Hot Fuzz Review Revisited "Playtime's over!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, its been a while since I've posted on the blog, so figured it was about time I got another one done. So, this will be a revisit of a previous post once again (again yes sorry!). So, the post in question is my review of the British action film, Hot Fuzz starring Simon Pegg. 

So, after 18 years, let's take a look and see how this movie fairs...

And the usual warning is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

STORY 

The film follows Sgt. Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) a extremely dedicated, zealous and highly decorated police officer in the London metropolitan police force (or police service as Angel states in the film).  However his colleagues think he does his job too well and in doing so makes the rest of them look bad, so at the behest of the Metro chief superintendent (Bill Nighy) he is seconded to a peaceful village, Sandford, in Gloucestershire.

On his arrival, Angel arrests a bunch of underage youths in the local pub, as well as drunken man, Danny (Nick Frost) who soon turns out to be his new fellow police officer partner.  The next day at the station, Angel meets with the rest of the police officers, and the local inspector Frank Butterman (Jim Broadbent) who is also Danny's father.  Angel at first struggles to adapt to the slow paced life in Sandford, and his fellow police colleagues mock him as well for his serious and dedicated nature.

However its not long before a bizzare series of "accidents" happen in the village, starting with the deaths of local solicitor, Martin Blower (David Threlfall) and council worker, Eve Draper (Lucy Punch) who are found decapitated on a country road, in supposed car accident (or traffic collision as Angel points out to Danny).  After this another so called accident occurs, when local businessman, George Merchant (Ron Cook) is blown up in his own home.

At this point Angel becomes suspicious of these so called accidents, especially the following day where the local news journalist, Tim Messenger (Adam Buxton) asks to speak privately with him during a village fete, but before Angel can, Tim is decapitated by a falling statue from the church tower.  Angel grows even more convinced that Messenger's death was a murder as were the other deaths, but again his fellow police officers and Frank are all dismissive.

The following day however, on Danny's birthday, Angel goes into town and goes to the local plant store, where he looks to buy a Japenese peace lilly for Danny (as he owns one himself).  The owner of the store, Leslie Tiller (Anne Reid) reveals to Danny information of a property deal involving, the local supermarket manager, Simon Skinner (Timothy Dalton) who goes out to get his note book to record the info, when all of sudden a cloaked figure stabs Leslie in the throat with gardening shears.  Angel chases the cloaked figure through a field but he loses sight of them, as the masked murderer flees.

Back at the station Angel is now totally convinced that Leslie was murdered and the other deaths were murders as well, and he goes to the Somerfield supermarket, managed by Skinner, and confronts him.  Skinner naturally denies being involved in any of the deaths, and he let's him "spool through" the supermarket's security video footage which shows that he was there all day.

After this Angel becomes dispondent that he is getting nowhere, but then it dawns on him there could be more than one killer.  Angel takes this theory to Frank who is again dismissive, telling him that the village's former predecessor to Angel suffered the same delusions and drove him to a nervous breakdown. Frank advises Angel to sleep on it and if he feels the same way in the morning they will do something about it.

On returning to his hotel room, Angel is attacked by a cloaked figure, who turns out to be the local trolley man, Michael (Rory McCann).  Angel knocks him unconscious with his Japenese peace lilly, and picks up Michael's radio, on which we hear Skinner's voice, Angel pretends to be Michael, and Skinner gives him the command to go to the church.  On arriving at the church we see Skinner and all the other members of the Neighbourhood Watch Alliance (NWA for short) are there, all dressed in black cloaks.  Angel soon arrives and confronts them all, as the NWA are about to capture him, Angel runs for it but is soon stopped by Danny who stabs him in the chest.

Later on Danny drives out of the town and let's Angel out of his car boot, as he reveals that he use a sachet of tomato ketchup to make it look like he had stabbed him.  Angel tries to persuade Danny to come with him and arrest the NWA, but Danny refuses as he says his dad would make it all disappear, leaving Angel with no option but to leave.  

Angel however at a petrol station sees a couple of DVDs, Point Break and Bad Boys II (which he and Danny watched earlier in the film) which inspires Angel to head back to the village and confront the NWA and put an end to their reign once and for all......

THOUGHTS 

Hot Fuzz, is easily the best of the three films in Edgar Wright's "Cornetto trilogy" as it is the perfect mixture of action and suspense and comedy.  Here, the director, Edar Wright, and stars Pegg and Frost make a really amusing homage to all the Hollywood action films you may have seen.  And its nice how they take the rustic film setting of the village, and by the end we see the village has been turned into a wild west shootout as Angel takes on the villanous NWA (which is a playful take on the same name of the hip-hop group, NWA).  The film also has a really good plot as it has more of a structure to it than Shaun of the Dead had, which was basically trying to evade and survive the zombie outbreak, but here we have a mystery which Angel has to solve.

The film also has some really entertaining action sequences, particularly the big long shootout in the village near the end of the film, where (SPOILER!!!!) Angel goes back to the town to take down the NWA.  And in those scenes its almost like watching a video game, where the villagers, even the pensioners all have shotguns and and 9mm berettas!  Hot Fuzz also even pokes fun at Shaun of the Dead in a couple of scenes, especially in the scene where Danny and Angel are in the supermarket, and Angel chases a shoplifter, while Danny looks at the DVDs and he drops one, which is the cover of Shaun of the Dead (which is re-named Zombies Party).

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!!)

The performances in Hot Fuzz are also excellent with a great cast. 

Starting with Simon Pegg in the main role as Nicholas Angel doing a great job, playing the straight man, about as straight as you can, as Angel is a man who takes everything he does so seriously, and he can't switch off his job, as he lives and breathes it and its up to Danny to try and lighten him up.

And as the star of the film, Pegg naturally has his share of good scenes such as the one where, Angel is told by his superiors in London that he is to be transferred to Sandford, pretty much against his will.  And as Angel is told by the chief inspector (Billy Nighy) Angel protests "With respect, sir, you can't just make a person disappear" and the chief inspector says "Yes, I can, I'm the chief inspector!".  However, Angel remains defiant and he says to his superiors "Well however you spin this, there's one thing you haven't taken into account. And that's what the team are gonna make of this!".  And as Angel walks out he sees the team all waiting for him with a big banner saying "Good luck Nicholas".

Another good scene is when Angel runs after a shoplifter and stops and gasps for breath, and says angrily "you mothers!" and we see a group of mothers pushing prams!  And as Angel continues his pursuit of the shoplifter, he decides to take a shortcut by jumping over some back garden fences and Angel turns to Danny and says "What's the matter, Danny?  Never taken a shortcut before?" and he leaps over the fences with ahtletic prowess, leaving an impressed Danny to try the same but he crashes through the first instead.

Then there is the scene where Angel chases the murderer of Leslie Tillers through a field but he loses sight of them.  And back at the police station, Angel furiously puts a pound in the station's swearbox (as its £1 for saying fuck) and he angrily tells the others that "LESLIE TILLERS WAS FUCKING MURDERED!!!".  And one of the detectives, Andy Wainwright (Paddy Considine) asks Angel "Just like Tim Messenger?" and Angel shouts "Yes!" and Andy asks "George Merchant?" again Angel shouts "Yes!" and Andy asks "Eve Draper?" and again Angel shouts "Yes!" and Andy finally asks "And Martin Blower?".  However at this point, Angel sarcastically replies "No, actually" which surprises Andy who asks "Really?" to prompt Angel to yell "COURSE HE FUCKING WAS!!!" and Danny drops in another coin and Angel shouts "THANK YOU, DANNY!".

Then we have the scene where Angel is attacked by the big shopworker, Michael (Rory McCann) and as they fight, Angel throws Danny's prize from a village fair, a big stuffed monkey at Michael, who suddenly smiles childishly at it.  However he is interrupted by Angel who holds his Japanese peace lily over his head and he says "Hey, big un!  Playtime's over!" and he smashes the potted plant over Michael's head and knocks him out.  And not long after Angel leaves a message for Frank Butterman, Danny suddenly turns up and Danny asks him "What are you gonna do?" and Angel tells him of the NWA "I'm gonna bust this thing wide open!".

