Rogue Warfare: Fighting Terror with Oppressive Regimes

How does China “fight terrorism?” By condemning hundreds of thousands of innocent Uyghurs from East Turkestan to concentration camps. As for Russia, they do their utmost to prop up terrorist-sponsoring states, like Syria and Iran. Yet, both have permanent seats on the UN Security council, so both are part of a decidedly fictional 5-nation anti-terrorism military force. Credibility takes a backseat to courting the Chinese and Russian box offices throughout Mike Gunther’s Rogue Warfare, which releases today on DVD.

As the film opens, the unnamed POTUS puts his John Hancock on the “Rogue” military pact with the UK, France, Russia, and China. He harkens back to the day when all five nations aligned to fight the Axis powers (declining to mention Russia initially sided with Hitler—ask Poland about that). They are tasked with fighting extreme Islamist terrorist, but Gunther’s screenplay doesn’t even have the guts to call out Daesh or Al-Qaeda. Instead, they will be tracking a “rogue” terrorist organization known as the Black Masks.

Still, watching the free and not-the-least-bit free worlds take on generic Islamist terror could still be entertaining, but the inter-team dynamics seem to be carefully calibrated to kill any joy that could come from this film. Naturally, the Brit is a trigger-happy jerk who has utter contempt for teamwork, while Chinese and Russian members always play well with others.

Even more problematic, at least half the film feels like it is devoted the terrorists’ “Supreme Leader” as he airs his grievances and screeds. Frankly, this film starts to feel like recruiting propaganda for anti-Western terrorist groups. It would be offensive, if it weren’t so dull.

Better Late Than Never: The Wolverine vs. the Yakuza

China recently surpassed Japan to become the world’s second largest film market.  Yes, China is number two with a bullet, but Japan is hardly chopped liver.  As an extra added benefit, studios do not have to debase their product or sell their souls to export films into Japan.  Yet, they seem to take perverse pleasure in kowtowing to Chinese Communist Party censors.  However, the latest Japanese-centric installment of the X-Men franchise surely understood where its international bread would be buttered.  Better than initial reviews gave it credit for, James Mangold’s simply titled The Wolverine (trailer here) is worth a look-see in theaters now.

As most guys between the ages of thirteen and fifty know, Logan is a mutant, whose uncanny healing powers were augmented with an adamantium skeleton and retractable claws.  You cannot kill him, because he simply heals too fast, but you can definitely tick him off.  At least that used to be the case.  While visiting the deathbed of Yashida, the Japanese industrialist who knew Logan during dark days past, his healing powers are drastically impaired by Yashida’s strange physician, Dr. Green, who also happens to be a rather nasty mutant known as Viper.

At Yashida’s funeral, an attempt is made to kidnap Mariko Yashida, the granddaughter and surprise heir to the Yashida empire.  Suspecting the yakuza assassins are in league with her somewhat disappointed father, Logan and Mariko go underground.  However, the anti-hero mutant just isn’t shrugging off shotgun blasts to the gut like he used.  At least, he still has the claws and the temper, which are considerable.  Nevertheless, he will need a bit of help from Yukio, a mutant orphan adopted by the Yashida family to serve as Mariko’s friend and confidant.

Wolverine works surprisingly well, because most of the time it is not operating as a superhero movie, but as a blend of the yakuza and ninja genres.  No longer immortal, Logan follows the tradition of other noir gaijin hard-noses, like Robert Ryan in Sam Fuller’s House of Bamboo.  The claws versus swords fight sequences are well staged and have real stakes.  Unfortunately, the film makes a tactical mistake in the third act, veering into Iron Man territory not in keeping with up-close-and-personal hack-and-slashing tone it had so nicely established.

Regardless, The Wolverine has a real ace-in-the-hole in the person of supermodel turned thesp Rila Fukushima.  As the trusted Yukio, she shows gobs of screen presence and wicked action chops.  Frankly, many fans will want to see her and Logan walk the earth together, “like Caine in Kung Fu,” but the franchise seems to have different plans for the future (judging from the stinger-tease).

Tao Okamoto (another model) is also quite engaging as the dutiful Mariko, but probably Royal Shakespeare Company and Lost alumnus Hiroyuki Sanda is the most recognizable face after Hugh Jackman, bringing Shakespearean heaviness to the homicidal father, Shingen Yashida.  Although clearly comfortable with the character by now, Jackman admirably digs into this grittier detour into mortality.  On the other hand, Will Yun Lee (so good in Witchblade and the cool b-movie Four Assassins) is woefully under-utilized as ninja-protector Kenuichio Harada, while Svetlana Khodchenkova’s Viper is a bland standard issue super-villainess.

Just like leaving New York for Match Point helped reinvigorate Woody Allen, the Japanese setting ought to jump start the Wolverine sub-series.  It should also herald Rila Fukushima’s arrival as an international action star.  Had Mangold not been so tied to the big set pieces-go-boom superhero climax, The Wolverine could have really been an impressive fusion of Marvel mythology and Asian martial arts and action movie aesthetics.  Despite the late adherence to convention, it is still consistently entertaining.  Recommended for Marvel and yakuza genre fans, The Wolverine is still playing in theater nationwide, including the AMC Empire in New York.

