|
Directed by: Ryuhei Kitamura Starring: Tak Sakaguchi Once you get around the somewhat silly plot, which can be a bit hard to figure out, this action-horror movie is fun: zombies, martial arts, gunplay, sword fights... it's a blend of a lot of awesome ideas. The plot is really an excuse for the hour of fighting, so I won't go ahead and explain it in detail, but basically it's a reason for a bunch of people to wander around a forest and fight each other (and hordes of zombies). Guns, swords, and martial arts are all represented. There isn't anything revolutionary going on here, but it's fun nonetheless -- characters have different mannerisms and fighting styles. A few scenes reek of Matrix ripoff, but they're few and far between. The low budget makes itself known at times (90% of the movie takes place in the same forest setting, the makeup/blood effects aren't great), but for the most part the movie is very well-done. The direction can get annoying at times -- Kitamura is fond of overly long panning, circling shots, which often last for 15+ seconds and add nothing to the movie. There is very little dialogue, which is probably for the best, since it's generic and rarely entertaining. Two hours is a little long for a movie which is pretty bare in terms of plot, and by the end you might find yourself wishing the fight scenes were a bit shorter. Overall it's fun to watch, certainly not without flaws, but for the budget it appears to have been made on, it's quite good. RATING: 3.5 PROS: Great fighting, interesting setup, fun characters CONS: Low budget, somewhat confusing story, repetitive ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0275773/
|
#
?
May 27, 2004 07:56
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 16:32 |
|
|
I agree that the film seems to run a bit long, but it also has some of the most tremendous fights ever put to film. Now that I've seen basically everything Kitamura's directed (I haven't played Twin Snakes but I've seen everything on his IMDB filmography before "Sky High"), I can say that either this or Azumi is my favorite thing he's done. Overall though I'm not really impressed with most of the stuff he's directed, mostly because Versus sets the bar really high and I just don't "get" the zombie aspect of most of his other stuff. Also, this year Kitamura is going to be releasing Versus 1.5, which I hear is this movie but recut with more fights in place of some of the slower parts. Hopefully it will be even better than Versus already is. "I have 500 times faster reflexes than Mike Tyson!" 4/5
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2004 08:57
|
|
|
I thought this was awful. Like the OP mentioned, the directing style was the source of a lot of the films problems, but I also couldn't stand some of the characters. The zombies were pretty cool, but the scenes trying to built the plot or the characters were terrible.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2004 16:32
|
|
|
I'm very tempted to call this the Japanese Evil Dead, since they share a number of similarities. But I'll stop short because both movies have their own unique quirks that make them enjoyable on different levels. I really liked this movie because of the fact that it's over-the-top and still works (in terms of the characters, action sequences, and general plot). Wish the ending was a bit better, but overall I'll be buying this on DVD. 4.5/5
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2004 18:23
|
|
|
There's 3 different Region 1 releases of the movie: one cut version to be avoided like the plague, the "Director's Cut" which should be in any Best Buy, and the (I think) out of print 2-disc set. I bought the 2-disc version of Versus, and am considering changing my avatar to be a picture of the Fighter with the caption "My reflexes are five hundred times faster than Mike Tyson's." Him and the crazy gay gangster (nearly none of the characters have names) are among the greatest characters put to film. Personally, I think this movie is hilarious, though the general consensus is that 30 minutes of this movie could be removed without it affecting much. Nearly every single conversation shown between the main character and the girl is the exact same thing (count how many times he says "What the hell are you talking about?" to the girl), so I imagine the stuff like that is what'll get cut for Versus 1.5. The combination of Evil Dead-style gore and comedy along with kung fu, shootouts, swordfighting, and zombies means that I'm looking forward to Versus 2 when it comes out next year. 5/5. Daryl Surat fucked around with this message at 20:55 on May 27, 2004 |
|
#
?
May 27, 2004 20:53
|
|
|
quote:Daryl Surat came out of the closet to say: quote:Daryl Surat came out of the closet to say: quote:Daryl Surat came out of the closet to say:
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2004 21:46
|
|
|
quote:danthemitchell came out of the closet to say: I pretty much agree. Add to that horrible voice acting on the dubbed version, substandard action and really no attempt at good writing and you have a craptastic movie. I went into this expecting a cheesy yet funny movie, and instead I got a cheesy and painful to watch movie. Also, gayest swords ever.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2004 23:36
|
|
|
I honestly wasn't that impressed. But then again I was expecting an ultra-creative zombie massacre gorefest a 'la Dead Alive, and the cover box said OMG MOST CREATIVE BLOOD-DRENCHED SCENES EVER THE DIRECTER HAD BUCKETS OF FAKE LIMBS AND GORE AND OH YEAH ZOMBIES AND NINJAS AND DBZ. My expectations, thusly, were way too high. And there were scenes which were just too loving long and repetitious. 2.5
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2004 03:16
|
|
|
I was expecting more from this one too, but I didn't really get all that disappointed over it for some reason. The fights were all pretty good, the whjole tone of the movie was totally Evil Dead, and the plot, dialogue, and acting were terrible except for the freaky weirdo guy that eventually turns into a froglike thing. I liked the non-undead version of his character a lot. The "final fight" between the 2 main characters was really well done, and I actually liked the pauses and the long "circle-strafe" camera shots. The very last scene totally makes the whole movie though. The whole film up to that point is a totally ridiculous, over-the-top action movie with almost no point to it until you see that very last scene. If this had a bigger budget and it didn't all take place in the same 3 clearings in the same forest, it would be way better. 3/5
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2004 02:40
|
|
|
quote:olhado came out of the closet to say: Versus has a lot of funny or neat fight scenes, but I think it is equally weighed down by a badly established love interest (really, just how many times can they have the exact same conversation?) and a few dull parts. The characters are flat but palatable, since the fights are the main feature. I'm not sure if my favorite was the gay mobster or the MIB who has about the same part in this film as the groundskeeper in The Shining. 3.5/5, it's entertaining and funny, but in need of revision, which I'm sure Versus 1.5 will fix. I'm looking forward to the sequel, as well.
|
|
#
?