Another good moment comes when Angel, who dispondently leaves Sandford after he is saved by Danny from being lynched by the NWA, he stops off at a petrol station and he suddenly spots a stand holding DVDs and he sees the two action films "Point Break" and "Bad Boys II" sitting side by side.  And the station worker asks Angel, who is deep in thought "Sir, is there anything else I can do for you?" and Angel turns to him and says "No, this is something I have to do myself!" and he buys some bottles of coloured spray and some sunglasses.

And lastly there is the scene where Angel confronts Frank in a local pub after Angel and Danny have a gunfight with the barstaff and the NWA members in the village square.  And Angel persuades the other police officers, who turn up wearing riot gear that Frank is corrupt and he says to one of the officers, Tony (Kevin Eldon) "You've been brainwashed, Tony. Brainwashed into naivety by an old man with a murderous obsession!".  And he continues to explain to the officers "Sandford is a lie!  For the last 20 years, the village has been controlled by Frank and the NWA. They've lulled everyone into thinking this is a perfect village and killed anyone who's threatened to change that!".

Nick Frost is also pretty good as Danny, with whom the two of them quickly develop a close friendship and become partners (not in the romantic sense, although their friendship does have a somewhat unintentional homoerotic undercurrent!).

And Nick has plenty of good moments, which includes the one where Angel gives a talk to children at school with Danny present.  And at the end, Angel asks "Are there any questions?" and Danny puts his hand up and Angel warily asks "Yes?" and Danny asks "Is it true when you shoot a man in the head, there's a place where it will blow up?!" and Angel just rolls his eyes.  

Angel tells Danny why he became a police officer.  And Angel tells, Danny "I don't remember a time when I didn't want to be a police officer... apart from the summer of 1979 when I wanted to be Kermit the Frog".  So, after Angel finishes his story and tells him why he became a police officer, Danny says "Shame" and Angel asks "How so?" and Danny tells him "I think you would a have made a great Muppet" and they both share their first laugh together.

Then there is the scene where after a night out, Angel tells Danny how he thinks he can't switch off from his job.  So, in the scene Angel tells Danny "I just want to be good at what I do" and Danny says "You are good at what you do, you just need to switch off that big ol' melon of yours!" and Angel sadly says "That's just it, Danny.  I don't think I know how".  So, Danny looks at him and says "I'll show you how" and he get's up and goes over and opens two sliding doors to reveal a large library of DVDs.  So Danny, holds up two DVDs to Angel and asks "Point Break or Bad Boys II?" and Angel asks "which one would you think I would prefer?" and Danny says "no, which one do you want to watch first?!" and Angel says "You are pulling my leg!".

Another good scene from Nick comes when Angel and Danny, not long after Tim Messenger's murder, stand outside in the rain to keep watch and they are approached by the two detectives named, Andy, Cartwright (Rafe Spall) and Wainwright (Paddy as previously mentioned).  And in the scene, Andy W grumpily says to Angel "Not everyone's a murdering psychopath. It's high time you realized that. You and your monkey!".  And as they walk away, Danny looks offended and he holds up his cuddly monkey, which Angel won earlier for him and says "Did he mean me or that??!".

So, after the two Andy's go, Danny gives up wanting to stand guard over the church, where the murder happened.  And Angel angrily tells Danny "There's always something going on, Danny. And you won't be an amazing police officer until you understand that!" and Danny says to Angel "Well, I remembered something you said an all" and Angel says "What's that?!" and Danny says "You don't know how to switch off!".

Then there is the scene in the pub just after the gunfight with the owners, the rest of the Sandford police service turn up in riot gear along with Frank, who is armed with two guns and Angel tries to convince the others that Frank and the NWA are corrupt.  And as Frank says "This is ridiculous!" Danny sadly tells him "No, it's not, Dad. It's very unridiculous. And it's only now that I'm starting to realize how unridiculous it all is!".  Frank furiously then shouts "Silence, Danny!  Think of your mother!" and Danny says "Mum is dead, Dad. For the first time in my life, you know, I'm glad. If she could see what you've become, I think she'd probably kill herself all over again!".

And last of all is the scene during the standoff in the supermarket where Angel has just knocked out big Michael and throw him into a freezer of frozen foods.  And Danny asks "Where is the freezer boy?" and Angel tells him "He's in the freezer!" and Danny asks "Did you say "cool off"?!" and Angel says "No, I didn't say anything" and Danny says "Shame".  But, Angel does tell Danny "Well, there was the bit that you missed where I distracted him with the cuddly monkey then I said "play time's over" and I hit him in the head with the peace lily!" and Danny grins and says "You're off the fuckin chain!!".   

Jim Broadbent who is always reliable is similarly excellent here as Frank Butterman, who is so cheerful and benign on the outside, but he harbours a dark secret underneath it all.

Broadbent also of course has his share of good moments but I will only mention a few such as the scene where Frank first talks properly to Angel at the station and he tells him of Angel's predecessor.  So Franks says to Angel "Your predecessor assumed that rural policing was easy. Ended up having a nervous breakdown. And Sergeant Popwell was an exceptional officer, truly exceptional. And he had one thing you haven't got". And Angel asks "What's that, sir?" and Frank shouts out "A great big bushy beard!  Come on, I'll show you around!".

Then there is the scene not long after the previous one where Frank and the others sit around eating chocolate cake and as Frank asks "Well that's that. Unless there's something else your unclear about" and Angel asks "Yes, sir. Why is everyone eating chocolate cake?".  And Frank replies "The Black Forest gateau is on Danny. As punishment for his little indiscretion" but Angel insists "Sir, I don't think driving under the influence can be called a "little indiscretion.".  So, Frank temporarily allays Angel's annoyance by saying "No, the gateau is for misplacing his helmet the other week. Last night's incident will require something rather more serious" and Angel, satisfied says "Good".  But Frank then asks Angel "Do you like ice cream?" and Angel says "I'm sorry, sir, I don't follow" and Frank grins and says "Let's just say that we won't be short of Chunky Monkey for the next month!".

Another good scene is where Angels confronts the NWA and he says to them "How could this all be for the greater good?!" and the group chant "the greater good!" and Angel shouts "SHUT IT! These people died for no reason, no reason whatsoever!". However at this point, we hear a voice say "Oh, I wouldn't say that!" and Angel turns around to see Frank stand behind him. So, Frank explains the tragedy of his wife dying and also he intends to make Sanford the greatest village. So, Angel shocked asks "So, this is all about winning the best village award??" and Frank says "This IS the best village, Nicholas, the people are happy, contented" but Angel says "They're living in a dream world". Frank however then says "Well, we had to get everything ready, the adjudicators arrive tomorrow" and Angel angrily says "Well, I'm sorry but you will have to come with me, you will ALL have to come with me!" and Frank defiantly says "No, Nicholas, it is YOU that needs to come with us!" and the NWA all stand up with their pitchforks and weapons raised. 

And lastly there is the scene where Angel and Danny confront Frank in the pub near the end of the film where they engage in a stand-off situation with Frank pointing his guns at them.  And Frank is outraged when his fellow officers take sides with Angel and Danny, which prompts him to yell "You're not seriously gonna believe this man, are you?! Are you?!! HE ISN'T EVEN FROM AROUND HERE!!!".  And after Andy Wainwright, who finally believes Angel, says to Frank "Maybe, its time to give it up, sir" Frank yells "You incompetent flatfoots!!!" and he shoots the chandeliers from the ceiling so he can escape.

Timothy Dalton next up is simply brilliant as the villainous Simon Skinner, who owns the local supermarket and he blatantly rubs up Angel the wrong way and is pretty transparent in his deviousness.  Dalton looks like he is having a ball in this role and no wonder as he simply relishes the great lines he is given here.

