Wasabi (2002)

Jean Reno's expressionless face as he towers over everyone and beats the bad guys senseless (actually, anyone who gets in his way) is well worth the price of admission. My copy arrived with French dialogue and French sub-titles--hence, my comprehension is about 85% - enough to stop me giving away vital plot points.Reno's character, Hubert Fiorentini, is introduced as a tough but effective cop who enters a bar and pounds an apparently pretty young girl in the face--turns out it's a guy in drag. Later, he interrogates the 'guy' by leading with another punch, knocking out a couple of teeth (all in fun, of course). Then, we see him breaking up a bank robbery by 3 'persons' (gender unknown) using similar methods. Somewhere in there, a young teen gets in his face, only to be pounded out and ending up in the hospital. Hubert visits him with hilarious results. This is all reminiscent of Frank Drebin in 'Naked Gun, Smell of Fear' when he announces that the last 4 drug dealers he killed were just guys he ran over with his car -- 'Fortunately, they turned out to be drug dealers'.Hubert then has a beautiful visitor to his apartment, but she only stays for 5 minutes before abruptly departing. I'm not sure why, but Hubert's reaction is hilarious. The audience (and Hubert) were expecting more, I think.Turns out Hubert needs a sabbatical (whilst the French police pick up all the bodies?) and it comes when Hubert must leave France to return to Japan to settle an estate. After beating up an intrusive customs guy, he re-unites with Momo, his old police buddy, to claim a substantial inheritance, meet the daughter he never knew about, and battle the Japanese underworld, who also want their piece of the 'inheritance'.We get the feeling Hubert will come out on top, but the relations between Japan and France may deteriorate back to World War II levels (they were at war, right?) .. Great fun. Witty. Very non-North American.

This film is about a French man suddenly finding himself having a rebellious Japanese daughter.I thoroughly enjoyed the film. The plot is fun and dynamic, it mixes humour, mystery and action all in a film. The soundtrack is great, the music is upbeat, which enhances the youthful and fun atmosphere of the film. Japanese culture is portrayed in the film. It is in fact quite comprehensive in its portrayal of tradition and culture. It shows traditional culture like food, Japanese architecture and ninjas. It also shows modern culture like the cute girls dyeing their hair brown or blonde, clubs, and various video game arcades. Ryoko Hirosue gives a fine performance as a teenage girl, and speaks convincing French. I really enjoyed this film, it is so funny!

I never know how to rate these types of films. OK it's no masterpiece to bring some sort of existential meaning to your life and yes it is deeply flawed in many ways even by the standard at which it aims for but nonetheless, I found some endearing quality in its light hearted humour and entertaining style.Any film with Jean Reno in the lead and Luc Besson behind the script is going to entertain and this does just that. Thankfully the film is kept short enough for none of the flaws to start to irritate and the kick ass French cop goes to Japan theme is done well enough to warrant a viewing.My DVD had the option for French with English subtitles or English dubbed. Even though Jean Reno does his own over dubbing in the English version, I found the overall effect was a little stale. I restarted the film in French with subtitles and the energy and humour of the performances just shone through a lot better.

Well, first off, it's got Luc Besson associated with it. That gives it promise. Then it's got one of his favorite actors in it, Jean Reno. That helps it deliver.Jean Reno is a retired French commando who has become a Paris policeman. Unfortunately, he still tends to use Dirty Harry techniques. This gets him suspended. Then he finds out the lost love of his life has passed away, and he is the sole person mentioned in her will, so he goes to Tokyo for the funeral. There he finds out why she left him, and... other things, about her past that he did not know.From there the movie heads off into typical Luc Besson territory, as something which should have been simple turns into something complicated. Not a film for someone looking for a brooding, deeply thoughtful flick, just a nice, fun, roller coaster.Well-cast, well-written, well-produced, and well-directed. With a stronger comic touch, it's probably the weakest of his action flicks, but, with Luc Besson, that's still better than the best of most others.If you liked The Transporter, you should enjoy this one, too.