drqshadow

7/10

Outrageous violence abounds in a ruthless for-profit prison, where four superhuman crime bosses run things as they see fit and the posh administrators are perfectly happy to take a cut off the top. To this scene, we introduce a proficient young challenger: Ricky Ho, a fighting machine with hands of stone and torso cut from the same. He wastes no time in fighting fire with fire, dispensing a number of notorious sub-bosses and collecting a dedicated following amongst the tortured general population before drawing the ire of top-tier gangsters and wardens alike. He cuts a swath through them, too, often leaving his more substantial opponents with fresh gaping holes in their anatomy, but at least this new level of opposition provides him with a healthy degree of challenge and variety. Based on an extraordinarily bloody serialized manga, the live-action rendition of _Riki-Oh_ does its best to emulate the comic’s explicit tone and brutal character on a rather low budget. The end result is a film that just goes for it: no idea too silly, no stunt too improbable. Like the early Troma films of Lloyd Kaufman, _The Story of Riki_ is told with unrestrained ambition and enthusiasm, tongue firmly planted in one cheek. And it’s just unimaginably gruesome; a stunning hit parade of “I can’t believe they just did that” killing blows lined up in rapid succession. The acting is terrible and the subtitles are even worse (one villain is inexplicably dubbed “Silly Lung”) but, if I’m honest, there’s very little need for either. If you’re here at all, it’s for the intertwining dance between ingenuity and carnage, and you’ll almost assuredly get more than you can handle. Even thirty years later, its bald lack of discretion is shocking. _Riki-Oh_ is gonna do some messed-up stuff, and you’re gonna watch with your mouth hung agape. If you’re like me, its corners will be turned in a grin. Old school fans of _The Daily Show with Craig Kilborn_ will immediately remember this film, as a particularly hilarious clip of a pulpy exploding head was played in just about every episode. That two-second excerpt is a picture perfect appetizer, a proudly profane omen of what’s to come, should you choose to investigate any further. It’s a riotous good time, incredibly inept but also incredibly gratifying, and a surefire hit for party nights with similarly maladjusted friends. I can’t honestly score this any higher, but I don’t want to score it any lower. It’s as wonderful a bad movie as you’ll ever see.

$hubes

1/10

Second movie in a row that I've actually given a "1" rating to...after declaring that I rarely give that (rating) to any movie simply because I don't really know what "weak sauce" means (whereas I do know what "Terrible" means). In this case, however, both movies earned their "1" rating if for no other reason simply because they were Just. That. Awful. I guess maybe I don't "get" Asian films; I can never tell if they're intended to be this bad or if Asians really think this is "great cinema". As far as my personal tastes go, this was too bad to even be considered "so bad it's good". This just sucked. For those wondering, I watched this because it was on a list I curated from another source, and the list was entitled _10 Extreme Goriest Horror Movies Ever Made_. Let me set the record straight: this was NOT "horror". I'm not sure what it was (probably a cross between action/martial arts/comedy) but it was NOT "horror". It was plenty campy...or just plain bad, depending on your point of view. And it was plenty gory but as someone pointed out already, _"I feel like that isn't what happens when you punch people."_ How right that comment was. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I found this and started watching it, but this wasn't it. I mean, I've watched plenty of bad movies with terrible FX but this...it was like they didn't even try. Louis Fan Siu-Wong was absolutely brilliant playing opposite Donnie Yen in _Ip Man_ but here, he just couldn't carry it. In the aforementioned _Ip Man_ films, he actually came across as a tough guy with a rotten attitude; here, he just seemed to be an actor who learned some martial arts moves to get through a movie. The fights all felt VERY scripted and the superhuman feats of strength ... well, I mean, I could have bought into it if I'd been watching a Marvel movie. But this wasn't _The Incredible Hulk_ or _Iron Man_ ; this was "Ricky", just your average guy-off-the-street who happened to channel all this "inner energy" so he could perform impossible tasks. It was all - for me - just too much. Was it bloody? Yes. Was it horror? No. Was it cheesy? Absolutely. Was it enjoyable? Everyone's mileage will vary but for me, it was absolutely a waste of 90 minutes. But I'm sitting at home on a Friday night with nothing else going on, and I can at least say I sat through this. Never again, though. This just sucked balls.

manicure

6/10

Immortal "so bad it’s good" classic, “The Story of Ricky” is a Hong Kong live-action film based on the Japanese manga “Riki-Oh”. These low-budget films usually have very little in common with the source material, but it looks like Lam Nai-choi did his best to depict the same events and stay true to the over-the-top gore and violence of the original. Many iconic scenes can be found in the manga and anime as they are. A shitty film based on a shitty manga? You choose. Comparisons with the original aside, “The Story of Ricky” could have been just one out of many Hong Kong cheap action flicks from the ‘90s if it wasn’t for the absolutely tasteless splatstick humor that takes us back to the horror B-movies of the ‘80s. In other words, two of my favorite guilty pleasures combined into a single film. The awful acting, stiff fight choreographies, and elementary school essay-level writing can only be points in favor in this case. My only complaint is that it drags a little too much in the second half, with Ricky getting caught and escaping every five minutes even when he could just break his chains as he kept doing for the whole first half.