity on the street of Malepa.
Analysis
After watching this film I almost fell off my chair. No alcohol was involved instead my instability was caused by great waves of disbelief. Vaughn had successfully managed to give me a good film to review! Yet again there are Vampires involved but unlike most of the drivel that I get to punish my eyes with, this was a Japanese film, and it had a budget.
The basic premise is this: A group of young boys are trying to live as best they can on the streets of a town called Mallepa. Economic crisis has forced people to move, and it seems that all the dregs of the populous end up in this town. Because of this, crime lords are ruling the streets and guns seem as common as dirt. The film starts with the boys robbing a local businessman. They run off to hide with the spoils and agree to meet up later at their hideout. One of the boys, Sho, who turns out to be one of the two main characters of the film, finds himself in a rundown warehouse and notices a man sitting on the floor. He sees that the mans hand is resting in a shaft of sunlight and smouldering. This is Kei the Vampire. Sho helps Kei and takes him back to the hideout where the boys find out what he really is when the businessman catches up with them and Kei steps in to help protect them from this gun wielding chap. The story then continues to follow the lives of the boys, as they move up through the hoodlum ranks over the course of several years. There are fights, friendships (made and lost) and, of course, death.
In essence this film is a story about relationships primarily that between Sho and Kei. It starts with Sho as a young boy, then flicks ahead a few years and you see him as a man, and again another skip has Sho married with a child. Throughout all of this the ageless Kei is constant. He is always there to help and guide and be Sho’s calming influence. But Kei is fighting a battle with himself as well as with the local thugs. He hates the fact that he is a vampire; he hates the fact that he has to kill in order to survive. He even goes on a hunger strike as the thought of butchering another human sickens him so much. But all you action fans who are probably thinking that this is a bit of a girly film take note: The first half of the film has some of the most entertaining gunfights I have ever seen. They are not as impressive or blatant as say those of Equilibrium, but they have enough nice touches to make you go ‘ That was cool’. There is one particularly memorable scene involving the two main protagonists as they go to a local gangs hideout to rob them. They meet another man who is fighting his way out and the three of them join forces to survive. However, I thought that there wasn’t enough of this kind of thing. In the entire film there are only really 2 major gunfight scenes, and I really wish there could have been more. But as I said, this film is not about the fighting and the gore, it’s about the people.
The effects in the film are quite tame, never being too grotesque or gratuitous. There are no massive explosions, no hearts ripped out, no fountains of blood, but the effects that are used are just right. If they were too big they wouldn’t have worked and they would have distracted you from the plot.
Overall I would say, as you can tell from the score, that if you have a couple of hours free and want to watch a film that has some substance rather than relying completely on CGI, then I would get a bag of popcorn and pick up this one. It may leave you wanting a little on the blood and gore, but there are enough films floating around out there that can fill that gap. Enjoy.
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Rating (out of 5) |
Comment |
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Action
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The first half of the film has the most action, the second half, apart from the end, is a little slower.
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Tension
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Not a great deal of tension, but the fights are quite thrilling.
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Violence/
Gore
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Some decent violence, but for a film with vamps, surprisingly little blood.
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Bare Flesh
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None
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None that I can remember.
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Plot
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A great story well told.
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Verdict
A vampire film with hardly any vampires, blood or guts. This can’t be any good! If this is what you think then you are wrong. This film is story, not action lead. It is a story about relationships and how they can change over time. But don’t think that this is a girly film that you would watch to try and impress the ladies, there are action scenes! They may be few and far between, compared to some of the other roller coasters that you can find reviewed on this site, but they, are intense and extremely well done. They incorporate fantastic choreography and subtle special effects. The very fact that there hasn’t been millions of dollars spent on big bangs and CGI is most definitely a good thing. The film would have been ruined by such crass effects, and would not be getting the deserved score that you see below.
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Facts, figures and boobs
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Movie Pictures
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