And its fair to say that Dalton has his share of good scenes such as his first one where Skinner first meets Angel while Angel is out for a jog and Skinner runs up to Angel and says to him "Lock me up, I'm a slasher!" and Angel, puzzled asks "What?" and Skinner tells him "I'm a slasher....of prices!".  Then, Skinner laughs and tells Angel "Just kidding. I'm Simon Skinner. I run the local supermarch. Drop in and see me sometime. My discounts are criminal. Catch me later!" and he runs off.

Then there is the scene after, Martin Blower and his leading lady (and girlfriend on the side) have just finished appearing in their am-dram production of Romeo and Juliet.  So, after the show in the pub, Skinner takes Angel aside and says to him of the play "Absolute tosh, wasn't it? And annoyingly, the understudies are actually professional actors" and he points to two people "Greg over there was an extra in Straw Dogs and Sheree portrayed a cadaver in Prime Suspect!".  And shortly after they go over to Martin Blower and Eve Draper and Skinner says to Angel "Eve, works in the local council, Sergeant. Quite the lady in the know".  So, this prompts Eve to giggle girlishly and says "I am not" but then Skinner leans into her and says rather sinisterly "Nonsense!  I'm sure if we bashed your head in, all sorts of secrets would come tumbling out!" and she giggles nervously. 

Another good scene is when Angel goes to the supermarket to arrest Skinner and he enters Skinner's office and lays out his case against him.  However at the end of Angel's case, Skinner simply claps his hands and says to Angel "Very entertaining. But I rather think you've been watching too many films!" and at this point, Danny sheepishly steps forward and says "He hasn't!".  Then Angel tries to say how one of Skinner's employees runs a vehicle removal service, which could implicate him in organising the murder of Martin Blower and Eve Draper by staging a car crash.  So Skinner dismisses Angel's claims again and tells him "Sergeant, this is the 21st Century. Many people hold down several jobs. I myself host a life drawing class at the Village Hall. Tina here is a table dancer at Flappers!".

So after this, Skinner tells Angel he would need hard evidence to implicate him in these crimes and Angel, having already accused Skinner of killing his cousin, Leslie Tillers, as being the masked killer
Angel chased.  However when Angel attempts to pull up Skinner's trousers, he sees there are no scars from when the killer crashed through a greenhouse and cut their leg.  So Skinner tells Angel "Sergeant, this is beginning to get embarrassing. How could I possibly be in several places at once? I'm sure the store's security footage will absolve me" and he throws the tape at Angel and grins smugly "Do feel free to spool through!".

And lastly there is the scene near the end where (SPOILER!!!) Angel chases Skinner after busting the NWA's corruption wide open and finding that Skinner is one of the chief members of the group and their chase ends at the model village, where Skinner grabs hold of a young ginger haired boy and holds him at knifepoint with a box cutter.  And Skinner shouts at Angel "Stay back! Or the ginger nut get's it!" but the boy then bites Skinner's hand and Skinner yells out "Owww!  You LITTLE FUCKER!!".  Then after this, Skinner and Angel engage in an intense fist fight and Skinner get's Angel down on the ground and punches him repeatedly shouting "GET OUT OF MY VILLAGE!!" but then Angel grabs Skinner's fist firmly and shouts back "Its not your village anymore!" and he punches him and knocks him down.  

Also to follow this scene up, Skinner afterward yells at Angel "ANGEL!!!!!" as he charges at him with a box cutter knife only to then trip on a toy truck, which causes him to grusomely impale his chin on the model church spire! So, Skinner painfully says "ooooh this really hurts! I think I need some ice cream!" and Angel says "Well, don't worry there is plenty of ice cream at the station!".

As for the other supporting cast members they are also really good, including Billie Whitelaw, as Joyce Cooper, the owner of the hotel that Angel stays at. 

So, I will mention her first main scene where Joyce does a crossword at the reception desk as Angel arrives. So, she reads from the crossword and says "Fascist" and Angel taken aback asks "I beg your pardon?" and Joyce says "System of government categorised by extreme dictatorship". So, Joyce then tells Angel "Now, we've put you in the Castle suite. Bernard will escort you over there" and Angel says "Well, I can probably make my own way up" but then says "Hag!" and Joyce taken aback asks "I beg your pardon???" and Angel politely tells her "Evil old woman, considered frightful or ugly, its 12 down" and Joyce looks at the crossword and says "Oh, thank you!". 

Edward Woodward also does a fine job in a small role as the NWA member, Tom Weaver, who monitors the village's security, and is more concerned with a statue-esque clown than the local hoodies.  And one of his most memorable moments he tells Frank "If we don't come down soon on these clowns, we could be up to our balls in jugglers!".

Last of all is the scene where are the NWA are rounded up at the police station, Weaver then without warning turns up with a blunderbluss flintlock gun and angrily says to Angel "You know what you are? You're a bloody busybody!" So, as he is about to shoot, Danny dives infront of Angel and takes the bullet leaving Angel horrified and yelling "NO!!!!" and he kicks a bucket toward Weaver who is knocked back into the evidence room where he unwittingly activates the sea mine (confiscated early from the farmer). So, Weaver looks on resignedly at his fate and says "Oh no...!" and the mine takes out the entire station.

Paul Freeman also does a great job as the local Reverend, Philip Shooter, who tries to remonstrate with Angel when he comes back into the village to fight the NWA.  So, Shooter pleads with Angel and says "Stop! Stop this, please! Let us stop this mindless violence. Nicholas, my son. You may not be a man of God, but surely you're a man of peace!".  However Angel stands firm and says "I may not be a man of God, Reverend.  But I know right and I know wrong, and I have good grace to know which is which", to which the Rev replies "Oh, fuck off, grasshopper" and gets out his guns.  However in the ensuing gunfire exchange, Angel shoots Shooter in the shoulder, who falls down, shouting "Jesus Christ!!!!".

Paddy Considine and Rafe Spall also make a funny double act, as the two police officers, nicknamed the two Andies (Andy Wainright and Cartwright), with Considine being the funniest out of the two of them.  Considine get's some really funny lines especially when he keeps taunting Angel, as he refuses to believe his conspiracy theories about the deaths in the village, and he says "Murder, murder, murder!  Change the fucking record!". 

Then there is the scene in the supermarket where the cops fight against the supermarket butchers, who throw knifes at them, and Considine get's covered in a jar of sauce, which is smashed, and he screams in pain, but he says to his partner "Its ok, Andy, its only bolognese!".  Also in another funny, the Andies make good use of the swear box installed in the police station, where officers are fined money for saying the f-word, b-word, or c-word.

Stuart Wilson also does very well in his role as the village doctor, Robin Hatcher, who is also a member of the NWA.  And Wilson's most notable scene comes when (SPOILER!!) Hatcher appears during the gunfight sequence with a shotgun and he says to Danny "I brought you into this world, I think it's rather fitting I should be the one to take you out of it. You and your interfering little friend!".  Then, Hatcher cocks his gun and he says to Danny "Now drop them!" and Danny drops his shotgun, which goes off and shoots Hatcher in the foot, who screams in agony and Angel stands over him and says "You're a doctor!  Deal with it!" and Danny adds "Yeah, motherfucker!".

In smaller roles still, Olivia Coleman is good as the local sultry female police officer, who says things such as "I always likes a good midnight gobble!".  And laster even Angel teases her, when one of the Andy's says they need more manpower and Danny, checking the police guidelines tells them that they should say "staffing" because "manpower is sexist".  So, Angel says to Doris "You don't mind a bit of manpower, do you, Doris?" and Doris, shocked says "You cheeky bastard!" and they all laugh.   

Kevin Eldon is also funny as the clueless Sgt. Tony Fisher, who on being introduce sits infront of a whiteboard, with a list of words that inadvertently describe him as being "useless" etc.  And one of Kev's notable scenes comes when at the scene of the Martin and Eve murder scene, Tony says of the decapitated heads of their bodies "Little Brian Libby found them, out on his paper round. Oh, he'll be having nightmares for a while. Must have hit the sign at some speed. Took the whole top off!".

