Tokyo Raiders plays out like a comedic action drama. This is a film that, maybe, can benefit from less fun and more seriousness.The story revolves around the ever so popular gang and CIA tie ups, except it has its own little quirks to make it a tad different. It uses a nice combination of Cantonese and Japanese
languages and of course there is a very small amount of English thrown in. The bulk of this film moves at a quick pace and there is a lot of martial arts action, but there are still a few dramatic moments which aren't really that bad. As I mentioned earlier this film is fun and playful. The plethora of camera effects and the style of background music really takes away some of the seriousness of the story and that is a real shame. Just picture this as a Jackie Chan film or a Chinese Rush Hour. If you turn this film into a crime drama with the same story, action, and characters, you get a much better movie.The action is mostly martial arts and considering the cast, it is pretty good. The choreography is great, but once again, the camera effects and the music degrade the fights.The acting isn't too bad. Tony Leung puts on an entertaining show and he fights well. Kelly Chen and Ekin Cheng also put up decent performances. Kelly, unlike Tony, speaks Japanese just as well as her Cantonese. The ever so beautiful Cecelia Chung has a small role and deserves much more airtime.While this movie has room for improvement, it is worth the watch if you like entertaining action films. Did I mention that Cecelia Chung deserves more airtime?
March 28, 2008
