Customer Reviews

The Ghost

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A stylistic action film with an ecclectic cast. Basic fish out of water story with a twist. An introverted American computer nerd sends away for an Asian bride over the internet because he's had it with American women who he thinks are to hard and pushy. Little does he know that his docle little oriental wife- to-be is in reality an infamous Tong assissin, trained from birth to kill who has herself suddenly become the object of a world wide manhunt. One of the better roles Michael Madsen has had. With Richard Hatch, Brad Dourif, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and a very sexy newcomer named Chung Lai.

Nothing deep or challenging here, just a fun good guy, bad guy martial arts film with plenty of action and enough humor to balance the violence and bad language.

Fans of the '70's television series 'Kung Fu' will recognize the plot immediately. Female assassin and martial arts expert Jing (Chung Lai) known as "the Ghost" flees China to America in an attempt to escape a corrupt law enforcement officer demanding her execution. Her whereabouts are soon discovered and she is pursued to America. Soon violence erupts in the streets of Chinatown in Los Angeles. Will her reputation as the top assassin of the Tong clan be enough to defeat both the Chinese police and American law enforcement and bounty hunters. YOU BET!

Definetly one to watch if you haven't seen some of these stars for awhile. You will be pleased the action is quick and sharp.

After her warning to a Tong rival is rebuffed by the retaliatory slaying of her associates, the young assassin is spirited to the United States, where she is to live quietly until further notice, with a well-to-do business man who has been groomed into believing that she is his romantic - by e-mail - correspondent. Little does he suspect that her goggle-like glasses are the least of his worries.

But the man she has tangled with back in China - a chief of detectives - is relentless in his pursuit of her, and her cover is quickly blown, because of interdepartmental links with the LA police department, and their tie in with a bounty hunter and his team.

This is a moderately gory, yet comedic film, with fairly obvious filches from: Leon, The Assassin, Blade Runner, etc. The acting is all decent enough and the general production values are as good as most of Jackie Chan's output. The assassinette's dialogue and delivery is a riot, but not risible.

`Get dressed, Edward... we have unexpected guests.' She says calmly, as her killers close in.

A very watchable film.

I don't do martial arts films. However I did enjoy the first three seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which may be why I liked this film. It wasn't a great work of art by any means, but it was cute in it's own ways. (Can one use the word "cute" to describe a martial arts film?) A bit cartoonist that doesn't take itself too seriously, it has a kick butt female "good guy" (Julie Lee), an over the top "bad guy" (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) and the "in between guys" (Michael Madsen and his crew) that makes it all work. Julie Lee's fighting skills are good, as were most of the fighting scenes from this novice's eyes. Even Hatch was throwing some decent punches. I would watch again (and have).

This is an action packed thriller with enough humor to blot out some of the bloody scenes. It's about an assasin who was raised by the asian mob but disobeyed orders so she had to escape to the US to save her life. However the corrupt bad guy played by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is not about to make her escape since she embarassed him before his people by giving him a beating. One of the most memorable and funny line was when Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa's character killed his girlfriend and declared "I have the worst luck with women"