The Challenge (2005)

A post-apocalypse martial arts movie made by Germans? Well, that combination sounded quite intriguing to me when I found a copy of this movie at a video store in my city. And I was happy upon watching the movie to find out it was decent entertainment overall. Though made with a very small budget, the movie does boast some good special effects and production design. The martial arts experts showcased in the movie definitely show they are experts at martial arts, and while they are not great actors, they are adequate. The movie also keeps moving at a fairly brisk pace, so there are no boring parts. Still, I will admit that the movie could have been better. The cinematography is really ugly, for one thing. Maybe they were trying for a unique look, but the colors are really unattractive. Also, the script could have used some work, seeing how many of the characters and plot turns are very familiar to those well versed in modern B movies. And while the fights are generally good, there are some moments when I wish they didn't cut to different angles so frequently. Don't get me wrong, I did find the movie entertaining. However, I would advise potential viewers to not have their expectations be very high. If you are willing to accept some big flaws and see the movie as a labor of love, the better chance there is of you enjoying it.

Paying homage to the post apocalyptic genre with echoes of stories like Fist of the North Star, Cyborg and the Postman this movie is infused with adrenalin, enthusiasm, rage, excitement, and action. It has a huge heart and the fact that it was made on a limited budget is testament to the skill and passion of those involved. They say that first time features made with limited financial support will have failings somewhere around Lighting, Script, Score and CGI. I am pleased to say that the piece is effectively lit even when filmed in cavernous tunnels. I rather like the CGI; it's obvious of course, but it offers a unique visual vista and blends well with the other outdoor scenes. The script, well, I watched the movie in German with English subtitles and found that the characters, although very familiar, (the hero falls somewhere between Kenshiro and Robin Hood) were comfortable rather than caricature. When the lead was doing voice over to convey his thoughts it really worked well for me, there was something about the sound of his voice that gave what I was reading some resonance. I thought the score generally worked well. I have some difficulty in accepting techno music in any setting; thankfully for me, its unwelcome intrusion was brief. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the fight choreography and the stunt work. In addition to all this, some of the cinematography was extremely effective, especially the two wonderful sweeping shots on top of the building during the final showdown. I won't pretend that the story is anything new but it is carried off with such bare faced enthusiasm and more than a little respect for the genre that I can't help but like it. I tracked this down from the makers own website. I'm glad to say that I was happy to pay the few euros for such a great product.

Quite a lot of illogical things. I found the idea nice to have a German action and fighting movie. But the actors are not good enough, the story is unbelievably flat. As example, you know who will be the traitor after about 20mins, whereas the actual treason takes place after an hour. Guns etc. have been forgotten, but are still in use by some of the people. The inhabitants of Berlin in 2045 are all young and handsome, they have supplies but no one knows where they come from etc.After all, the fighting scenes are quite nice, you have a connecting story, which unfortunately does not explain all the fights. But the story is more like those connecting parts of a computer game.... and that definitely is not enough for a real movie.

I was channel surfing at home early this morning when I came across this German film in Star Movies (it was dubbed in English). The thing that caught my attention was the fact that it was a martial arts movie which made use of the Filipino martial art arnis, and that the fight scenes were very well choreographed.The movie centered on Jonas Klingenberg (Mathis Landwehr, who's being a hottie did not hurt one bit), an apprentice of a murdered martial arts expert who was keeping in his care a very valuable book which contained (apparently) many secrets to becoming a very powerful martial artist. The movie opened with a scene showing Jonas being shot from behind by a really hot-looking woman, and his master fighting against the villain, Bosco, and the antagonist, eventually, succeeding in stealing the precious book.The setting of the movie was in 2050, showing a particular town (which I assumed was a metaphor for the whole world) to be a vast wasteland, controlled by the "evil" Bosco, who seemed to be concerned only with creating a powerful team of martial artists. Think Matrix meets Bulletproof Monk, meets Robin Hood (Jonas eventually became somewhat a defender of the masses by teaching most of the "homeless people" how to fight using his technique, and stealing from the bad, giving it to the poor...that kind of thing...).I know, I know, this plot has been done, revisited, redone, and visited once again by sooooo many producers, scriptwriters, directors, and what-have-yous in the movie industry, you are starting to ask if it would still be a successful venture.My answer: for this particular movie, yes. I fell in love with this movie. I'm not a big fan of martial arts flicks, but, somehow, this changed my mind. It had a good story line going, although the part where in there was some sort of a rave party going on after their group was successfully able to ambush most of the food ration trucks, was a bit off for me. But they were able to justify why that scene was there, as well as why Jonas had to make love to Maria outside their hide-out, and not in some secluded area in their sewer-hiding place.All in all, this movie was worth it. I found it good enough for me to actually research it over the internet, and write up this comment.