FilmFan
12-05-2009, 09:15 AM
http://www.yellowcinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/sky-high.jpg
Running time: 112 minutes
Directed by: Ryûhei Kitamura
Starring: Yumiko Shaku
IMDB rating: 6.2
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398563/
The film begins with some cops entering a very large room/tower, where they find a body suspended by ropes. The body then falls to the ground. Then a cop wakes up at his desk, so we're not sure if that was a dream or a flashback, though the latter seems more likely. The cop looks quite young. An old cop then comes into the office and tells him he shouldn't have slept there all night and that he is working too hard. Then suddenly it's young cop's wedding day, but when his bride comes down the aisle, she has a large chest wound, and she dies a few seconds later.
The bride's spirit then goes up in the sky, where she finds herself at a place called The Gate of Rage. The guardian of the gate is played by the woman who played the insane ****ed up torture ***** in Audition. The torture ***** from Audition (who is a good person in this film) informs her that she has ended up there because that's where people go when they are murdered, and that she has three choices. The first is to go to paradise and prepare for reincarnation.The second is to become a ghost and haunt others, and the third is to curse a living person and kill them, however should she choose option three she will have to go to Hell.
The bride (her actual name is Mina) is given 12 days to decide, and in this time she is allowed to spend time on Earth as a ghost. She goes to see her boyfriend, but of course he cannot see or hear her. Due to his obvious grief, the police tell him to take some time off, and he decides to spend that time tracking down the murderer in order to kill him. Mina is desperate to stop him though, because the guardian has informed her that all people who commit murder spend eternity in hell, regardless of any justification they may have for their actions.
Then we get introduced to a billionaire geneticist and his female assistant. Four men armed with handguns attempt to mug him, but his and his assistant's fighting skills are such that all of them are left on the floor less than a minute later. Another character we are introduced to is a young female journalist, who is picked to interview the billionaire.
I thought the initial set-up was good. The whole murder mystery/12 days to decide your fate/ghost thing is a pretty cool idea, but not long after this is established it becomes a bit like a B movie that takes itself too seriously. We find out early on who the killer is, and from that point on it focuses a lot of time on sword fights and an evil plot to summon the devil.
I'm not really a fan of samuari films. Martial arts movies can be entertaining, but overall my tastes are more suited to the type of violence seen in Western films, where the good guy and the bad guy enchange punches for a short period of time rather than engaging in a 5 minute duel where they constantly counter each other and jump around a lot.
Part of the problem is that the scenes that attempted to have the viewer care for the characters weren't at all effective. The technique used was often cliched and not particularly original. Somebody would say something, then pause, then slowly turn away with an 'I'm feeling a lot of emotion right now' look on their face.
In the end, the 3 options that Mina has 12 days to decide between don't even matter. They are forgotten about almost instantly.
With a 2 hour running time, the film is overly long. With half an hour to go, it didn't seem like there was much left for the characters to do, but then it continued, with more swords fights and scenes of drama that didn't really work.
Although this isn't completely terrible, it is a bit crap, and I wouldn't reccomend watching it.
5.75
Running time: 112 minutes
Directed by: Ryûhei Kitamura
Starring: Yumiko Shaku
IMDB rating: 6.2
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398563/
The film begins with some cops entering a very large room/tower, where they find a body suspended by ropes. The body then falls to the ground. Then a cop wakes up at his desk, so we're not sure if that was a dream or a flashback, though the latter seems more likely. The cop looks quite young. An old cop then comes into the office and tells him he shouldn't have slept there all night and that he is working too hard. Then suddenly it's young cop's wedding day, but when his bride comes down the aisle, she has a large chest wound, and she dies a few seconds later.
The bride's spirit then goes up in the sky, where she finds herself at a place called The Gate of Rage. The guardian of the gate is played by the woman who played the insane ****ed up torture ***** in Audition. The torture ***** from Audition (who is a good person in this film) informs her that she has ended up there because that's where people go when they are murdered, and that she has three choices. The first is to go to paradise and prepare for reincarnation.The second is to become a ghost and haunt others, and the third is to curse a living person and kill them, however should she choose option three she will have to go to Hell.
The bride (her actual name is Mina) is given 12 days to decide, and in this time she is allowed to spend time on Earth as a ghost. She goes to see her boyfriend, but of course he cannot see or hear her. Due to his obvious grief, the police tell him to take some time off, and he decides to spend that time tracking down the murderer in order to kill him. Mina is desperate to stop him though, because the guardian has informed her that all people who commit murder spend eternity in hell, regardless of any justification they may have for their actions.
Then we get introduced to a billionaire geneticist and his female assistant. Four men armed with handguns attempt to mug him, but his and his assistant's fighting skills are such that all of them are left on the floor less than a minute later. Another character we are introduced to is a young female journalist, who is picked to interview the billionaire.
I thought the initial set-up was good. The whole murder mystery/12 days to decide your fate/ghost thing is a pretty cool idea, but not long after this is established it becomes a bit like a B movie that takes itself too seriously. We find out early on who the killer is, and from that point on it focuses a lot of time on sword fights and an evil plot to summon the devil.
I'm not really a fan of samuari films. Martial arts movies can be entertaining, but overall my tastes are more suited to the type of violence seen in Western films, where the good guy and the bad guy enchange punches for a short period of time rather than engaging in a 5 minute duel where they constantly counter each other and jump around a lot.
Part of the problem is that the scenes that attempted to have the viewer care for the characters weren't at all effective. The technique used was often cliched and not particularly original. Somebody would say something, then pause, then slowly turn away with an 'I'm feeling a lot of emotion right now' look on their face.
In the end, the 3 options that Mina has 12 days to decide between don't even matter. They are forgotten about almost instantly.
With a 2 hour running time, the film is overly long. With half an hour to go, it didn't seem like there was much left for the characters to do, but then it continued, with more swords fights and scenes of drama that didn't really work.
Although this isn't completely terrible, it is a bit crap, and I wouldn't reccomend watching it.
5.75