'MANHUNT': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
Director John Woo's adaptation of the Japanese novel 'Kimi Yo Fundo No Kawa O Watare' (by Juko Nishimura), which was previously made into a movie in 1976. Woo decided to make this film to commemorate the star of the original, Ken Takakura (who was one of Woo's favorite actors). This remake stars Zhang Hanyu, Masaharu Fukuyama, Qi Wei, Nanami Sakuraba and Ha Jiwon. It was written by Gordon Chan, Chan Hing Kai, James Yuen, Itaru Era, Ho Miu Ki, Maria Wong and Sophie Yeh. The film tells the story of a prosecutor who's accused of horrible crimes he didn't commit, and then sets out to clear his name of all wrong doing. It's received mixed reviews from critics, and it was just released in the US on Netflix, through it's streaming site. I found the action scenes in it to be exhilarating, and the film itself is nostalgic (to say the least).
Du Qiu (Hanyu) is a Chinese lawyer who works for Tenjin Pharmaceuticals. He's framed for the murder of a mysterious woman, who seduced him into bed, and has to go on the run from law enforcement because of it. Detectives Satoshi Yamura (Fukuyama) and Rika (Sakuraba) are assigned with tracking Qiu down. Things become complicated when Yamura suspects Qiu is really innocent.
The movie is packed with really cool visuals, and exciting action scenes. It's definitely style over substance, but it's still a lot of fun. It's also really reminiscent of Woo's classic films from yesteryear, a time when I absolutely loved his movies. If this film had came out then I would have praised it even more, as it is now I still really enjoyed it (a lot).
Director John Woo's adaptation of the Japanese novel 'Kimi Yo Fundo No Kawa O Watare' (by Juko Nishimura), which was previously made into a movie in 1976. Woo decided to make this film to commemorate the star of the original, Ken Takakura (who was one of Woo's favorite actors). This remake stars Zhang Hanyu, Masaharu Fukuyama, Qi Wei, Nanami Sakuraba and Ha Jiwon. It was written by Gordon Chan, Chan Hing Kai, James Yuen, Itaru Era, Ho Miu Ki, Maria Wong and Sophie Yeh. The film tells the story of a prosecutor who's accused of horrible crimes he didn't commit, and then sets out to clear his name of all wrong doing. It's received mixed reviews from critics, and it was just released in the US on Netflix, through it's streaming site. I found the action scenes in it to be exhilarating, and the film itself is nostalgic (to say the least).
Du Qiu (Hanyu) is a Chinese lawyer who works for Tenjin Pharmaceuticals. He's framed for the murder of a mysterious woman, who seduced him into bed, and has to go on the run from law enforcement because of it. Detectives Satoshi Yamura (Fukuyama) and Rika (Sakuraba) are assigned with tracking Qiu down. Things become complicated when Yamura suspects Qiu is really innocent.
The movie is packed with really cool visuals, and exciting action scenes. It's definitely style over substance, but it's still a lot of fun. It's also really reminiscent of Woo's classic films from yesteryear, a time when I absolutely loved his movies. If this film had came out then I would have praised it even more, as it is now I still really enjoyed it (a lot).