So, looking for help on what to do next, Tony asks Angel "So what do we do?  Sergeant Angel?" and Angel says "Well, we should get a proper cordon off, screen the remains from public view. Close down the road until the ambulance crew arrives, whereupon we should open a single lane of traffic and ease congestion".  And Tony, a bit perplexed, sheepishly says to the others "Very good.  What he said!".

Bill Bailey is also pretty good in his brief dual role, as the twin police officers, Sergeant Turner, who are told apart as one of his tidy hair and the other doesn't.  And Bill's scene where we discover they are twins is good, when just after Angel re-enters the station and arms himself to the teeth to confront the NWA in the village square.

So, the tidy haired Sgt Turner says to Angel "Oh, Sergeant Angel? Someone from London called for you".  However then Angel turns around and we see how serious he looks with his shades on a toothpic in his mouth and Turner smiles nervously and says "I'll tell them, you call back" and Angel leaves.  So, Turner says to his brother "I never knew we had a moutned division!" and we see Turner's untidy haired brother in the background say "Nobody tells me nothing!".

Adam Buxton does not too badly in his role as the rather inept village newspaper reporter, Tim Messenger, who makes a series of spelling errors in the local newspaper, the Sanford Citizen and he get's Angel's name wrong as he calls him "Angle". 

Cate Blanchett also does pretty well in her cameo role as Angel's ex-girlfriend, Janine, who we don't see properly as she is wearing a forensics outfit and a mask that covers her face but we see her eyes as she wears googles.
 
Last of all is the trio of Martin Freeman, Steve Coogan and Bill Nighy, who all have brief roles but are very good in their repsective roles as Met(ropolitan) Sergeant, Met Inspector and Met Chief Inspector.  

I will say a quick bit about the three actors here starting with Martin Freeman and his moment where he tells Angel about his relocation to Sanford. So, the Sergeant asks Angel about his knife injury, he sustained in earlier part of the intro of the film, so he asks "How's the hand?" and Angel says "Still a bit stiff". So, the Sergeant says "You're arrest record is 400% higher than any other police officer, so that's why we're promoting you" and Angel proudly says "I see" and the Sergeant quietly says "In Sanford, Gloucestershire" and Angel asks "Where?" and the Sergeant repeats more loudly "In Sanford, Gloucestershire". So, Angel says "Well I don't want to move, do I have any say in the matter?" and the Sergreant says "Nnnnnoooo!" and Angel says "Well, I'm not happy about this, I want speak to the inspector" and the Sergeant "You can speak to the Inspector but he'll just tell you the same I've told you" as he picks up phone.

So, moving onto Steve Coogan as the inspector, he sits down and asks "Hello Nicholas, how's the hand?" and Angel repeats "Still a bit stiff" and the Inspector asks about Angel's ex girlfriend "How's Janine?" and Angel says "We're no longer together, sir". So, the Inspector asks "Well where are you staying?" and the sergeant says "He's living at the station house, sir" and the inspector says "Well, you're packed alreadty! Nicholas, we are offering you a lovely little cottage in a delightful location". Angel then asks "What am I supposed to say?" and the Sergeant says "Yes?" and the Inspector jokes "Yes, please". Angel however still resists the idea and says "No, I'm afraid I have to...." and the Inspector says "You want to take this higher?" and Angel says "Yes" and the Inspector asks "You want me to bother the chief Inpsector?" and Angel says "Yes I would!" and the Inpsector says "Alright!" and he calls out "Kenneth!".   

So, this brings us onto Billy Nighy who is great in his brief role as the Chief Inspector tells Angel "Now, I know what you're going to say, but the fact is, you've been making us all look bad. If we let you carry on running round town, you'll continue to be exceptional and we can't have that. You'll put us all out of a job!". Angel taken aback says "With all due respect, sir, you can't just make someone disappear" and the Chief Inpsector says "Ohh yes I can, I'm the chief inspector!".

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC 

So, moving onto the direction, Edgar Wright does a terrific job here in the film, and he keeps the action going at a fast pace, and he does a really good job at directing the action scenes, and makes great use of the village setting, which was filmed in Wells in Somerset (which is Wright's hometown).

Wright also employs again the use of frantic paced zoom in shots, just like he did in Shaun of the Dead, and there are some really funny moments, particularly in the pub where we see extreme close ups of pints being pulled.  In other shots we get fast cuts of Angel's travel to Sandford by train and taxi, and also the scene where Angel goes into the petrol station near the end and pays for some bottles of paintspray and sunglasses, and he hands over the money, and we see the change given back, and a bit of a cover of a Cornetto ice cream!

So, its actually quite an accomplished piece of technical film making from Wright but also a cleverly paced and edited film too that shows off again Wright's talent for making funny, frantic visual narratives. 

As for the music the film's score was by David Arnold, who did numerous James Bond scores at that time, and his score here is a good one, which has plenty of dramatic passages in there, as well as one or two homages to the cheesy guitar driven action music scene in plenty of Hollywood movies. The soundtrack also features a number of other tracks from different artists from the 60's and 70's such as The Kinks, The Troggs, Arthur Brown, Dire Straits, The Move and Sweet.  It also features some more contemporary bands such as The Fratellis and also Supegrass, who's song "Caught by the fuzz" is played right at the end (rather fitting of course!).

FLAWS (Warning: this section may also contain spoilers!)

As for flaws....yeah well Hot Fuzz has only probably minor ones but I will mention them.

So, for starters there I found it a bit silly that the local police officers would never suspect foul play with the high level of accidents involved in the village, although Angel tells them later that they have been "brainwashed" by Frank, so I guess that's the perfect front, but even still.  But I guess for the sake of the suspension of disbelief, you just accept that the village coppers aren't too bright and are essentially sheep, who are easily lead.

However when you have some rather dim-witted coppers such as Tony in the film, who is at the scene of the murder of Martin Blower and Eve Draper and they see their heads lying on the ground, not to mention when he later even questions whether it was murder or not at the Leslie Tillers murder scene, you need to ask: how stupid are these guys???!!!  Murder is murder and its pretty evident that no one could possibly fall and trip on their shears (or maybe they could!). 

Then there is the scene where (SPOILER!) Angel get's stabbed by Danny in a pre-emptive move to save him from being killed by the NWA.  I found this one a bit strange that Angel would suddenly get what to do and play dead but he certainly plays along with it all the same and it does end up saving his life.  And its just as well as the NWA didn't end up making sure that Angel was actually dead at this point!

And lastly I find it just a bit incredible how (SPOILER!!) when the police station blows up near the end that they all manage to actually survive the explosion (well except for Edward Woodward's character).  Not only that we get to see that Danny even survives his gunshot wounds as he took the full extent of the scatter gunshot blast in his chest as he dove infront of Angel to save him and for him to survive that is just a bit too far fetched!  But it is only a comedy of course.

Anyway that's me done with the flaws.

SUM UP

So in summing up, Hot Fuzz for me is still Edgar Wright's best film and one of the most enjoyable action comedies in recent years, which actually has a pretty good plot unlike some action moves you might see out there.  In fact given that it is an action film with brains, this is something to totally commend it in the first place. 

But its not just that of course, the film's performances are also great with Pegg and Frost both playing off each other great as Angel and Danny, who are both essentially the straight man and the funny man.  And the rest of the cast are also great particularly Timothy Dalton and Jim Broadbent who (SPOILER!!) are the leaders of the corrupt NWA. 

The film's music score by David Arnold also works very well and the film features a pretty decent selection of pop-rock tracks and Wright himself has to be commended for mixing his frantic visual style along with the comedy and blending the two together with aplomb (God, I hate saying that lol!).

And whatever Hot Fuzz's minor flaws are, they are far outweighed by the film's good points of which it has plenty and its still a great action comedy after 18 years, which I can't even believe its that old!

So, I will rate Hot Fuzz:

9.5 out of 10  

So, that's it for now and I will be back soon with another post. 

