Throw Down (2004)

Throw Down from 2004 is slightly different, retaining the technical qualities his films are known to exhibit, but having a storyline with themes that are more personal, and in essence a shout out to anyone found struggling with whichever aspects of life at a point in time. There are no guns nor weapons galore, nor are there cops and clear cut villains who are baying for blood. While it's about Judo, don't come to expect a fight-a-minute film because this is not that movie, with action sequences kept to a bare minimum, though it does boast a scene which I thought was pandemonium done poetically with wonderful choreography that looked like a Judo free for all tournament is in progress, set within the confines of a crammed pub premises that spilt over to the sidewalk and roads outside.Amongst the various Asian martial arts, I never really come to understand the spirit of Judo, and thus was my least favourite of them all, until this film. Almost every martial art would have found a representative film to promote the art or the sport version, and I haven't seen one that focused on Judo until Throw Down came along, and the metaphor couldn't be more pronounced. In essence it may seem like a series of throws to get your opponent off balance and gaining an upper hand, but it's truer of its spirit and intent. the message of dusting oneself off the ground when one gets defeated, to get up on one's feet and try again. It is this spirit of perseverance and encouragement that is very much alive through the protagonists in the film, a spirit that To explores in this movie.Written by Yau Nai-Hoi, Au Kin-Yee and Yip Tin-Shing, Throw Down follows the story of Sze- To (Louis Koo), a one time Judo champion who decided to abruptly call it quits, and now manages a karaoke pub and lounge, spending his time wasted in drink and gambling, void of the zest of life. Nobody knows the real reason behind this sudden change, and it is we the audience who will journey with him down the trodden path of redemption. I think this film also marks Aaron Kwok's rare acting tutelage under Johnnie To as he plays the youngster Tony, a Judo enthusiast who seeks out Sze-To for a genuine challenge, and decided to stick around when he doesn't get the quality of challenge he's looking for. And Cherrie Ying rounds up the protagonist trio as Mona, a cannot-make-it singer wannabe from Taiwan who tries hard to make it to the entertainment scene, ending up at Sze-To's pub looking for a job.Each character is vastly different and encapsulates the different approaches toward this journey we call life. In Sze-To we see someone zapped of zeal and spirit, giving up on what he does best and going through the motions, nary wanting to lift a finger to help his one time master Cheng (Lo Hoi Pang) to continue his legacy and fight in an upcoming tournament, much less helping anyone else. In Tony comes optimism, forward looking and almost always seizing the moment, be it the bouncer at the door, or a formidable opponent he knows of, just to spar for the sake of sparring to improve himself, broken arm notwithstanding - where he even designs his own one-arm wrestle. And in Mona's case, one who simply never gives up even with the realization of a void of talent, determined to want to breakthrough no matter what, and seeking out her own opportunities to do so wherever it make take her, home or abroad.Perhaps this film had remained Johnnie To's underrated best in terms of very focused characters each who will emerge quite differently by the time the final act rolls by, given the active metaphor of Judo sparring throughout the narrative, of being thrown down hard onto the ground, yet finding strength from within to pick oneself up again. And To doesn't feel the need to be verbose about everything, preferring to let the long takes, with minimal dialogue, allowing the music, and the basic mood and feel of each scene to tell the story, where even a key plot element has to be figured out that provides the answer why Sze-To acts the way he does, and his reason for quitting while at his prime, providing a sort of a mystery for the audience to unravel themselves.And the technical strengths of this film is very Milkyway, gorgeously photographed by Cheung Siu Keung in both the interior shots and the outdoor ones that romanticizes the streets of Kowloon, with plenty of light and shadow play being very pronounced in the film, highlighting the state of mind each character find themselves in at any particular point in time. The Judo spars and fights are vividly designed to be real, sans wirework and mats, coupled with an engagingly punchy soundtrack that consistently accentuates the mood of the entire film. A superb support cast like one third of The Grasshoppers Calvin So as an outright homage by Johnnie To to Akira Kurosawa, Eddie Cheung as a ruffian who talks to himself under his breath spewing insults, and Tony Leung Kar-Fai as a mean dojo owner with a menacing single Judo technique, make this journey a classic one to undertake, and definitely one of Johnnie To's best works in his filmography that deserves to be widely seen. Highly recommended!

