Reviews
Six-String Samurai (1998)
Movie Review
It begins with a holocaust.
In SIX-STRING SAMURAI, the Cold War climaxed in 1957 and resulted in the annihilation of American civilization. The people who survived the nuclear attack found themselves under the rule of the Soviet Union. All that remains of free society on U.S. soil is a place in the Nevada desert called Lost Vegas. Here, Elvis Presley was crowned the King of Rock 'n' Roll.
But as the movie begins, the King has passed on without naming a successor. Warrior-musicians from across the land, including Death himself, trek to Vegas in hopes of filling the vacated throne.
One such musician is Buddy (Jeffrey Falcon), a Rockabilly guitarist who totes a vintage 1957 six-string acoustic guitar and a samurai sword. In the opening of the film, this Buddy Holly clone saves the life of a young boy (Justin McGuire) from a band of wannabe-neanderthals. But after dispatching the barbarians, Buddy wants nothing to do with the child and tries to leave him behind. Given the bowling assassins, windmill zombies, gumball-shooting barbarians, and the bullet-less Red Army that stand between the musician and Vegas, leaving the boy behind is a wise choice. The Kid, however, doesn't think so and sticks to Buddy like an insect on fly paper. Together, they confront horde after horde of misfit villains on the road to Vegas.
Given the bizarre characters in this movie, one might think that the producers of the film just said, "OK, we'll have a guy go from point A to point B. To make it interesting, we'll have people dress up in whatever costumes we can get our hands on and have them attack this guy." Considering how strange and varied the characters are in SAMURAI, it is difficult to say which of them were a homage to other post-apocalypse movies and which resulted from budget constraints. The small budget undoubtedly forced director Mungia to improvise in some scenes.
What does not seem improvised are the many fight sequences in the movie. Jeffrey Falcon is credited as the stunt co-ordinator and he certainly does his best to make himself look good. He slices, somersaults, and flips his way through the skirmishes, coming out almost completely unscathed with the exception of the climactic battles with the Red Army and Death, played by Stephane Gauger doing his best imitation of Slash from Guns 'N' Roses. All of Buddy's kills are comprised of the action movie-style one-slash-you're-dead variety.
While achieving realism was clearly not Falcon's goal in these fights, they do make for a good showcase for his abilities. Falcon, in a higher profile movie with broader appeal, has the potential to become a martial arts action hero for the indie circuit.
In SAMURAI, Falcon is as over-the-top as everyone else which may turn off trash cinema virgins. The movie makes no apologies for going so far over the edge; in fact, it revels in its campiness. A prime example is the cannibalistic family that appears near the beginning of the picture. The actors do not hold anything back in their portrayal of what the Cleavers would have been like after surviving a nuclear holocaust. The mother mugs in horrific fashion for a close-up while offering cookies and the father zealously hammers Buddy and the Kid with questions without ever paying attention to their answers.
The over-acting, however, seems somehow appropriate for this strange little movie. The classic rock-inspired soundtrack that is as much a star as any of the actors is but one of the signs which tells the audience that this is a rock 'n' roll fantasy. This off-kilter world has precious little room for normalcy as we know it.
This movie will probably not gain the followings that PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE and THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW enjoy but it certainly deserves the attention of fans who wouldn't mind seeing an alternative to effects-laden Hollywood sci-fi blockbusters.
Rush Hour (1998)
Movie review
It's been over a decade since THE PROTECTOR, the last American-made Jackie Chan vehicle, hit North American theatres and underwhelmed hardcore Jackie fans and neophytes alike. Undeterred, Chan tries again to strike Hollywood gold in New Line Cinema's RUSH HOUR, a buddy-cop picture that teams him with the highly energetic and very funny Chris Tucker.
Chan, while amicable and charming as ever, is more the straight man in this pairing, playing -- what else? -- Hong Kong supercop, Detective Inspector Lee. He goes to the U.S. at the request of his friend, Consul Han (played competently by Tzi Ma), whose 11-year-old daughter (the high-spirited Julia Hsu) has been kidnapped by a Chinese crime syndicate. The FBI, however, have already launched their investigation by the time Han informs them of Lee's imminent arrival. Not at all pleased that an international incident could develop with a foreign policeman getting involved, the Bureau agents ask the Los Angeles Police Department to supply someone to lead Lee on a wild goose chase to keep him out of the way.
Into the picture comes Detective James Carter (played with zeal and relish by Chris Tucker) who is less than thrilled at having a babysitting assignment. Determined not to be shut out of the big case, Carter calls upon his own resources to find leads while trying to keep Lee out of trouble. This plan falls apart, however, when Lee escapes to find Han. Pretty soon, the two detectives who were not supposed to be involved with the case find themselves in the heart of it, much to the dismay of the FBI.
This rather familiar story could have quite easily failed in the hands of the screenwriters. It would have been too easy for them to use ethnic stereotypes as the source of friction and humour between Chan and Tucker. They, however, wisely avoid this route and come up with some truly funny dialogue, such as when Carter talks about how the L.A.P.D. are the most hated police force in the world and how even his mother is ashamed of his job. "She tells everybody I'm a drug dealer," he quips.
At the comedic level, RUSH HOUR is a success, delivering one hilarious gag after another. As an action picture, however, it is very ordinary, especially when compared with Chan's previous efforts. Even MR. NICE GUY, with its insultingly bad script and horrendous acting, had some brilliant stunt choreography and truly original physical comedy. By contrast, RUSH HOUR is very pedestrian and shows blatant signs of the rumoured restraints put on Chan by the production's insurers.
The problem with the action sequences isn't confined to choreography, however. The camera, true to the MTV style which is now so commonly used in American cinema, cuts away too much. In Chan's Hong Kong productions, stunts are filmed with unbroken shots to give them a greater sense of reality. Switching camera angles makes stunts look like they were camera tricks edited together, a sleight-of-hand done in the editing room rather than the no-stunt-double daring-do that Chan promises to his audience in every one of his movies.
In the end, it would be fair to say that RUSH HOUR is not a true Jackie Chan film, even though it has his charm and his trademark outtake reel at the end (and a rather entertaining one, at that). This is more of a showcase for Chris Tucker who, according to interviews Chan has given, injected his brand of comedy into the movie by ad lib-ing lines.
RUSH HOUR may not be Jackie Chan's magnum opus but it's witty, lacks excessive violence, and, above all else, is a heck of a lot of fun.
Rating: 8.0 out of 10.0