Oshi no Ko - The Final Act

 By far, one of the biggest manga smashes in recent years is Oshi no Ko, a collaboration between manga creators Aka Akasaka (Kaguya-Sama: Love is War) and Mengo Yokoyari (Scum’s Wish). How big? When the first season of its anime debuted in 2023, its theme song Idol was featured in an act on America’s Got Talent.

Last November, a live-action series debuted on Amazon Prime, shortly after the manga wrapped up its story. A live-action movie, Oshi no Ko - The Final Act, wrapped up the show’s story in December. That movie is ready to watch stateside on Amazon Prime. Sit back, because the story is wild.

Dr. Goro Amamiya (Ryo Narita) and his recently deceased patient, Sarina Tendoji (Kurumi Inagaki), bonded over superstar Ai Hoshino (Asuka Saito) of the J-Pop band B-Komachi. One day, Goro gets the shock of his life when Ai turns out to be his next patient. Ai’s having twins, which could seriously jeopardize her career if word got out. Goro agrees to help her deliver in secret, but a loony fan (Kazuto Mokudai) kills him the night it happens. 

Goro finds himself reborn as Ai’s son, Aqua (Kaito Sakurai). His new twin-sister, Ruby (Nagisa Saito), is eventually revealed to be a reborn Sarina. All’s well and good for the new family until the same fan kills Ai at her apartment. Aqua suspects that his mysterious “father” doxxed Ai to the killer. Thus, Aqua decides to get into acting so that he may get the old man’s attention and eventually kill him. All of this is summed up within the first fifty minutes.

By the time act two begins, Aqua has revealed his and Ruby's maternal secret to the press, much to her outrage. He has also figured out that fellow actor Hikaru Kamiki (Kazunari Ninomiya) is the culprit. So, he decides to get his revenge the only way he knows how: by making Ai’s biopic, The 15-Year Lie. If you’ve seen Hamlet, you’ll understand Aqua’s logic for the plan. Anyway, Aqua casts himself as Hikaru, while Ruby, who is now a J-Pop star herself, lobbies to play Ai. It’s now just a matter of getting it made. Still, Hikaru, who’s also a serial killer, might not take the plan lying down…

Everybody got that? There might be a quiz later.

What we have here works as a good summary of the source material, which even edits a few scenes from the show, but it misses a few key steps in adaptation. You may have asked, upon reading my summary, why Aqua doesn’t take revenge on the loony fan. The show, unlike the movie, properly explains that said fan killed himself after the crime. In fact, most of the missing plot points are covered in the show. The biggest exception is the climax, which reworks the circumstances, but not the outcome, of the manga’s extremely contentious climax. In it, a random proxy of Hikaru’s shows up to crash the movie-within-this-movie’s premiere. Who is she? No time for that! 

The first act is buoyed by the stellar performances of Narita, Inagaki and especially Asuka Saito. Goro and Sarina's chemistry is quite moving, and it's hard to feel nothing when Sarina finally passes away. On a lighter side, Goro has an over-the-top freakout when he realizes who his next patient is. He still proves himself a stand-up guy as he bonds with Ai. Meanwhile, we see Ai's unhappy childhood, and her being scouted by her manager, Mr. Saitou (Kotaro Yoshida). Ai, who basically lives by "fake it until you make it," struggles under the weight of her dual identity a few times. Still, her radiance shines through whenever she's allowed to be happy. Although Ai doesn't live long, her presence is felt with her poignant video wills to her kids.

Now for the second act. Although Aqua and Ruby's relationship isn't as sweet as that of their former selves, we do see that he cares in his own, yet somewhat harsh way. It's unambiguously nice, though, when they finally mend their relationship after he reveals his former identity to her. There's plenty of intrigue as Aqua puts his movie plot in motion, especially when he interviews Hikaru. Hikaru is quite unnerving during his fairly limited screentime, even when he seemingly agrees to turn himself in, though he does have hints of a sympathetic backstory. It's quite uncanny as the film blurs the lines between a flashback and a recreation; it's hard to tell which scenes are which. 