Four Assassins: Who Ordered Room Service?

Although it might sound glamorous, life as a contract killer can be a grind.  Yes, there is a lot of travel, but you never really get to see the sights.  For instance, a quartet of professionals are in Hong Kong on business, but they will spend all their time in a hotel room throughout Stanley J. Orzel’s Four Assassins (trailer here), which opens this Friday in Los Angeles.

Marcus was not expecting his old flame Cordelia to knock on the door of his hotel room.  She is not just an ex, she is also a colleague.  He has never previously met the muscle she brought with her, but he and Chase take an instant disliking to each other.  Being blindsided by the thug from Gibraltar does not help much.  They are waiting for one more mystery guest to arrive: Eli, the crafty veteran who mentored both Marcus and Cordelia.

It seems Marcus came up one body short on his last gig and the big boss wants some answers.  However, the hitman is feigning innocence, if that’s the right term.  As they wait for instructions from the man, the four titular assassins will verbally spar, tell sea stories, and look for weaknesses to exploit.

Aside from periodic flashbacks, 4A is almost entirely set within Marcus’s suite.  At least, it is a nice hotel.  In fact, the film has the feeling of stage thriller, as conceived by Tarantino or Johnnie To.  Orzel (an American expat filmmaker, whose credits include work on several Zhang Yimou epics) makes a virtue of the one set limitations, producing a caged tiger vibe.  Given it starts in media res, there are not a lot of shocking plot revelations in store for viewers, per se, but his dialogue is notably sharp.

Those pointed exchanges definitely play to the strengths of Miguel Ferrer, best known to children of the 80’s and 90’s as pathologist Albert Rosenfield on Twin Peaks and the slimy executive who creates Robocop in the original 1987 film.  He is perfect for the role of Eli, the sardonic, world weary senior assassin.  Will Yun Lee (recognizable from Witchblade and the Hawaii Five-O reboot) looks appropriately haggard yet dangerous as Marcus, the protagonist assassin.  Mercedes Renard also holds her own quite nicely during the cutting exchanges, but Oliver Williams’ Chase comes across like someone doing a Cary Elwes impersonation, which could very well have been what the casting notice called for.

4A might be a B-movie-ish affair, but it has a strong noir sensibility, nicely enhanced by the richly appointed set crafted by Longman Leung’s design team.  Orzel adroitly maintains the pace and tension, getting nice assists from his small ensemble, especially Ferrer.  Though small in scope, it is a rather entertaining dark little hitman thriller, recommended for genre fans who do not require a lot of high concept action sequences when it opens tomorrow (10/19) at the Laemmle NoHo 7 in North Hollywood.

Maya Indie: Where the Road Meets the Sun

People who live in hostels are generally there for a good reason. Most are broke. Others are hiding from their pasts, while a few are simply head-splittingly annoying. Tenants from three different countries represent each particular profile in Mun Chee Yong’s Where the Road Meets the Sun (trailer here), which screens for a week in New York as part of the traveling Maya Indie Film Series.

After waking up from a long-term coma, the mysterious Takashi is still trying to forget the trauma that precipitated his accident. With nothing tying him down in Tokyo, he sets off for Los Angeles, crashing at the hostel managed by Blake, a transplanted New Yorker. The grizzled proprietor is also haunted by memories of the one that got away or more precisely, the wife he dumped. Definitely counting as broke, Julio is in the U.S. illegally, trying to raise enough money to bring over his family. That leaves Guy, a British party punk, as the obnoxious one.

As somewhat kindred souls, Takashi and Blake become fast friends. Despite his better judgment, Julio also finds himself hanging with Guy. Things will work out far better for one pair of improvised friends than for the other. While women play an important role in the film, few are seen save for fragmentary flashbacks, except for the bright and attractive Sandra, who seems too grounded and together to be staying in Blake’s dive.

In truth, the storyline involving Takashi works considerably better than the other intertwined strands. While the character taps into the archetype of the disgraced wandering warrior (or yakuza), Witchblade’s Will Yun Lee (technically Korean-American, but so be it) still expresses genuine human remorse and regret. Conversely, Julio’s storyline is often awkwardly didactic, but Fernando Noriega nails some pointed scenes dressing down Guy for playing the dilettante illegal alien. Indeed, if Luke Brandon Field was going cringe-inducing irritation, his Guy succeeds spectacularly. At least his character knows where to take a lady for a memorable first date (see picture).

Sort of like a skid-row version of Grand Hotel, California-based Singaporean filmmaker Mun Chee Yong deftly balances her ensemble cast in Road, perhaps displaying a slight favoritism towards Julio and Guy. Still, despite the politicized naturalism of the former’s tribulations, she never lets the proceedings get too maudlin. Ultimately though, it is Takashi, a finely drawn character memorably brought to life by Lee, who redeems the film. While hardly required viewing, Road has its moments of merit for those who wish to check it out during the Maya Indie Film Series, kicking off this Friday (7/29) in New York at the Quad Cinema.