04-29-2024, 10:55 PM
I finally watched this. WTH? Oh right, Sono + Cage.
This film is a stretch for both of them. It’s either post apocalypse or alternate reality. It doesn’t even bother with that detail (although I lean towards the former). It’s a hybrid world of samurai & cowboys, with a toxic nuclear dump through in for good measure. There are swords and cell phones, parts in Japanese, English and nonsense languages. A lot of idiosyncratic elements. Cage is a busted bank robber tasked with retrieving a lost gal (Sofia Boutella) from the badlands - the catch is he’s strapped into a leather suit with bombs on his arms, throat and testicles, set to explode if he doesn’t make it in time.
There’s lots of gratuitous sanguineousness. There’s also lots of surreal imagery, tossed in for art’s sake. Or Sono’s. Cage is there for it, along with the ride jamming up the absurdity like only he can. Some of the scenes are eerily beautiful and visionary, others crass and violent.
Ultimately I was engaged, not so much for the story or acting, but for the sporadic moments of atmosphere. The fight choreo wasn’t outstanding but it wasn’t bad either. Cage is past his action prime and should refrain from high kicks because they’re out of his range now. He dons a helmet later which covers his stuntman double. Also in the cast as the main villain’s right hand thug is Tak Sakaguchi, who Ive praised previously for Crazy Samurai Musashi and 1%er, but his sword work is substandard for him here.
D00M recommended? Maybe for the D00M surrealists, or the Cage or Sono fans. It’s a weird uneven film but it had enough moments to sustain me. I confess to being a fan of all three (although given Somo’s aforementioned abuse, he’s falling into that Woody Allen zone - I suppose it’s worth following up on).
Seen on Hoopla
This film is a stretch for both of them. It’s either post apocalypse or alternate reality. It doesn’t even bother with that detail (although I lean towards the former). It’s a hybrid world of samurai & cowboys, with a toxic nuclear dump through in for good measure. There are swords and cell phones, parts in Japanese, English and nonsense languages. A lot of idiosyncratic elements. Cage is a busted bank robber tasked with retrieving a lost gal (Sofia Boutella) from the badlands - the catch is he’s strapped into a leather suit with bombs on his arms, throat and testicles, set to explode if he doesn’t make it in time.
There’s lots of gratuitous sanguineousness. There’s also lots of surreal imagery, tossed in for art’s sake. Or Sono’s. Cage is there for it, along with the ride jamming up the absurdity like only he can. Some of the scenes are eerily beautiful and visionary, others crass and violent.
Ultimately I was engaged, not so much for the story or acting, but for the sporadic moments of atmosphere. The fight choreo wasn’t outstanding but it wasn’t bad either. Cage is past his action prime and should refrain from high kicks because they’re out of his range now. He dons a helmet later which covers his stuntman double. Also in the cast as the main villain’s right hand thug is Tak Sakaguchi, who Ive praised previously for Crazy Samurai Musashi and 1%er, but his sword work is substandard for him here.
D00M recommended? Maybe for the D00M surrealists, or the Cage or Sono fans. It’s a weird uneven film but it had enough moments to sustain me. I confess to being a fan of all three (although given Somo’s aforementioned abuse, he’s falling into that Woody Allen zone - I suppose it’s worth following up on).
Seen on Hoopla