Riki-Oh : The Story of Ricky
Starring: Fan Siu Wong, Fan Mui Sang, Cheng Chuen Yam, Yukari Oshima
Directed by Ngai Kai Lam
Goddamn this movie kicks ass! This is the type of film I've wanted to see for a really long fucking time. A gory kung fu flick where the hero does some real damage. Stuff like ichi the killer and a lot of Takashi Miike's other stuff is just as gory, but those are more yakuza oriented, where as this is definitely a kung fu/ martial arts type film taken to the extreme.
The general plot synopsis is this: Riki (Fan Siu Wong) is an extremely well disciplined fighting machine that kills some dudes that killed his sister. Now he's in prison and lots of people want to kill him because he won't go along with their bullshit. Lots of violence ensues.
It always seemed like a cop out to me in kung fu films where this guy is so strong he can break through bricks and bend metal, but he can't punch through a human body. Well, Ricky can, and does, along with a lot of other really cool shit. I don't want to spoil anything for you, but this is a really gory film. A guy tries to strangle Riki with his own entrails, dudes get put through meat grinders, etc., and so forth. Really nice looking stuff for the most part. There is really only one scene that looks bad, a shot with an arm that is way too pale to be the person's arm, but trust me, it's a minor flaw in this over all great film. It's like Dead Alive's Kung Fu equivalent.
I know, this review isn't all that coherent, but I don't care. What I do care about is that you go see Riki-Oh NOW! I promise you won't be disappointed.
-Royce Icon