Who else do we have here? Ruby gets some great moral support from her bandmate, Kana Arima (Nanoka Hara), who eventually retires from the act. Their bandmate, a YouTuber named Mem-Cho (Ano), is mostly just there, but she gets a nice coda. Another major supporting character, the young method actress Akane Kurokawa (Mizuki Kayashina), gets her best scene when she and Ruby audition for Ai. Mr. Saitou is a great father-figure for not only Ai, but her twins, and that's matched by his wife, Miyako (Kana Kurashina). The Saitous' reunion is well-acted, even if you have to watch the show for context. We also have Nobuaki Kaneko as Aqua's filmmaker friend, Taishi Gotanda, and Moemi Katayama as Airi Himekawa, a major figure in Hikaru's backstory. While Taishi is decently likable, Airi is anything but that.

Despite some story issues, Oshi no Ko - The Final Act, much like its source material, spins a compelling drama out of a fairly loony premise. Indeed, it gets pretty goofy when babies Aqua and Ruby are shown talking. But you'll pretty much forget the silliness once it gets to the revenge plot. That's how I experienced the franchise as I followed its story up until its conclusion. Its finale is perfectly dramatic even as it stretches plausibility to entertaining lengths. This might keep fans entertained until the third season of the anime debuts next year, even if that might stick closer to the story. I'll be waiting, either way.

How to Train Your Dragon

 When Roger Ebert reviewed the 2011 remake of Footloose, he observed that the film was so similar to its 1984 original that he was tempted to just reprint his original review. "But that would be wrong," he said.

Let's go back a year earlier. How to Train Your Dragon was the last new theatrical release I saw before Clash of the Titans, whose review kicked off this very blog, so I could have reviewed it. This new remake sticks so closely to the original that it might make an older review redundant. If its upcoming sequel, and yes, they are already making it, is that close to How to Train Your Dragon 2, I wonder if that review will be redundant.

Even then, let's put in some work in reviewing this movie, any sequels, or even Disney's too-soon Moana remake. So, let's train some movie dragons.

So, in case you need reminding, we have a Viking village on the Isle of Berk that has a dragon problem. As in, dragons show up at night to steal livestock and burn everything. Hiccup (Mason Thames), son of the Viking Chief Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler, back from the animated trilogy), tries to be as formidable a dragon killer as the adults. But his inventions leave a lot to be desired. Still, during the opening attack, he accidentally strikes down the rarest dragon of them all, a Night Fury. Later on, Hiccup tracks down the wounded dragon, but he spares the creature, while the dragon doesn't kill him.

Hiccup starts sneaking out of the village to study the Night Fury, whom he names Toothless. His findings help him get by in Gobber the Belch's (Nick Frost) dragon-hunting class. He also realizes that dragons aren't as bad as their reputation suggests. Meanwhile, Stoick and his warriors are hunting for the dragons' hidden nest. Hiccup has to get Stoick to listen to reason so that no more lives, Viking or dragon, will be lost.

As with the animated sequels, Dean DeBlois takes on the writing & directing credits that he shared with Chris Sanders on the first film. It runs nearly a half-hour longer than the first film, partially thanks to some added story material for Hiccup's dragon-hunting classmates. But it recreates so much of its predecessor shot-for-shot and nearly line-for-line that even people who haven't seen it in ages might notice. I'm one of those people, and I noticed how tangentially familiar this "new plot" is, even down to Hiccup's opening narration. One major new plot point is that the supposed death of Valka, Hiccup's mother, lingers heavily on his and Stoick's relationship. It's pretty suspenseless considering that she shows up in the sequels (though, I wonder if they'll bring back Cate Blanchett next time).

