Shadow Fury (2002)

This film is quite rare to find in the genre of action/sci-fi but once you see it, you'll find out why it is so different than other cliché films of it's type. It is sometimes predictable but you will feel sympathetic for the main character even though he isn't real. All the fight sequences rip off Jackie Chan movies but they are executed with raw intelligence. We see that Michell has troubles with his liver but the main character kills himself with Kismet to give up his life so he could save Mitchell. It might seem a little cruddy for a film like this one but it does make you feel for something that isn't real let alone makes you want to feel anything for the characters. If you have time, watch this film and you'll be surprised, like me, on how much emotion is packed into an action/sci-fi film.Rated MA15+ for Aussies for Violence, Language and Nudity

I gave this movie a chance. At times I was entertained but at other moments all I could think was "What were they thinking?". I really liked Masakatsu Funaki. He reminds me of Sho Kosugi, my idol in the 80s. OK so Funaki is a lot more buff than Sho ever was. This is the first film I've seen him in. According to his profile he's a pro wrestler in Japan. I hope he makes more movies in the U.S.. The story made little sense. At times I was ready to fall asleep. The only thing that saved it for me was the kickass action, care of Funaki. I would be awesome to see him do some cool modern day ninja flicks. For a buff guy he can move pretty quick. Another kickass person in this flick is young Taylor Lautner. This little guy only has one scene but wow I was impressed,and I've been in martial arts for 25 years. Back to the sucky story. At one point the heroes have to fight these mutants,but they look and act like zombies. What's that all about? The Bottoms character is suppose to be dying and needs a liver. By the end of this movie I wanted him to just die already. Like I said. The action is the only thing that made it worth watching. If your not a martial arts fan, you may not like it.

While Japanese filmmakers seem to be losing their penchant for stiff atmospheres in movies, as this film suggests, there's still a lot of work to be done - at least for these particular Japanese filmmakers! Now, the stunt and fight scenes *are* spectacular, with ingenious use of wirework showing amazing stuff that even CGI can't do. However, the screenplay is unbelievably bad, even by comic book movie standards. We have characters who are just a step removed from real cartoon characters (check Morita's wild-haired and chortling scientist character!), sometimes spouting incredibly moronic dialogue. The story is a slow-moving, often illogical mess with some dumb plotting - like how Bottoms' character is told to track down one character, and the next scene has found him - with *no* explanation as to how he found him! Bottoms, by the way, is a real poor choice for an aging mercenary character, unconvincing even when simply shooting a gun. It doesn't help that his character is completely unlikable, even though he's the lead. Williamson is a welcome presence, though like Morita, he's only in the movie for five minutes! Had he been cast in the lead, playing his often-used Jesse Crowder character, without doubt it would have been easier to sit through.

In the beginning of the story, it reminds me about the movie Karate Kid, because of Pat Morita. He died so soon in the movie. There are lots of scene that are not so convincing. In times that Madsen, the bounty hunter, was already down and helpless, Takero, who has the opportunity to kill the man who killed his creator, just walked away. Anyway, Takero's reluctant to kill Madsen is one of the factor that lead them to battle Kismet. 7/10