BA_Harrison
In a post apocalyptic world where the mullet is the hairdo of choice, Kenshirô (Gary Daniels) of the North Star school of martial arts fights to free the people of Paradise Valley from the rule of the evil Lord Shin (Costas Mandylor), leader of the Southern Cross school.Most films I finish in one sitting. Some take me two, if they're a bit slow or extremely long. Very rarely does a film take me three successive evenings to complete, and when they do, they're usually the worst kind of garbage. Fist of The North Star is one such film.Directed (and I use that term loosely) by Tony Randel, who also helmed the disappointing sequel to Hellraiser, this live-action anime/manga is a terrible mess from start to finish, with a muddled narrative, a pitiful performance from lead Gary Daniels (who has just the one expression throughout: mildly miffed), hammy acting from the supporting cast (which includes Chris Penn, Malcolm McDowell and Clint Howard), irritating kids, and unexciting martial arts scenes.About the only thing going for this crap is the occasional spot of graphic violence (both Kenshirô and Shin can cause their opponents' bodies to erupt in a spray of gore) and a bit of welcome eye candy for fans of Asian beauties in the form of Julia (Isako Washio), Kenshirô's love interest.
filoifaga
This was a pretty lame effort to stay faithful to the original if you ask me (if that is even what they were going for); whoever said it was loyal to it's source doesn't know what they are talking about. Mind you, the cartoon movie was quite a hash up itself compared to the series (or comic!) and can be hard to follow if you don't already know the story, so if that's all they decided to go on then you can't really blame them too much. Compared to the original story, though, I have to say that the characters were all weak; the bad thug guys don't look mean enough (but they sure were ugly enough!); the main characters are not tough (ahem,super- human?) enough; the kung fu is not ridiculous (or, oxymoronically, believable) enough; Julia is not beautiful enough and to top it off, I'd have to say that Kenshirou's master Ryuuken is not really "zen" (or bald) enough either (and what's with that weird zombie scene?!). All that said and adaptation-shmadaptation aside......the fight scenes still sucked, the directing was bad, and the acting worse... I'm reeaaally sorry, but you should probably just watch something else!!
Frank Markland
Gary Daniels stars as a warrior who comes back to take down a ruthless dictator who killed his father, as well as claim his rightful throne, while Chris Penn makes an impression as the general who is the lone survivor of a Gary Daniels fight sequence. Fist Of The North Star is a well made actioner, it has great sets, okay acting, some alright action (if a bit under-lit) and some interesting ideas. Plus it stays at least mildly watchable through out. The problem is, is that it could've been better. I'm not into Anime, but adaptations of that medium have to please the fans and yet appeal to people like me, who have no idea of the story. Unfortunately in this case, Fist Of The North Star ends up coming off so muddled and murky that most likely it will satisfy neither audience frame. Still there are some inspired moments, such as some nice exploding heads, a brutal tone and Chris Penn giving an impressive performance. Even Costas Mandlyor does well in the role of the villain, the most disappointing aspect of the film is Gary Daniels who remains expressionless through out, making it hard to care whether he lives or dies, considering he's the hero, here lies the failure of this adaptation. Also i'm not sure if Hellbound:Hellraiser II's director is the right guy to approach this material. Daniels fares much better in 1998's Spoiler.* * out of 4-(Fair)
raypdaley182
Take Malcolm McDowell who dies quickly, rather like the plot of this film. He is the only star in the film. I did recognise Chris Penn but I don't know what I've seen him in before, possibly Reservoir Dogs. Wrestling fans may recognise a brief appearance by Leon White also known as WCW and WWE Superstar Big Van Vader. His fight scene is most likely the best and well organised fight in the whole film.This is a manga comic or anime film that has been made into live action and it was obviously a really bad idea.No script, bad story, really bad acting and some really bad fighting scenes. I really wish I hadn't bothered watching it.
AD