Lost Judgment - The Kaito Files DLC Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey guys and I'd like to wish you all a belated Happy New Year as this is a rather last post to begin the year with on this blog. So, this post is a new one (at last!) and features some new content on a video game, which I have reviewed before, the only difference is this will be on the DLC for that game, which is Lost Judgment, which is a sequel to Judgment, a spin-off of the Yakuza series. 

So, with that all said, let's take a quick look at Kaito Files and see how it fairs to the full game...

The usual warning is coming up...

PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!

STORY

So, the story focuses around Kaito (voiced by Shinsu Fuji in Japanese and Crispin Freeman in English) the partner of Takayuki Yagami, who both run their detective agency in the city of Kamurocho in Japan, only this time Yagami is out of town and not involved in the story (only via some text messages as he is working a different case).

So, while Kaito is on his own and at a loose end with no jobs lined up, he get's a message from his friend and former Yakuza, Higashi that a boy has been looking for him at Higashi's arcade. Kaito himself is soon paid a visit by a new client, Kyoya Sadamoto (Katsuyuki Konishi/Stephen Fu) a wealthy tech CEO, who offers Kaito a large sum of money to find his wife, Mikiko (Eri Miyajima/Suzie Leung) who also happens to be a former lover of Kaito's. Kyoya suggests that Mikiko had committed suicide as she left a note behind but regardless wants Kaito to find her, Kaito however given his close connection to her, decides against taking the case. 

Not long afterward however, Kaito soon runs into a teenager named, Jun (Yuki Shin/Paul Castro Jr) who turns out to be the son of Mikiko and Kyoya and he also asks Kaito to find her, Kaito is initially reluctant but then decides to help him. Jun also tells Kaito then that he believes him to be his biological father based on reading Mikiko's diaries, although he is just guessing at this stage. 

So, from here, Kaito and Jun set out to find Mikiko with quite a few twists and turns on the way...

THOUGHTS

As a DLC, The Kaito Files is very enjoyable and basically more of the same type of stuff from the main game albeit, Kaito does have some unique features himself I will get a bit more into below. The DLC also has a good, involving story once again, which has plenty of twists and turns throughout as well as featuring one of the series more chilling of villains, which I will try and not give too much away on. Kaito does well as the main protagonist for a change and also enjoys a nice relationship with Jun, who supposedly thinks Kaito is his real dad. 

GAMEPLAY 

As for the gameplay, the DLC features much the same features and mechanics of the main game but with some new additions, which I will mention more about in the following sections. Although as the DLC shares most of the main game's gameplay features, I will try and stick to the newer additions instead. 

FIGHTING STYLES 

So, as for the first new feature of the DLC, Kaito has two distinct fighting styles, the first is called Bruiser, which involves Kaito using his fist fighting skills and quickly evading attacks and the second one is Tank, which focuses more on defense and using items he can pick up to hit enemies with, e.g. chairs, bikes etc. These styles also have a number of skills that can be unlocked (some of which are by default) to boost Kaito's moveset and are awarded by collecting skill points, which Kaito will get on defeating enemies. 

KAITO'S SENSES

Another new aspect to them game is Kaito's senses, which in contrast to Yagami, he has heightened senses of sight, sound and even smell, which allows Kaito to look for clues to crimes or points of interest more easily. Kaito can also freely switch between normal and detective modes at will unlike in the main game, which is also a good feature as before Yagami in the main game could only do this on missions in certain parts of the game.

GRAPHICS

As for the graphics, the DLC is based on the exact same game engine, so there is no difference in the visuals here, however they are still of course excellent as the game features richly detailed environments that are also quite varied in design. The character models are also again excellent, even though they aren't quite lifelike, they still look really good and in line the models of the main game itself. 

VOICE ACTING

As for the voice acting cast, they all do a fine job here once again, although only some of the regulars make a return here. I will however refer to just the English speaking voice cast, as I haven't played the game with the Japanese voice actors. 

So, starting with Crispin Freeman, he does a great job here as Kaito, the main protagonist of the DLC and he shows some hidden depths to Kaito that we haven't seen before, particularly about his former relationship with Kimiko. Freeman also conveys Kaito's heroism and decency very well, as well as his awkward and ambivalent feelings toward Jun, who claims Kaito is his father (even though he hasn't any real proof). Its also good to see Kaito be given such a prominent case to deal with to show how capable he can be as a detective also. 

Stephen Fu also does very well as Kyoya Sadamoto, who asks Kaito to find his wife, Kimiko for him, although we later discover that Kyoya isn't all he seems to be at first. Fu's delivery is also simultaneously benign but also quite creepy too, as we learn more about him as the DLC progresses and it isn't all good! 

Suzie Yeung is also pretty good in her role as Mikiko, who was Kaito's former love interest, who Kaito tries to track down along with her son, Jun. Mikiko's character is pretty headstrong and she isn't afraid to stand up to bullies, so Yeung does a good job at conveying that throughout the game in the scenes she appears in. 

Paul Castro Jr next up does well enough in his role as Jun, the son of Mikiko and Kyoya, who recruits Kaito's help to find his mother, even though he harbours the notion that Kaito is in fact his true dad. Jun can be a bit annoying at times in the game given he is a somewhat cocky brat and tries to act like some kind of vigilante although he faints at the first sight of a knife when confronting enemiess, which we find out later why. 

Peter Jessop also is very good as Masao Irigashi, a former Yakuza, who now heads up a rival detective agency in Kamurocho. Irigashi at first appears as something of an antagonist to Kaito as he is direct competitor to him but later on, he does help Kaito in his quest to locate Mikiko. 

WARNING: PLOT SPOILER AHEAD!!!

Yong Yea is also pretty good in his role as Shirakaba, a Doctor, who we discover took in Mikiko after she suffered a fall and develop amnesia. We also later discover that Shirakaba is in love with Mikiko and is later intent on challenging Kaito for her affections, as he is somewhat pretty good at the martial arts!  

And last of all, River Kanoff is very good in his reprised role as Tsukumo, the tech whiz, who helps out Kaito at certain points during the DLC and is one of the few cast members to reappear in the DLC. Kanoff's light hearted delivery works well during the DLC in the scenes he features in, even though he isn't in the DLC that much. 

MUSIC 

As for the music, it was composed by different artists but the chief composer is Hidenori Shoji although the score is primarily the same as the score in the main game with probably one or two additions. Overall its a pretty good score, which does feature the familiar themes used particularly when Kaito goes into detective mode and its well suited to the game. 

FLAWS

As for flaws, well yes The Kaito Files isn't exactly perfect.

For starters, I think the DLC inherits the same problems of the main game, especially in its use of the detective mode, as its not always obvious where the clues are and you can spend ages trying to find them. This is especially the case in one part of the game where Kaito has to try and discover how to get a bellboy uniform at a hotel, which is quite late on in the DLC, but I spent AGES trying to actually find how complete this and in the end all it took was to eavesdrop on two bellboys chatting but they were tucked around a corner in the hotel! So, yeah that was pretty tedious to get through.

Another issue is to do with the fact there are some cutscenes that have some very length exposition and this is very notable in a scene where Kaito later drives to Injincho with Irigashi, its important not to miss them given the story is very involved but they can drag on a bit. 

I also found Jun to be a bit of an annoying dweeb at times, who was keen to pick a fight with anyone, who bulliyng someone in trouble, which is admirable but there are times the kid is just asking for it all the same. There is also a scene where Jun does a runner on his kidnappers using some fancy parkour moves but its obvious he is too keen to get himself into trouble throughout the DLC, which does get a bit grating. 

The absence of Yagami in the DLC is also a little bit disappointing as it would have been good if he had even made a cameo appearance toward or at the end but he's not in the DLC at all, which is a bit of a bummer. Kaito-san does communicate with Yagami in a few scenes via text but that's all we get, so not sure if this was a creative choice, or was down to the voice actor(s) not being available for recording at the time. 

