Customer Reviews

Fist of the North Star

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

There was a brief period around 1995-7 when Toei, one of the major film companies in Japan, produced a string of now forgotten films featuring B-list English-speaking actor(s). Those films usually included Japanese actors as part of main cast or supports, and many of them were theatrically released in Japan (though none of them became a commercial hit). Today not many people know such titles as `No Way Back' (featuring then unknown Russell Crowe and Kelly Hu), `Countdown' (with Lori Petty'), `Final Vendetta' (with Brigitte Wilson) and `Crying Freeman' (directed by Christophe Gans). Except for `Crying Freeman' which is a decent action film, they are mostly unremarkable films.

`Fist of the North Star' was made during this period. The big difference is that its post-WWIII story derives from hugely popular Japanese manga series `Fist of the North Star' (`Hokuto no Ken'). Ask any Japanese under 40, and you will realize the popularity of the series. Well, not everyone liked it, but this comic created by Buronson and Tesuo Hara.became popular during the 1980s, and then TV animation version started, which also became a hit.

But this live-action version of `North Star' falls flat completely. It uses the earlier chapters of the original comic as the main story, in which we follow the battles of a stoic fighter named Kenshiro (Gary Daniels) in the bleak, post-apocalyptic world plagued with violence. Blood thirsty gangsters attack the villagers, and they steal and kill mercilessly. It is the world of the second `Mad Max' film (which greatly influenced the original comic), but unlike Mel Gibson's character Kenshiro (whose character is partly based on Bruce Lee) fights the villains with his original kung-fu, which causes the enemy's body explode (yes, literally, like `The `Scanners').

Unfortunately, however, it doesn't happen in this film because it is so CHEAP! The unimaginative production designs are mainly about mud, old factory, and wilderness with green screen behind it. Nothing is thrilling in here - you see hammy Clint Howard playing a despicable baddie with hammy Chris Penn playing another despicable baddie. Japanese actress Isako Washio plays bland Julia, Kenshiro's love, and it is not a good sign when you see Malcolm McDowell sitting like a Buddhist monk.

The story is sometimes hard to follow because of its confusing narrative, and it often goes on and on with talks, talks, and talks. Former kick-boxing champion Gary Daniels can show very good fight scenes, and he surely shows them briefly, but when that happens, the film is almost over.

My advice is again `Stick to the original' or in this case, original Japanese cartoon series. It is not perfect, but it is more exciting and entertaining.

nobody explodes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no one! i can't stress that enough. no one suffers the true wrath of the fist of the north star. if you are a fan of the animated series then don't watch this movie. it will only make you hate the person who made it. if you are a fan of martial arts movies, don't watch this movie because it will make you hate all of the actors in this movie. if you are a fan of mullets don't watch this movie because it will forever detract from the joy that courses through your veins everytime you see a remarkable quaff of hockey hair. if you are a fan of cheasy b movies then i also strongly suggest that you do not watch this one because it will make you hate yourself. this movie sucks on levels that you didn't even know existed. it sucks more than going on a blind date with with your mom. it sucks more than watching rosie o'donnell and liza minelli strip down and wrestle in creamed corn and chick peas. worse than a drunk near sighted proctologist with cold hands and long nails. it sucks more than pamela anderson having hep c. or like seeing your grandmother getting out of the shower. like sifting through dog poop looking for worms this movie will leave you feeling like you need a shower. is this movie better than a sharp stick in the eye? no, if somone stabbed you in the eye with any stick while you were watching this movie, then you would thank them for their mercy. save your sanity and do not, under any circumstances, watch this movie. gary daniels sucks and nobody explodes!

This is the most heinous tribute to an anime feature I have ever had the sorry displeasure to ever witness. The fight scenes were mediocre, the actors were as exciting as 3 day old dish water, and the fact that they had the nerve to associate it with so venerable and revered an anime classic as the TRUE FIST, makes me wish to humbly vomit in the ajacent vacinity of these film makers. Why would Malcolm McDowell lower himself to so low an estate as to associate himself with such a slipshot production? What the hel possessed the film makers to even make it? Do they wish to insult the public?

This movie is pretty terrible, I saw it on the sci-fi channel, it's basically Cyborg. The name of this franchise proves Shakespeare's "rose is still a rose" quote wrong, if it was called Blood Fued or some other corny name no one would give a dang about it. The first fight Kenshiro gets into is the best, very stylized, the sparse sound effects make it more powerful. The .5 is a culmination of a combo here a kick there. Gary Daniels does this pretty wicked spinning side kick, but I have to critcize him for taking Van Dam's splits spin kick. I wouldn't even bother renting this though. Now that I think of it, I think Street Fighter was better than this.