I'd be lying if I said this was a total wash. The photorealistic renderings of the dragons, from the two-headed Hideous Zippleback to the demonic Monstrous Nightmare, are all appealing, but none more so than Toothless. He barely looks any different than his already cuddly animated counterpart. The film really sparks when he and Hiccup interact, whether it's in hostility or in friendship. It's hard to feel nothing when Toothless and Hiccup take to the air, accentuated by John Powell's returning score. After a while, you might forget that the dragons are all digital creatures; the integration is just that good. It's quite seamless when the film switches to animatronics a few times.

What else does it have? There are a ton of practical sets, visualized by production designer Dominic Watkins, to visualize Berk. A few particular highlights include the dragon-hunting arena, the dragons' nest, and Toothless's grotto. Any CGI-enhancements, or even CGI sets, are as seamless as the dragons. It helps to have a great cinematographer in Bill Pope, whose credits include Spider-Man. Costume Designer Lindsay Pugh does a decent job recreating the cast's animated wardrobes, though her most striking design is that of the mute Elder Gothi (Naomi Wirthner), who is unrecognizable in live action. A bit more recognizable is Butler's Stoick, who is just as bombastic here, for better or worse, as he was in cartoon form. Hiccup's dragon hunting classmates are fine, but none are as memorable as Astrid (Nico Parker), who gets a few great moments with him.

I don't hate How to Train Your Dragon, far from it, but I am perplexed on how to conclude this review. On one hand, if you've seen the first film, then you'll have seen this one already. On the other hand, it's a good incentive to check out the first film, even if it's just for comparison purposes or to embrace Powell's Oscar-nominated Score. What do I make of it all? Despite its rigid adherence to its predecessor, it's still got some spirit compared to something like the remakes of The Lion King or Psycho. It's a harmless matinee, and that's fine. I think I said enough.

Cells at Work!

Last December saw the release of Cells at Work!, the film version of Akane Shimizu's massively popular edutainment manga, in Japanese theatres. It debuted stateside on Netflix this past weekend, and I must say the wait was mostly worth it. Let's see if I can explain why.

On the surface level, this follows highschooler Niko Urushizaki (Mana Ashida) and her father Shigeru (Sadao Abe). Niko tries to keep her messy father healthy, while she pines for her upperclassman Shin Takeda (Seishiro Kato). But she's suddenly diagnosed with leukemia just as things look up for her ...

Meanwhile, the real action goes on inside her body. The trillions of cells navigating her circulatory system are represented by color-coded people running around a Disneyland-esque city. The Red Blood Cells are couriers, the White Blood Cells are soldiers, the Killer T Cells are essentially SWAT, the Helper T Cells are mission control, etc. A Red Blood Cell, designated AE3803 (Mei Nagano), has a terrible sense of direction, but she also has an ally in a White Blood Cell, designated U-1146 (Takeru Satoh). He mostly bails her out from attacks by several villainous maladies, but they must work together if Niko is to survive Leukemia (Satoshi Fukase).

What kind of visual metaphors can we expect here? U-1146 and his fellow cells fight over-the-top battles with the maladies, who are depicted as freaky and colorful supervillains. One bacterium, Pneumococcus (Ainosuke Kataoka), is expelled by an exploding sneeze rocket! Niko getting flustered results in a sudden dance number! The influenza virus is represented by a zombie apocalypse. We also see inside Shigeru, which is a dystopian society of junk and squalor. At one point, Shigeru is afflicted with the trots, which results in one of the tensest and grossest action scenes you'll ever see. This is still a visually appealing science class, thanks to some excellent production values and the kindly Macrophage's (Wakana Matsumoto) handy exposition. 

One of the best things that director Hideki Takeuchi and writer Yuichi Tokunaga did was to create Niko's storyline. The manga, as well as its countless spin-offs, only concerned itself with the inner world of a nameless body. Every malady was just as monster of the week, and if Niko existed, we wouldn't know it. All of these episodic lessons, both from the manga and its first spin-off Code Black, flow nicely in this new vessel. When Niko comes down with leukemia, not only will you feel badly for her, but for the cells trying to fight it off. Shigeru's laziness maybe funny, but he proves himself a spectacular dad when Niko needs it most. Takeda, meanwhile, is decently likable, but that's good enough. 