So, that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, The Kaito Files is an enjoyable DLC and expansion to Lost Judgment's base game and it features a solid story as well as some fun combat. The performances of the voice acting cast are also pretty good overall, although this is just the English voice actors and cannot comment on the Japanese actors, as I've not played the game using the Japanese VA option. The DLC is also a pretty decent length at 7 hours to complete the story campaign but it can last as long as 10 hours to complete all the side content, which makes it pretty decent value. So, overall its a nice compliment to the main game and well worth checking out and if you enjoyed the main game, you are sure to enjoy this.

So, I willl rate the Kaito files:

8.5 out of 10 

So, that's all for now guys and I will be back soon with another post.

Until then its bye for now!

Liar Liar Review (Revisited) "Here she comes to wreck the DAY!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, well I thought I would fit in a very quick re-edited post of a film I reviewed almost 10 years ago on this blog, Liar Liar starring Jim Carrey as a sleazy lawyer who is forced to tell the truth for one whole day. So, having recently watched it again, I figured I would update my review and I will continue to update it in the New Year to finish it off, as I type this close to midnight on New Years' Eve! 

So, with that said let's take another look at this film and see how it fairs 27 (or 28) years later...

So. the warning is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!! 

STORY

So the film begins with Fletcher Reede (Carrey) its main character who is an ambitious lawyer but is also a compulsive liar which causes tension between his ex-wife Audrey (Maura Tierney) and his young son Max (Justin Cooper) as he often breaks his promises to them.  Fletcher however in his work is in a promising position to gain a big promotion as he is given a client Samantha Cole (Jennifer Tilly) who is a two-timing divorcee who is looking to try and secure very wealthy marital assets from her ex-husband.  And while Samantha is initially willing to play fair with her ex-husband Fletcher persuades her to be ruthless and go after all she can get, which impresses another attorney, Miranda (Amanda Donohoe).  Fletcher makes another promise to Max that he will try and make it for his birthday but instead he is caught up with Miranda and they have sex and he calls up and lies again to Audrey.  This leaves Max feeling dejected and when making a birthday wish he wishes that for one whole day his dad couldn't tell a lie.  However the wish suddenly becomes true as after Fletcher has had sex with Miranda and she asks if it was good for him he replies "I've had better!" and she throws him out of her office.

The next morning Fletcher get's up and soon realises that he is unable to lie, which causes him much embarrassment in public where he blurts out what he is really thinking.  Fletcher as a result ends up offending many of his office colleagues and he even get's his car impounded when he is pulled over for speeding and reveals he has unpaid parking tickets.  And when Audrey comes to help out Fletcher by paying for his car to be released from the impound she tells him that if he lies to Max once more she will leave with Max and her new boyfriend Jerry (Cary Elwes) and go to Boston, which she was considering doing.  Fletcher begs her not to go as he wants to talk things out which Audrey agrees to but warns him if he doesn't show she will leave with Max that night, but before she goes she tells him that Max made the wish.  Fletcher then goes to see Max at school and tries to persuade him to make a wish to take the lie back but it doesn't work as Max doesn't really believe it and that his dad makes him feel bad.  Dejected Fletcher goes back to this office and contemplates what he can do next.   

Fletcher later on appears at court where he meets with his client Samantha and her lover, Kenneth Faulk (Chip Mayer) both whom are willing to commit perjury to hide their affair.  Fletcher however realises he cannot ask questions in court to which he knows the answer is a lie and while he is in court desparately tries to postpone the hearing but fails, despite his best attempts to do so by beating himself up in the men's toilet.  After administering his self beating, Fletcher is taken back into court but the Judge asks him if he can continue and Fletcher is forced to say yes leaving him no choice but to carry on.  And its from here Fletcher has to try and find a way to win the case without telling a lie and also trying to do his best to patch up his fragile relationship with Audrey and Max....

THOUGHTS 

It has to be said that Liar Liar is easily one of Jim Carey's funniest films and in a way it is something of breath of fresh air in his career up to this point as Carey's previous films were all a bit too whacky and zany.  But here Carey is brought a bit more down to earth and put in a relatively plausible story of a slightly crooked lawyer trying to further his own career but at the same time he risks putting his relationship with his own son at risk due to his irresponsbility and his lying.  And also somewhat incredibly the film actually manages to somehow ground itself in reality quite well, despite Fletcher's ridiculous over the top antics at times in the office or court and the film's rather daft premise in general.  But its the balance of the antics, the silly premise and a bit of reality thrown in is what makes the film appealing.   

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

Which brings me onto the film's performances which are overall pretty good.

Starting with Jim Carrey who is great in his role as Fletcher and its very much his own star vehicle.  Carrey also clearly has a ball with the concept of the film with Fletcher being forced on many occassions to tell the truth no matter how offensive or embarrassing it might sound.  So naturally Carrey has quite a few highlights in the film.

So, I will mention a few starting off with the scene where he is in the lift with the pretty young woman with a rather nice big chest.  And Fletcher asks her how she is getting on and when the woman says "Everyone has been so nice" Fletcher blurts out "That's because you have big jugs!" and the women looks aghast and he tries to correct himself but can't and continues "I mean your boobs are huge!  I mean I wanna squeeze em!" and makes a noise like a baby and goes "Mama!" and she slaps him in the face.  

Also there is the scene where Fletcher has his car impounded and Audrey pays for it to be released from the impound and Fletcher notices a scratch on the car and accuses the motorpool attendant of making the scratch.  And Fletcher yells "You LIAR!  You know what I'm gonna about this?!   Nothing! Because if I take it to small claims court, it will just drain 8 hours out of my life and you probably won't show up and even if I got the judgment you'd just stiff me anyway; so what I am going to do is piss and moan like an impotent jerk, and then bend over and take it up the tailpipe!".

Then there is the scene where Fletcher desparately tries to make himself say a simple lie by holding a blue pen and trying to so its red, but instead he blurts out "The colour of pen I hold in my hand is rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroyal blue!!!".  And as he tries to write the lie his own writing hand attacks him and he ends up doodling the word all over his face only to then have his assistant, Greta (Anne Haney) walk and he says to her in dispair "The pen is blue!  The pen is blue!  THE GODDAMN PEN IS BLUE!!".  

Another funny moment is when Greta gives the phone over to Fletcher to give a criminal client of his some legal advice and Fletcher takes the phone and yells at the receiver "STOP BREAKING THE LAW ASSHOLE!!!!!" and he proceeds to walk in a dejected manner into his office. 

Then there is there scene where Fletcher is forced to tell the law firm's main partner, Mr Allen (Ryan Mitchell) what he thinks of him after Miranda overhears he can't lie.  So Fletcher painfully says "He's a pedantic, pontificating, pretentious bastard, a belligerent old fart, a worthless steaming pile of cow dung, figuratively speaking" only to have it backfire on Miranda as Allen bursts out laughing and get's him to roast the other people in the boardroom.  

Another funny scene from Carrey also comes when Fletcher in court waits for Samantha to arrive and the Judge asks if they are ready to begin and he yells out "No your honour!  We are not ready to begin because my client is not yet arrived!" and she enters the courtroom seconds later and Fletcher sings out "HERE SHE COMES TO WRECK THE DAY!!!".  

And later in the court scene where Fletcher questions Samantha himself and he makes refers to her vital statistics and a crude joke about the size of her big boobs and he says "Weight 105???? Yeah!  In your bra!".  I will also have to mention the scene where an awkward Fletcher walks out of the lift in his office and we see a group of people hold their noses in the lift as he obviously let one go and he turns around admits "IT WAS ME!!!" (which just so happens to be the exact scene where this photo is from!). 

Carrey also shares some nice moments in the film as Fletcher with his son Max and it allows for him to utilise his playfulness with kids.  This can be seen in the film where Fletcher has Max visiting him in his office and he tells Max he has a present for him but he sticks the present in a large box underneath his t-shirt and he says "I accidentally swallowed it!  Let's hope its not digested!  Scalpel!" and he pretends to cut it out and it plops out from his t-shirt.  Then there is the scene where Fletcher meets with Max at school and he tells Max his wish came true and Max asks him some questions one of which is "If I keep making this face? (pulls a funny face) Will it end up that way?" and Fletcher "Uh-uh, in fact some people make a good living that way!".  And last of all there is the moments wher Fletcher produces the claw which he uses to tickle to his son and he says "NOTHING CAN STOP THE CLAW!!!!".