How is this possible, Tony Randall has taken THE coolest anime movie and messed it up. Everything that made the anime such a wicket experience has gone wrong here. Gary Daniels, although he is a very good martial artist, is just no match for the power of the anime version of Kenshiro. All the fight scenes lack the incredible punch that made the anime so great. The storyline has been messed up to, with all the caracters names and identities all wrong. For example let's take Jagi, Kenshiros brother. In the live version he's called Jackal and doesn't play the role he did in the anime movie. Also were is Ken's older brother, Raoh? The look of the movie, setting and acting are amongst the worst I've seen. Overall this is a major letdown, if Tony Randall had any wits whatsoever he would have made the movie with a punch like the movie Blade, with Wesley Snipes. For the real thing, check out the new anime series about The Fist Of The North Star vol 1-12. Piece,

What is this! The anime was awful, but they decided to make a live action movie on the Fist of the Northstar. First of all, I think everybody should watch Trigun, and then I would like to see what you think of one of the worst anime's out there, Fist of the Northstar. The only cool part was with the Viking saying that he didn't believe in magic, and MAGICALLY turned into steel.

I loved the anime version of FIST OF THE NORTH STAR. But this dreadful live action knock off is ghastly. The fighting is unconvincing, the acting is truly horrible and just when you think it can't get worse Downtown Julie Brown shows up as a guerrilla fighter. Aaaaaaaargh! Only buy this if you like cheesy, poorly done martial arts camp fests and even then prepared to be bored out of your skull.

i have not seen a worse movie yet, the anime version was excellent i wont tell anything about the plot but trust me some things are better left animated

First of all, I am not familiar with the manga or the anime this movie is based on, and thus will not review the film in comparison to its source material. I simply like martial arts movies and I like Gary Daniels, and thus am reviewing this film as such. In this pursuit, I ended up with mixed results: while the stylishness of the production puts to shame the low-budget hackfests that Daniels has been a part of, the action content - Gary's main strength - fails to live up the standards he's capable of reaching. Then there's the plot, which is interesting enough but certainly not an everyman's affair and doesn't really feel very anime-ish. You really ought to know yourself before buying this one: it has the potential to be both a good time-waster or a big waste of life.

The story: Kenshiro (Daniels, The Expendables), the last surviving practitioner of the fabled North Star style of fighting, wanders the wastelands of a dying world ruled by his nemesis, the evil Lord Shin (Costas Mandylor, Picket Fences). Urged on by his long-deceased master (Malcolm McDowell, A Clockwork Orange) and the plight of an estranged settlement under attack by Shin's hordes, he must master himself to cease the oppression and rescue his beautiful lover (Isako Washio) from the tyrant.

What we have here is pretty much a classy post-apocalyptic desert action movie, which is - in case you don't know - a subgenre of its own. This is the film that the likes of Dune Warriors or The Last Warrior wish they could have be: not only does "First of the North Star" have distinguishable art direction, but it's a movie with an actual plot, notable characters that aren't forgotten the moment they're offscreen, and defined beginning, middle, and end acts - not just a bunch of explosions melded together by amateur script readings. As a representative of 'wasteland films', the movie is extremely promising...but as most anything else, it's lacking. Though it boasts a neat cast - including Chris Penn (Reservoir Dogs) as Shin's top henchman, ex-MTV personality Downtown Julie Brown and Melvin Van Peebles (Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song) as leaders of the targeted village, and Dante Basco (Hook) as Kenshiro's quasi-sidekick - very few of the characters are actually relevant to the story in the long run. Granted, most of them are pretty animated and presentable, but very few of their ongoings affect the main stars of the film directly.

What I was most interested in, of course, was the film's martial arts content. Again, we're presented with a mixed bag: Daniels has both the forms and the moves (not to mention a nifty acupressure attack with which he can make guys' heads explode off-camera), but the fights are short and infrequent. What's worse, as is the case in several of Gary's movies, most of the encounters fall prey to overzealous editing and cheap camera angles that stifle coolness. Luckily, near the end of the movie, Daniels breaks this trend and tears down the house as he takes care of about twenty villains thrown at him in turn with his awesome kicks and a pair of rattan sticks. Had this been the standard of the rest of the film, I'd likely be adding another star to the rating, but since the very next fight (the final showdown with Lord Shin) reverts back to the so-so style of cinefighting, I can't deem it more than passable.

From the tone of some of the other reviews I've read, being a fan of the original series doesn't guarantee you as a fan of this one, so it's safe to say that your best bet of having a good time with this is being in it mainly for Gary and his hunky bod. It's worth owning if you're a fan of the man, but unless the film's scale or storyline manages to impress you, it might not crack your personal top-ten list.

This is the worst movie I have ever seen. It's disgraced the name of the Hokuto No Ken series. Any real fan of the series like myself, wouldn't even watch this movie a second time.