LF As a child I grew up watching tons of Jackie Chan movies, which very much made my generation addicted to his kind of karate. We liked Bruce Lee for sure - but he was often too serious for us Western kids. His martial arts movies were really "art", whilst Jackie Chan just made fun of everything - he was the perfect entertainer for child and adult alike.Now as an "old" man he not just plays a rather passive (compared to his former roles) main character, but also does it seriously. And honestly his work just blew my mind. I hope I won't spoiler anything, but while he may not do any funny karate moves, there are enormous amount of razor sharp blades, blood and raw violence. Yet, the story is centered around one of the biggest social problems of our days: migration. Migration brings happiness, fear, success, illegal jobs, family reunion, crime and organized crime. And Jackie Chan is no shy man to show both the bright and dark side of this topic. However, at some points the direction insterted parts of the script as rather silly sounding conversations, which might seem even more comic to those not familiar with Asian culture. In these scenes the movie wants to draw some moral or ethical conclusion out of what the characters have done so far. It is a bit pointless unless the goal was to educate the viewers about what a Chineese immigrant can do in Japan - which actually pretty much makes sense in this context. But it interrupts the movie's rhytm so heavily, that it's like an intermission cut in from some low score movie. Still, I'm quiet sure Jackie and director Tung-Shing Yee had good intentions with these scenes (as with the whole movie), so I'm just noting it for those who might think it will be 2 hours of endless killing. No, it won't - sit down, it's the perfect opportunity to learn your lesson about migration's challenges and grow some emotional intelligence if you are only in for the missing body parts.As for the actors - I'm proud of myself that I could always differentiate between Japanese and Chineese characters. Though I probably shouldn't be - it's likely the result of good casting and costume design. So a big thanks for the film crew for this - some of us just don't have the ability to tell the differences. Character development is also a strong point, couldn't really say there were "bad" roles - even minor actors did OK with Western standards, which is actually a bit of a surprise if you know how much the Chineese movies were about overreacting some years ago. So yeah - even though it has it's strange habits, Jackie Chan did not let his fans down. He just tried something different this time - but he excels just as well in this dark criminal movie, as in his own realm.

Andy Steel Very well made with the emphasis on the drama rather than the martial arts. Yes, there is some, but very little, I guess Jackie Chan is concentrating more on his acting these days. All the performances were very good with Jackie Chan, Naoto Takenaka and Daniel Wu (as Jie) standing out for me. It did put me in mind of films like 'Goodfells' and 'Once Upon a Time in America', maybe without the epic scope of those movies, but certainly the look and feel of them. I did find it was beginning to drag a little towards the end and I did find some of the plot lines a little predictable. Other than that, a decent watch.SteelMonster's verdict: RECOMMENDEDMy score: 7.1/10.You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts of a SteelMonster.

shoobe01-1 First, don't see this if you like Jacky Chan movies. Don't even read this review. Just go away. Sure, you might like it, but I think on average you are too likely to love comedy action above all else, and then you give it a bad review. Think of it instead like Goodfellas. Add a bit more of the pure immigrant story. Trying to make your way from the under-class. Crime because that's all you can do. Changing of the guard in the mob. Getting rank and power because you are reliable, getting screwed because you have some sense of morals, and try to protect your family. There is no absolutely good or evil, at all. People we hate at one moment evolved to that, and even then still act like humans. It's an epic crime family drama in every way and truly well made. Gore: Except for a few just terrible effects, Is correct for the location and genre. Just as many killings with guns would have seemed less violent due to the way firearms wounds are mostly depicted in movies. Knives and swords offer much more visible wounds, and so on. DO NOT watch a dubbed version. It's a drama. The dubbing is terrible so it is just not worth it.

Camilla Stein Two men, Steelhead, a migrant worker from China, and Kitano, the detective who hunts illegal Gastarbeiters in Japan, are caught in the middle of an unfolding mob war in the very core of a heavy personal drama, set in Tokyo.A clear cut devotion to a code of honor unites two men from two distinctly different and opposing walks of life.When Steelhead saves Kitano's life in the beginning of the movie, we witness chemistry between the two, an unuttered understanding. When they later move to solve the crisis they became part of, we are hooked and seek to find out whether the two will clash or bond in the end.The movie is built on an intense plot with a tragic story that stands on social contrast and brings to light shady and unsolicited brutal details of how far a battle for survival can take you. Beneath layers of consumerist glamor, there's a well concealed life of pain and misery. As a rule people don't really want to go there, but Jackie Chan and his crew make it a point to sober us up and make us see the naked truth.This film is a shocker. It doesn't offer an escape into a surreal fun world where everything is peachy. Jackie Chan here is on top of his new game as a drama actor and he does well. His character has been through a lot and lives through many controversial choices. Steelhead tries to trick his consciousness into a compromise, but doesn't succeed even when swept away by the waves of criminal unrest. Kitano, in turn, is played with a classy Japanese reserved flavor. He walks the city to protect his people and in the end learns quite a bit about what life is really made of.