How about we meet some of these cells at work. Amongst the trillions, we have two likable co-leads with AE3803 and U-1146. Both of them have great personalities, which makes it fun to watch them interact, and it's quite compelling when they step up during the leukemia apocalypse. Meanwhile, the leader of the Killer T Cells (Koji Yamamoto) is not only a blowhard, but he's a good guy. An NK Cell (Riisa Naka), represented as a lone wolf monster hunter, might be the coolest character in the film. She has competition with the Macrophage, who proves quite handy with a cleaver. Another Red Blood Cell, designated AA2153 (Rihito Itagaki), is the protagonist of Shigeru's body, and is just as likable as our main heroine. The Platelets, represented by a bunch of little kids, are the film's biggest one-scene wonders.

This now brings me to Leukemia himself. In his villain origin story, he was just a youngling White Blood Cell until the big guys judged him defective. Then, he turned older and bad. It's quite a sympathetic backstory, but the film doesn't dwell on sympathy for him, even if his defeat is practically a mercy killing. He's even sympathetic when he embraces his villainy during his final battle with U-1146. This has been a point-of-contention in the manga for years, and I kind of understand why here. He, as well as the other cellular actors, do such a great job personifying their characters that it makes the ending a bittersweet pill to swallow. Let's just say it involves lots of chemotherapy. 

Still, a bittersweet pill is better than a dour tablespoon. Cells at Work! runs the gamut from goofy, to charming and emotional, which makes it a memorable Netflix experience. Who knows if it's entirely medically accurate, but it's absolutely edutaining, which makes it a good springboard to check its notes. I definitely recommend this movie to anyone and everyone curious. It's an absolute crowd-pleaser, as long as you don't let the ending bother you too much. See it soon to see what I mean.

As for me, I got to prepare for a few other reviews, which might even include another live-action anime film. Wait for it.

The Phoenician Scheme

By now, you should know what to expect from a Wes Anderson production. What else can you expect when you see his massive ensemble of quirky characters enact The Phoenician Scheme. Let's see if I can explain it.

Dateline: 1950. Anatole "Zsa-Zsa" Korda (Benicio Del Toro), a world-class tycoon, narrowly survives his sixth assassination attempt by plane crash. After this attempt, Korda starts seeing God (Bill Murray) and His heavenly court (including Willem Dafoe as his heavenly attorney). So, he decides to mend his relationship with his novitiate daughter, Liesl (Mia Threapleton), which includes naming her as his heir. He also decides to enact a scheme to renovate the infrastructure of the Middle Eastern region of Modern Greater Independent Phoenicia. Sounds well and good, but it does involve slave labor and famine.

Spurred on by his big business rivals, Korda heads off to get his big business allies to help foot the bill. He's joined by Liesl and Prof. Bjørn (Michael Cera), who is ostensibly the tutor of Liesl's nine younger brothers. Anyway, they travel the world meeting these potential investors, which include Leland & Reagan (Tom Hanks & Bryan Cranston), Marty (Jeffrey Wright), and Marseille Bob (Mathieu Amalric), as well as Korda's cousin Hilda (Scarlett Johansson) and estranged half-brother Uncle Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch). Will Korda complete the scheme? Or will his survival habit finally expire?

It makes quite an impression with its opening scenes. It seems like a normal flight for Korda, Alexandre Desplat's intense score notwithstanding, until an unlucky dude (Truman Hanks) pops like a balloon and takes some of the plane with him. Korda ejects the unlucky pilot (Stephen Park) and takes the controls himself. We're treated to some delightfully cheesy effects for everything but impact, which happens off-screen. That scene is enough to get one anticipating the next crash. 