As for the supporting they are also pretty good starting with Maura Tierney as Fletcher's ex-wife who suffers him and his lies.  Maura has some nice moments in the film as well such as the scene where Audrey argues with Fletcher about how his behaviour impacts on Max and Fletcher tries to defend himself but ends up saying "I'm a bad father!" which really hits him.  And Audrey says "You're not a bad father, when you show up".  And also just as Audrey is about to drive off she says to Fletcher "Do you know what your son was doing at 8:15 last night?  He was making a wish that for a whole day his father couldn't tell a lie".  

Justin Cooper is also not too bad in his part as Max, Fletcher's young son who is continually let down by his father although I'm a bit perplexed as to why he has a haircut that harks back to the 1970s!   

Cooper has some good scenes also that include the one where Fletcher tells Max his wish came true and he asks him to take it back but first Max asks some questions he wants truthful answers to. Max says "You mean you have to tell the truth? No matter what?" and Fletcher sighs "No matter what!" and Max asks "If it sit infront of the TV for hours, will I go blind?" and Fletcher says "Not in a million years!" and Max then asks "If I do this with my face and hold it, will it get stuck that way?" and he squishes his face and Fletcher "No, in fact some people make a good living that way!".

And last of all is the final scene of the film where (SPOILER!!!) Max makes another birthday wish and he blows out his candles with the lights off only to turn them on to find Fletcher kissing Audrey. So, Fletcher asks suspiciously after "Max...did you wish for your mum and me to get back together again???" and Max says "No, I wished for rollerblades!". 

Anne Laney is also great in her part as Fletcher's assistant Greta, who has a good scene where she asks Fletcher an awkward question when she asks about a raise she didn't get from him and she says "So you said you wanted to give me one out of your own pocket, but it would create jealously among the other secretaries. Now, was that true, or did you just not want to pony up the dough?!".  

So, in the next scene Greta clears her desk and as Fletcher begs her not to go she turns and says "Mr. Reede, several years ago a friend of mine had a burglar on her roof, a burglar. He fell through the kitchen skylight, landed on a cutting board, on a butcher's knife, cutting his leg. The burglar sued my friend, he sued my friend. And because of guys like you HE WON!  My friend had to pay the burglar $6,000.  Is that justice?!".  And Fletcher says "No." but as Greta looks pleased, he blurts out "I'd have gotten him 10!".  And Fletcher makes one last ditch attempt to keep her from going by saying "I'll give you the raise!" and she gives him the finger saying "here's your raise!".   

Jennifer Tilly while she isn't the best actress in the world she does actually do quite well in her role as the sleazy two-timing Samantha Cole.  And Jennifer has a couple of good scenes one where Fletcher persuades Samanatha to go after her husband for his money and she says to him "You're right Mr Reed!  I am tired of being kicked around!".  

And later on in court Samantha arrives with her kids and Fletcher says "You brought your own kids to your divorce hearing??" and Samantha cooly says "Sympathy" and Fletcher snaps back "Its working.  I'm feeling sorry for them already!".  And lastly during the court hearing, Fletcher tries to tell Samantha he can't lie, she grabs him by his tie and yells "I want my money!  I am not going to end up a thirty-one year old divorcée on welfare because my scumbag attorney had a sudden attack of conscience!".

Carey Elwes is also quite good in his role as the somewhat dorky Jerry, Audrey's boyfriend whom tries to make an attempt at being a second dad to Max and also makes a pretty feeble attempt at the "claw" to impress Max.  Amanda Donohoe is very good in her role as the conniving attorney, Miranda who ends up sleeping with Fletcher and she asks him "That was amazing.  Was it as good for you as it was for me?" only for him to say "I've had better!".  And later on as Miranda tries to catch up with Fletcher he sticks his fingers in his ears and runs away and she says "You can run but you can't hide!".

And last of all Jason Bernard is great in his role as Judge Marshall Stephens who sadly passed away not long after the film was completed.  Bernard has some good moments in the court scenes such as the moment where he asks how they are all doing and Fletcher makes the rather embarrassing revelation that he had "a bad sexual episode" and the Judge matter of factly says "Well you're young it will happen more as you get older!".  

And the Judge during Fletcher's crazed defence says at one point "It is only out of sheer morbid curiosity that I am allowing this freak show to continue!".  And lastly when Fletcher asks for a bathroom break the Judge asks crankily "Can't it wait?" and Fletcher says it can but if "you hold it in you could damage the prostate which could make it difficult to have an erection or even become aroused!" and the Judge says "Is that true?" and Fletcher says "It has to be!" and the Judge then says "Well in that case I better take a break myself!".       

Last of all is the scene where Fletcher succeeds in winning his court cast with Mrs Cole only to feel wracked with guilt seeing the heartbreaking scene of Mrs Cole wrenching her children away from their downtrodden father. So, out of guilt, he tries to get the Judge to reverse the decision and says to him "We made a terrible mistake, I abused a legal technicality" and Summers angrily says "Young man, having someone come into my court and mock my judgment is NOT something I'm prepared to tolerate!!". Fletcher then angrily says to him "Oh then maybe you won't mind when they are adopted by the MANSON FAMILY!!" and Summers angrily shouts "One more word out of you, Mr Reede and I'll hold you in contempt!" and Fletcher finally yells "I HOLD MYSELF IN CONTEMPT!!! WHY SHOULD YOU BE ANY DIFFERENT!!". Summer then finally snaps and shouts "BAILIFF! TAKE HIM AWAY!". 

DIRECTOR

Finally getting onto the director wise Tom Shadyac who does a fine job here and he keeps the film going at a breezy pace and keeps it all pretty light hearted even if the jokes are pretty crude at times and it easily stands as one of his best efforts. Shadyac previously worked already with Carrey on Ace Ventura, Carrey's breakthrough movie.  

Music wise the film features a somewhat schmaltzy but pleasant score by John Debney which is quite appropriate and keeping well in with the tone of the film during its quieter and more manic moments. Overall its a good score and well suited to the film. 

FLAWS (Warning this section may contain spoilers!!)

So as for Liar Liar's flaws...... yes there are one or two. 

To kick off it has to be said that Fletcher is a bit of an obnoxious a-hole and while he is forced at the hands of his son's birthday wish to blurt out the truth of what he thinks of everyone that truth often is pretty harsh and cynical sounding, which shows him up to be actually a bit mean spirited.  This is especially notable in the scene where he roasts the staff at his law firm. And on this basis when you think about it and the humour aside, Fletcher is actually quite a hard character to root for although to be fair he does start to redeem himself as the film carries on.  

I also thought the film was also a bit sexist and Shadyac is no stranger at times in potraying some of the women in his films as lying and deceitful and for the want of a better word, sluts, and this is certainly the case with both Samantha and Miranda here.  

Lastly I also felt that Max was a bit of an annoying little twerp at times as he really does put some heavy burdening and guilt on his dad who despite his lying is actually a good father to him (well when he shows up).  Also Max seems to really get his way with his wishes, which suggests he could be capable of wishing of anything he really wanted, but as such the film's premise is pretty silly anyway as why didn't he just wish he was a millionaire or something???  But hey it is only a film.

So, that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, Liar Liar is easily one of Jim Carrey's funniest films and features one of his best comedic performances where he nicely balances out some more dramatic aspects along with the comedy this time. Carrey even also has some heartfelt moments in the film with Fletcher and Max as well as his endearing work relationship with his assistant Greta. The film's supporting cast also do very well particularly Maura Tierney, Paul Bernard and Jennifer Tilly. 

So, overall this is definitely one of Jim Carrey's best comedies and well worth a watch and I will rate Liar Liar:

9 out of 10

So, that's it for now and I will wish you all a Happy New Year and see you in 2025. :-)

The Karate Kid 40th Anniversary Review "Show me sand the floor!"

