Space Battleship Yamato — Naked Weapon — The Holy Mountain — movie reviews
So this weekend is going to be a bit overly busy, so a full length film review is pretty much out of the question. In exchange, I offer these horse-capsule reviews. Note, for those of you repeatedly searching for Linda, Linda, Linda, I’ll have you covered in a week or so.
Space Battleship Yamato (aka: Starblazers the Movie, Uchu senkan Yamato) . Built from the wreckage of WWII Japan’s greatest battleship, the Space Battleship Yamato, and its intrepid crew, serve as Earth’s last hope against the evil Galimus, an alien humanoid race hell-bent on the destruction of Earth and its people. In fact, the Galimus have devastated the planet with their constant barrage of asteroids, which have in turn created a nasty radiation problem on the surface of the planet. The Yamato seeks to travel to Galimus, destroy their asteroid threat, and obtain the technology necessary to clean Earth’s atmosphere.
The Space Battleship Yamato television show was a pretty big hit here in the states in the 1970’s, where, in its heavily edited format it was known as Starblazers. Personally, I never saw the show, and thus not having the benefit of nostalgia, this 2 hour 20 minute anime was a bit of an arduous sit. The “film” is actually a re-edit of the original TV series (a full 26 episodes), which incidentally didn’t gain popularity until this piece’s initial release. As such, there are a number of flow issues, involving multiple story-arc climaxes, lengthy catch-up narrations, and head-scratching subplot inclusions that only serve to prolong the runtime of the film (the end love-story, anyone?). Don’t get me wrong, there are a number of seriously cool battles, including the under-sea Galimus altercation, the Pluto tether-shot extravaganza (at least, I think it was Pluto), the initial firing of the “Wave” gun, and the numerous space-fighter battles. But, the bulk of the film was so tedious and uneventful that Kris and I both actually fell asleep. And on top of the tedium, there were the incredible lapses in logic. Take for example the film’s ending. If the Galimians really did have such an empty and inhabitable planet so close by, why would they seek to overtake Earth, a good 143,000 light years away? That said, the animation was impressive, even for its day, and provides a nice historical perspective as well as to exactly how far modern Japanese animation techniques have come.
Naked Weapon . I’ve referenced it enough, so I might as well capsule it. Wong Jing is the master of trash. Many of his films, including Deadly Camp 1999 and Christy Chung’s Set-Up, are bad to the degree they prove nigh unwatchable. But with the right material he spins cult exploitation gold. With its tale of ultra-hot female assassin martial arts experts, Naked Weapon provides just such material. Abducted at a young age by the nefarious Madam M, and trained on her remote island complex to be the coldest of cold blooded killers, the girls are globe trotting super-model death machines, seducing and destroying their targets with the greatest of ease.
Now if the film was just sexy girls doing nothing but looking exactly that, I wouldn’t recommend it (Yes, even with Maggie Q and An Ya). However, in Naked Weapon the action is downright fantastic. The fights are raw, brutal, and best of all, skilled. Wong Jing catches everything in his trademark perma-Dutched camera style, flitting in and around the combatants while still maintaining enough distance that you can see and appreciate the goings on. The production adheres to the ultra-cheap sensibilities of early John Woo or Stanley Tong, with all the stunts involved being very real, and very dangerous. Madam M’s duel to the death/battle royale, involving a giant cage, swords, spears, and more, absolutely has to be seen by any self respecting martial arts enthusiast. Acting is nothing to write home about, but still fairly decent for this type of film. Maggie Q(Mission Impossible III)’s perma-stoned face actually helps rather than hinders her for once, actually affording a sort of cheap sensuality, and Daniel Wu (The Banquet)’s rookie cop, while laughable, still manages to be endearing. It’s a genuine cult film, and a damn good one at that. If you haven’t seen it, pick it up.
The Holy Mountain . I lost my El Topo review, but I still hold hope of finding it. In the meantime, this capsule will have to suffice. Holy Mountain is Jodorowski’s masterpiece, endlessly odd, dauntingly pretentious, strikingly beautiful, and curiously intriguing. The ever so loose plot has something to do with a group of humans (each, aside from the Christ-figure, representing a Roman god), tasked with ascending a holy mountain and forcing the nine wise men who live there to give up their secret of immortality. The narrative isn’t really a narrative as much as it is a series of symbolic images and philosophical meditations surrounding religion and sociology. Everything and anything is criticized, from Christianity to paganism, from fascism to capitalism, and on and on. Like El Topo, the film’s religious allegory seems heavily influenced by both Buddhist teachings and B-Grade martial arts pictures. But Jodorowski’s direction is absolutely masterful. Every surrealist scene is rendered beautifully, every head-scratching action leant a grave seriousness. Watching it you realize exactly what wonders true unfettered artistry can deliver. Jodorowski’s philosophy may not be as deep or revelatory as the composition of the film may hint, but dang, if it’s not fascinating. The film’s score is also one of the most memorable I’ve ever heard. Those of you even the slightest bit interested in Jodorowski would do well to pick up Anchor Bay’s new Jodorowski DVD set, as the soundtrack is included. A great film worth watching again and again.
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