By contrast, the opening credits gives us an eloquent birds-eye view of Korda taking a bath (as filmed by Bruno Delbonnel). The marble floor, which sometimes blends in with each name, is quite a sight. A few more great locales include Korda's estate, Reagan & Leland's tunnel, the Heavenly Court and Uncle Nubar's palace. Once again, Adam Stockhausen has helped Anderson envision a cinematic world that's just as fascinating to watch as it is to read about.

Once we get to the scheme, it becomes episodic as Korda and company meet their investors. Anderson and Roman Coppola pack their screen-story with some enjoyable running gags in each meeting. A few highlights include Korda politely offering a hand grenade to an investor, their inevitable shouting match, and a host of familiar assassins. They're tied together by a few good plot threads, which include Korda and Liesl's strained relationship; Prof. Bjørn's big secret; Korda's heavenly visions; and the impending confrontation with Uncle Nubar. It's actually quite easy to follow this plot, even if one major plot point has a convolutedly deadpan explanation.

Korda, as played by Del Toro, isn't really a nice guy at the start. He uses slave labor, which is pretty bad, but according to his enemies, he's a robber baron "who provokes war, as well as peace." He gradually shows his softer side, even accidentally taking a bullet for Marseille Bob, throughout the film. He eventually completes the scheme with a surprisingly selfless act. He's matched perfectly by Threapleton as Liesl, especially as their first conversation rises with deadpan tension. Cera is delightfully awkward as Bjørn, even after his big secret is revealed. 

Amongst the supporting cast, we also have Riz Ahmed as Phoenician Prince Farouk; Richard Aoyade as Sergio the Communist Guerilla; and Hope Davis as Liesl's Mother Superior. The investors are mostly entertaining cameos, though Johansson's Hilda has a bit more plot relevance as Korda's prospective wife. She's still good, though. The same goes for the Heavenly Court, especially with Murray's God, who has to tell Korda straight up that slavery is wrong. The film perfectly builds up Uncle Nubar's "Biblical" presence each time the investors' percentages increase. Cumberbatch's subtly unhinged performance makes it all worth the wait.

I'll admit, much of the intricacies of The Phoenician Scheme's story didn't click with me at first. All the deadpan dialogue, while funny, kept me distant from the depths of Korda's character. At least the visuals were good, as always. But after some thought, I've come to appreciate how good it is. I don't know if this will replace The Grand Budapest Hotel as my favorite Wes Anderson film, but it's still a good time. So, you should definitely scheme to make it to your nearest showtime whenever it's around. It's quite worth it.

That's it for now. 

Predator: Killer of Killers

Who's ready to go on another hunt with the Predator? 

How about two?

Since Prey did pretty good on Hulu, Disney brought back Dan Trachtenberg to helm not one, but two follow-up features. While Predator: Badlands hits theatres in November, Predator: Killer of Killers is already on Hulu now. So, what can you expect from the franchise's first animated feature?

Trachtenberg and Micho Robert Rutare write three historical scenarios for the Predators to hunt in. The finale sees the Predators' human opponents fight and team up on the Predators' home world. If anyone imagined what a film adaptation of the RPG Live A Live would look like, this might be it. Let's take a look at these scenarios.

I. The Shield: Ursa (Lindsay LaVanchy) is a Viking Chieftain in 9th-Century Scandinavia. As a child, the evil Krivich warlord Zoran (Andrew Morgado) forced her to kill her father. Now, she and her warband, which includes her son Anders (Damien Haas), are out for vengeance. A Predator shows up just as they succeed.

Throughout Ursa's story, she not only fights physical opponents, but a lifetime of mental trauma that's plain as day when she confronts Zoran. Despite this, she's still a good mother to Anders, as well as a respectable Chieftain to her band. In other words, she maybe brutal, but she won't lash out on her kin. She proves her mettle during her fight with the "Grendel," as well as in her last stand. Who wouldn't want to follow her into battle? 