May 29, 2004 05:25
|
|
|
I love this movie.. it was made on a cheap budget and it entertained me more than any big budget hollywood film could ever imagine *cough* matrix *cough*. As for the characters having no names me and my friends decided to give them names. The main dude - Bob The main Bad guy - Jimmy The main Girl - Charles The crazy as midget guy who freaks out alot - Chucky The gay guy - Gay thats about as far as we went with that. 5.0/5.5
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2004 07:08
|
|
|
quote:Vildiil came out of the closet to say: The guy with glasses and ponytail is Wallawalla. EDIT: 5.0/5.5
|
|
#
?
May 31, 2004 07:19
|
|
|
I loved this movie. It delivered everything I hoped it would, which was basically a lot of fighting, a lot of zombies, and a lot of places where my friends and I could make smart assed comments. The best thing has to be the subtle peek into Japanese culture, in which the main character talks about how he respects women, and yet keeps telling the only woman present to shut up and knocks her out every time she talks too much.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2004 23:40
|
|
|
This movie is totally awesome. There are zombies with guns. ZOMBIES WITH loving GUNS. The action is totally over the top, and there is plenty of gore as well. The best thing about the movie is the guitar licks that play when the main character strikes some badass pose. This certainly isn't "high art" in any way, but as entertainment it's amazing. 4/5
|
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2005 08:28
|
|
|
I love this movie. My friends love this movie. Both the subtitles and the dub have an undeniable wackiness ("I'm a feminist") that increase the fun. Anyone who likes bizarre action movies, Japanese movies, or zombie movies owes it to themselves to get their friends together and take a little trip down to Versus-ville. I suppose I should go into a little bit more detail. I'll warn you right off the bat that this is a long film, though I'm sure it prefers the term "Epic". There is kind of a plot involving a couple of men who are destined to meet and fight every time they are reincarnated, a pleasant stretch of woods that just happen to be evil, zombies, the Yakuza, gunfights, sword-fights, kickboxing matches, a villain who is invulnerable and likes to munch on human hearts, and so much more. It excites, it invigorates, it takes us all... to the next level. For the record, let me list the character names that my college friends and myself developed to help differentiate the myriad of characters: Lawbreaker, Deadmeat, Useless, Jap-Fro, Guns, Knives, Legs, Scruffy, Expert, Officer, and Velma Nordberg (glasses guy, because he so strongly resembles a cross between Velma and this rear end in a top hat from our Physics class). Create your own! 5/5
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2005 10:02
|
|
|
I understand what people see as the flaws, but I'm drawn to how well they pulled this off with the budget they had. I loved the japanese-mystical-zombie atmosphere and the characters and would recommend it.. just don't think there'll be huge amazing special effects. One of those movies which are like old videogames.. It'd be great if it could be redone with a better budget etc.
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2005 12:33
|
|
|
Frankly i was rather dissapointed with the movie. I found the plot to be really poorly constructed (not that i was really looking for a complex plot, only a decent one). Its never really explained why the bad dude needed the girl or who the "good" guy was... youre just kind of expected to ignore it beause "hey its that kind of film guys!". The action scenes were alright... but drawn out and not terribly creative. The final one was good however where it actually started looking a bit more like a samurai movie. The characters were annoying and i particually didnt like the "hero" who really just came off as a stereotypical, trenchcoat wearing, moronic prick rather then a cool anti-hero badass (Snake Pliskin im looking at you baby). The only character i liked in the entire movie was the bad guy and even then a lot more could have been done for him. Overall, its a decent flick considering the budget but the real lack of effort in the plot at all really shows. Its really not THAT hard to have a basic plot work well enough to support the action, which i feel that Versus really failed to do. 2/5
|
|
#
?
May 6, 2005 17:21
|
|
|
Yea, I got an evildead kinda vibe to it too. You can tell they weren't taking the whole thing that serious and just wanted to make a crazy action movie. The characters are pretty flat but they're just there as gun/sword/rear end kicking fodder. I enjoyed the sword fight at the end, and wasn't as turned off by the long circling camera strafing as I thought I'd be. I really enjoyed the part where they were standing back to back waiting for each other to make a move. Overall it does what it sets out to do. 3.5/5
|
|
#
?
May 14, 2005 04:48
|
|
|
In the fight at the end, the part where both guys spin out, start firing guns, then pull their swords again in under 5 seconds is enough to give this movie a 4/5, even with the gay guy.
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2005 16:20
|
|
|
Great movie, no real plot but who cares. I especially enjoyed the Frog Guy. 5/5
|
|
#
?
Jul 17, 2005 09:40
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 16:32 |
|
|
awsome mindless movie done properlly, quirky enough so it doesnt just seem mass produced. Oh yea Laser pointer swords 5
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2005 20:28
|
|