It's been 7 years since I last watched this film and like red wine, it gets better with age. Back then, I didn't appreciate the full perspective displayed by the ever-green Johnnie To. Throw Down is a film that uses the "show not tell" principle to perfection. It does not use words or flashbacks to tell the audience what happened, but rather uses raw emotions, close facial expressions, brutal desire to pursue a dream, a warm brotherly embrace and the simple innate human nature of will power to continue on in life. It is a powerful film that makes the audience works hard and ultimate the result is a film that involves and emotes the senses of the audience. Years ago, I only see the film as just displaying one point – getting thrown down and standing up again. Now the film shows much more and I am sure years down the track, I will find something else in this small little piece of gem… Neo rates it 8/10.

I thought I was a Johnny To fan. I loved PTU, Running on Karma, and Fulltime Killer. I rank Yesterday Once More as one of my favorite films of all time. But I watched Throwdown with my mouth agape in horror at the sheer lameness of it all.I will not even try to lie - I didn't understand what was going on, not even for five minutes. I still can't explain to you what I just watched. Characters' motivations fluctuated wildly, no background was given until your interest had long since waned, and the martial arts sequences were short and unsatisfying in relation to the western marketing and box copy.Tai Seng's translation and subtitling department needs a rework. There is one major scene in a restaurant with about 8 characters talking at once - the subtitling does NOTHING to try to keep up with the important dialogue. Instead of taking a note from Animeigo or ADV and using different colors and stacking lines of text, Tai Seng took the cheapie way out and presented it in a way that was frustrating.

Throw DownMy disappointment cannot be put in words. Another Johnny To masterpiece? I beg to differ. The DVD I purchased from Pacific Mall had no English Sub Titles but I didn't mind a whole lot. After all I did want to see this movie for the action initially. But unfortunately the action scenes where all under a minute in length, and where filmed mostly at nighttime. The movie was the most disappointing film of the year for me, and yes I have seen the so-called cinematic masterpieces Johnny To did earlier in his career. I was waiting for Johnny To to redeem himself with one of his upcoming films but sadly that never happened. Now that I think about it I shall change my rating and give Breaking News a 2.5. It's probably his best movie, and that's not saying much. I despise this Director, for his films never deliver what they promise. I think of him as US's Michael Bay and Joel. S. He is the poor man's John Woo, Tsui Hark, and Ringo Lam. The Action: I list the fights. I don't go in to Detail. But I do mention the Length. So read at your own risk, but I wouldn't consider it to be such extreme Spoilers. Hmm but I do sort of Spoil the end fight... So choose wisely.1st Hour: -Fight in the street between two main characters(Its about a minute in length and the second best fight in the film)-Table Being Flipped Over(I consider it to be an action scene) Very Short-Judo Match- Short-Training Scene - Very Short2nd Hour: -Another Short Fight-A Very promising Fight Inside A Night Club ruined by the darkness and bad Camera Work. Thank you Johnny To for thinking of the audience.-This Scene is made up of 3 fights. There are cuts in between them, but I still consider them to be one. It starts of with a very short Training scene, followed by a Darkish Fight, then A Roof Top Fight. All very short. I mean like 10 seconds at most. And it ends with a Judo match that was the best fight in the movie. A great scene but not very long)-Another Judo Match followed by a Short Training Scene – Overall very good but once again very very short-The last fight is amusing. A blindfolded character faces a teacher in a cornfield. At night We as the audience don't see a thing. Maybe one or two attacks. Very disappointing fight. The best lit fights very probably the Judo scenes and the street fight. P.S Well what does this movie deserve… I shall give it a 1/5. And I am still being generous I feel.