II. The Sword: It's now 1609 Japan. Kenji (Louis Ozawa), the disgraced son of a deceased Shogun, returns home as a ninja to fight his brother Kyoshi (also Ozawa) for the right to succeed the old man. A ninja Predator - who kind of looks like Dek, the main Predator in Badlands - ruins the fun. The intruder, however, spurs the brothers to reconcile.

This segment mostly eschews dialogue for some stylish action. Kenji spends the first half on a beeline for his brother, taking out the guards with quick ninjutsu (smoke bombs, poison darts, kunai, etc.). You don't need much to understand Kenji's resentment with Kiyoshi when they have their duel. Still, one could easily have wildly different interpretations of the events on-screen. I almost thought that the brothers' final blow for the Ninja Predator was meant for each other. But that's quickly resolved. It's quite profound when they finally talk, for the first and last time, after their duel.

III. The Bullet: It's now 1942, and the Battle of the Atlantic is underway. John J. Torres (Rick Gonzalez), a fighter pilot and aspiring mechanic, realizes that his unit isn't just fighting the Axis. A Predator Starship is literally fishing for fighter pilots, and it's up to Torres and his rust bucket plane, the Bullet, to take down the pilot before all hands are lost. 

Torres is a likable underdog, stuck with paltry weaponry, but doing his best to survive. He's got some good comradery with his squad, including CO Vandy (Michael Biehn), even if they doubt his warrior skills. But he proves his mettle during his main segment, and the finale. As cool as the seasoned warriors Ursa and Kenji are, it's just as cool to see him outwit and outlast his opponents. He even survives certain death as monster food during the Gladiator Games. I'll just have to let you see how.

Imagine a de-saturated Spiderverse movie and you have this movie's art style. We have some wonderfully exaggerated Predator designs, including the hulking Warlord Predator, as well as some stylish kills by both them and the heroes. The Viking Raids in The Shield, as well as Ursa's pivotal flashback, are appropriately nightmarish and brutal. Our heroes literally fade into Predator captivity, which is quite inventive to see. The only flaw is that the dogfight in The Bullet is a bit hard to follow. It's hard to tell who Torres's fellow pilots are, save for Vandy, when they fall. But maybe a second viewing can help. These visuals are accentuated with another good Benjamin Wallfisch score, which features some stylish renditions of Alan Silvestri's famous theme.

At 90 minutes, Predator: Killer of Killers will give you some quick action thrice. Its three main segments will never bore you thanks to their fast pace and stylish action. They come together nicely in the finale, which has a twist that puts the previous films in a rather dark perspective. Will it be addressed in Predator: Badlands, or even another sequel? I don't know, but I'm ready for both options. 

That's it for now.

Karate Kid: Legends

The Karate Kid remake was one of the first films I reviewed on this blog. It did pretty well, better than most movie remakes, but it didn't get the franchise on its feet right away. It's ready to fight once again with Karate Kid: Legends, which marks the directorial debut of TV producer and director Jonathan Entwistle. Let's get to it.

In what is perhaps a novel twist, the screenplay by Ron Lieber refactors the aforementioned remake into the continuity of the previous films. It turns out, as explained in a flashback to The Karate Kid: Part Two, Mr. Miyagi's (Pat Morita) brand of Karate has its roots in Kung Fu. As we officially open the film, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), the Mr. Miyagi of the "remake," continues teaching Kung Fu in China. One of his students is his grandnephew, Li Fong (Ben Wang), who gets dragged off to New York when his doctor mother (Ming-Na Wen) gets a job there. Li immediately befriends Mia Lipani (Sadie Stanley), daughter of local pizzeria owner Victor (Joshua Jackson). All's good, right?

