Versus
Versus is a Japanese kung-fu, zombie movie from the mind of semi-successful director Ryuhei Kitamura, the man that has brought us all sort of semi-successful movies from across the Pacific, movies like Azumi, Aragami, and Alive. Versus, despite its obvious flaws, has garnered quite a cult following, so much of a following that they have released a new version of the movie called Ultimate Versus. Ultimate Versus is a amazingly cool special edition that comes complete with a metal tin and tons of bonus features.
The movie is about an anonymous prisoner that finds himself in the woods after escaping during transport. He meets up with another anonymous group of individuals and then strange things begin to happen, namely the resurrection of the dead and other odd occurrences. Any fan of this film will tell you that this is a nonstop action movie. There are horror elements, but the gore never strays from the comedic into the disgusting. Be warned however, if you’re not into long kung-fu fights or seemingly pointless sword battles, then you’re probably not going to have a good time. You will find yourself wondering what going on or why this guy is fighting that guy many times throughout the movie.
The acting in the movie is cheesy and over the top. Tak Sakaguchi is especially painful to watch. He is supposed to be the hero of the movie, but he doesn’t quite have what it takes… he’s kind of like the Japanese Don “The Dragon” Wilson. The other actors are all just as worthless and they seem to have been chosen for their ability to stand in cool poses and pull off fight scenes rather for any ability in the thespian arts. Many of the characters act like they were just kicked off of the set of Madonna’s Vogue video… you know what I mean. Don’t pretend; you’re not fooling anybody.
Ryuhei Kitamura’s directorial style is suited for action, but not for good storytelling. The scenes where characters have to actually talk are painful to watch… which is odd because all of the dialogue is in Japanese and I still feel annoyed and awkward watching it. The action scenes aren’t the best in the world, but for a low-budget film they are about as good as it gets, especially considering how many scenes of fighting and shooting there are; they take up at least an hour and twenty minutes of the films 2-hour runtime.
Low-budget techno garbage pervades the soundtrack for the movie and never really manages to be anything other than a distraction. At least they never switch up musical styles… that’s about the only thing good that I have to say about the music or the rest of the sound in the movie.
Despite all of its flaws, there is something intangible about this movie that I very much like. Perhaps it is simply the scope and the ambitiousness of the project. It feels very much like a failed Reservoir Dogs mixed with a less interesting Dead Alive. Certainly this movie is not a masterpiece, but it is at least worth checking out. Maybe it will take a hold of you too. Then again, maybe not.
Final Synopsis: Don’t fall for any hype on this movie. Give it a chance and form your own opinion. If you’re looking for a good story, go somewhere else… there are too many abstractions and nebulous plot points for this to be a good tale. If you like people fighting, shooting and walking through the woods then check it out. If you’re looking at this thing because you like zombies, but none of the above, then stay away. It’s not worth a used rubber as a zombie movie.
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