Unfortunately, Li also meets Mia's ex, Connor Day (Aramis Knight), an unhinged martial arts champion. Connor's instructor, Mr. O'Shea (Tim Rozon) is a loan shark who wants Victor to pay up or else. One night, Li fights off some of O'Shea's goons, which gets Victor, a former fighter himself, to ask Li to be his Mr. Miyagi. That's admittedly an interesting twist on the franchise's well-established formula. But eventually, circumstances force Li to get into the ring himself in an upcoming martial arts tournament, The Five Burroughs. Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), the original Karate Kid himself, show up to train Li for the tournament. That's pretty much it.

So, when do the Shifu and the Sensei team-up? At least half-way through this 94-minute movie. It's kind of a long wait considering that's the selling point of the advertisements. They rush through Li into the formula in its remaining minutes; it could've been better if one or both was present at the start. They could've helped develop the conflict between Li and his mom over his taking up martial arts again. Instead, she accepts it off-screen; I'll explain the conflict a little further down. Even worse, it ends so quickly that Mr. O'Shea becomes a Karma Houdini, unless he becomes the new John Kreese in a sequel. It's not a perfect plot, but there's plenty to admire and enjoy about it.

One such aspect is the new Karate Kid himself. Throughout the movie, Li is haunted by the death of his brother, a Kung Fu champion who got murdered by an angry rival and his gang. That incident is why his mother doesn't want him taking up martial arts again. His PTSD is palpable before the reveal, and the audience can easily sympathize with his reluctant hero status. You can't blame him when he freezes up after Victor's comeback fight goes horribly wrong; neither can you blame Mia, for that matter, for being mad at him. Of course, all of that makes it spectacular when he beats the odds in the final round. 

So, who's in this new Karate Kid's corner? Well, Mr. Han proves that Jackie Chan is just as spry in his seventies as he was in his thirties. He proves that much when he breaks into Li's apartment and gives him a sudden sparing lesson. He's just as eccentric as he was in the "remake," and all the more delightful for it. His best scene is when he consoles Li over his failure to help Victor. His co-Sensei, Daniel, is quite moving when he speaks of the late Mr. Miyagi with reverence (even if it's played for laughs in the epilogue, which has a surprise cameo). Both legacy characters are great together, even if it's not for the whole movie. Li has great chemistry with not only the Lipanis, but Alan (Wyat Oleff), his student-tutor, wingman and unofficial third sensei.

This brings me to the bad guys. Connor is the type of villain whose very presence will unnerve you. What does he do to deserve that reputation? He's excessively violent to his sparring partners, punches Li on the subway and even attacks a referee or two. He barely tries to pretend to be nice; one exception leads to the subway punch. I wasn't kidding when I called him unhinged earlier. Mr. O'Shea, meanwhile, isn't nice either, which he proves when he gets Victor nearly killed at his comeback match. Unfortunately, he's out of focus for most of the film. But both he and Connor continue the series' proud tradition of villains you can't believe weren't already in jail. Again, it's still beyond satisfying when Li knocks down Connor at the end.

It doesn't disappoint with the fight scenes, even if some of them are slightly over-edited. Li saving Victor from O'Shea's goons deserves a special mention, as that one has Li swing from a fire-escape for a kick! Li's decisive move is another spectacular kick, which he practices on a subway turnstile in a very funny montage. It's beyond obvious who the mysterious intruder attacking Li is, but it's still entertaining to watch it play out. Let's not forget the tournament, even those fights just there in a montage. These fights are accentuated quite nicely by Dominic Lewis's score. The graphics used to illustrate the countdown to the tournament and its point-system were pretty nifty, too.

It has some writing issues, but at least its callbacks to the previous films aren't so intrusive. You might need some familiarity with them, but you don't need to binge them beforehand. Its new Karate Kid is so compelling that you might want to break into applause at the end (my screening did). I'm sure this might get one to check out the previous films, or even the sequel series Cobra Kai, but I've had plenty of fun with its recent video game, The Karate Kid: Street Rumble. It's a bit hard in places, but it's spectacularly entertaining, much like this film. I definitely recommend you check out both. 

That's it for now.