 

 

 

 

 

OK, so as I've been doing some anniversary blog posts of video games and films, I thought I would do another just now. So, this one will cover the 40th anniversary of The Karate Kid, starring Ralph Macchio in the role as Daniel Larusso, who is bullied by some local kids and is helped by a local Japanese-American man called Mr Miyagi, who trains him in karate to teach him self defence. 

So, this post is essentially as revisit of a revisit, which I did back in 2016 on Christmas Eve, so as we are very nearly at Christmas this year in 2024, I thought I would redo this post with the usual expansion of some parts. 

So, with that said let's take another look at this modern classic and see how it fairs 40 years later.

And the usual warning is coming up...

SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY 

So, the story begins with teenager, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and his mother (Randee Heller) moving from Newark, New Jersey out to Reseda in Los Angeles.  Once they arrive Daniel befriends a boy from the neighbourhood and he also meets the apartment handyman, Mr Miyagi (Pat Morita) an eccentric but kind immigrant from Okinawa.  The boy invites Daniel to a beach party where he meets Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue) an attractive high school cheerleader.

However as the party goes on into the night, it is interrupted by Ali's arrogant and bullying ex-boyfriend, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) who Daniel confronts and ends up on receiving end of a beating from Johnny, who turns out to be a top karate student at a local club called Cobra Kai.

Daniel decides to start practising karate as well, as he knows a little from classes he attended at the YMCA back in Jersey.  As time goes on Daniel makes progress wih Ali, but he is tormented and bullied by Johnny and his Cobrai Kai classmates at every opportunity.  This soon culminates when Daniel plays a trick on Johnny at the school prom which backfires on him as Johnny catches up with Daniel and gives him a severe beating.  However at this point Miyagi arrives to rescue Daniel from Johnny and his classmates as he subdues them with an impressive display of karate. Daniel is impressed by Mr Miyagi's skill and asks him to be his tutor so he can get even with Johnny, but Miyagi refuses at first, but does agree to go along with him to confront Johnny and his classmates at the Cobra Kai class.

On turning up at the Cobrai kai class, Miyagi speaks with the class's sensei (Japanese for teacher) John Kreese (Martin Kove) who is a former special forces Vietnam veteran, who teaches an aggressive approach to karate, and that "mercy is for the weak!".  Miyagi asks Kreese that Johnny leave Daniel alone, however Kreese insists that Daniel and Johnny fight it out in the class, but Miyagi instead suggests they fight at an upcoming karate tournament, to which Kreese agrees to let Daniel attend.  Miyagi also asks Kreese that Johnny and his classmates leave Daniel alone to train, to which Kreese agrees but warns Miyagi that if Daniel doesn't show then the harrassment will continue, and Miyagi will also become a target.

And from here Daniel starts his training under Miyagi's wing, which starts with a rather unorthodox approach with giving Daniel manual labour chores, such as cleaning his cars, painting his fence and house.  After a few days of this Daniel grows exasperated with Miyagi as he feels that Miyagi is using him rather than teaching him, but Miyagi eventually shows Daniel that by doing these chores he has been subconsciously learning his defensive blocks used in karate, via muscle memory.

After this Daniel and Miyagi train closer together and at the same time Daniel continues to grow closer to Ali, but its not too long before the tournament is round the corner where Daniel will have to fight in order to gain the respect of his rivals.

THOUGHTS  

There is no doubt that the Karate Kid is a classic film of the martial arts genre, and what's great about it is of course not so much of the emphasis is on the karate as its more on the relationship between Daniel and Mr Miyagi, which is what makes the film work so well.  Director John G.Avildsen, who directed Rocky, uses a similar theme here as he did with Rocky, by using the underdog, with Daniel in a position where he is forced to stand up to his tormentors and in doing he has to learn karate, which he uses in order to fight them and gain their respect.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES 

Moving onto the performances, the cast are all pretty good here.

Starting with Ralph Macchio who does a fine job as the amiable and plucky Daniel LaRusso, who is tormented by the karate gang of bullies and he learns karate under the tutoring of Mr Miyagi. 

Macchio has many good scenes in the film and to mention a few examples there is for starters the scene where Daniel is knocked off his bike by Johnny's gang while he rides home.  And in the next moment we see Daniel's mum, Lucille arrive at her apartment door and she hears Daniel near by angrily yelling "This damn bike! I hate this bike. I hate this freakin' bike! Stupid bike!" and he throws it into a skip.  And as Lucille tries to find out what is wrong with Daniel he shouts " No you don't want to hear the truth. All you want to hear about is how great it is. Well it may be great for you but it SUCKS for me! I hate this place! I HATE IT! I just want to go home. Why can't we just go home?!".

Then there is the scene where Daniel dances with Ali at a fancy dress school ball and he is wearing a shower curtain as his fancy dress as he pretends to be a shower.  And as they dance Ali says to Daniel of Johnny's bullying "I'd love to see him get some of his own medicine" and Daniel says "Well what goes around comes around" and Ali says "I'd love to be there when it does".  

And in the next scene Daniel while in the bathroom overhears Johnny, who is dressed up as a ghoul and goes into a cubicle to role a joint, so Daniel grabs as nearby hosepipe and attaches it to the bathroom taps and sticks the pipe over Johnny's cubicle and turns on the water and does a runner.  So, as Johnny is drenched in water, Daniel runs out and as he passes by Ali, he says "Its coming around!".  

Then there is the one of the best moments in the film where Daniel confronts Myagi over his unconventional methods of training Daniel in Karate by carrying a series of chores around his house.  

And as Myagi notices Daniel painting his house at night, Daniel snaps and says "Hey, how come you didn't tell me you were goin' fishing?!" and Myagi says "You not here when I go" and Daniel says "Well, maybe I wanted to go, you ever think of that?!".  And Myagi says "Ah you karate training" which causes to Daniel angrily say "I'm WHAT? I'm bein' your goddamn SLAVE is what I'm bein' here man, now c'mon we made a deal here!  So, you're supposed to teach and I'm supposed to learn! For 4 days I've been bustin' my ass, and haven't learned a goddamn thing!".  

And Myagi says "Ah you learn plenty!" and Daniel shouts "I learn plenty, yeah, I learned how to sand your decks maybe. I washed your car, paint your house, paint your fence. I learn plenty!".  And Myagi says to him "Everything not as seem" but Daniel has had enough and says "Oh, bullshit, I'm goin home, man!!" but Myagi calls him back angrily "Daniel san!  Come here!" which leads into the great moment where we see Daniel has subconsciously been learning his blocks.    

Another good scene is when Daniel rubs up Johnny's gang the wrong way after they made their agreement with their sensei, Kreese to leave Johnny alone so they decide to go after Johnny at lunch time.  However luckily as Daniel sees them come toward him he spots a teacher and calls him over and says "Mr. Harris, can I talk to you?  LaRusso. Third period history class.  I wanted to tell you, I really got a lot out of that lecture about the Indians. I was telling my buddies about it.  Could you give us a quick review?".  And the teacher says "Sure, I'm free this period" and all of a sudden, Johnny's gang all make their excuses and go "No, I got to go!".  Its a great moment and a shrewd way for Daniel to get himself out of trouble.    

And lastly there is the scene where Daniel, having been injured by one of the Kobra Kai gang during the tournament, pleads for Myagi to help him mend his leg so he go back out and fight in the final.  And Daniel says to Myagi "Can you fix my leg with that thing you do?" and Myagi says "No need fight anymore.  You proved a point" and Daniel says "What, that I can take a beating? Every time I see those guys, they'll know they got the best of me.  I'll never have balance that way, not with them, not with Ali...not with me".  So Myagi takes a moment then says to Daniel "Close eye" and he then starts to rub his hands to use his pain suppression techniques to help mend Daniel's leg.  

Pat Morita next is great as Mr Miyagi  (or to use his full name Nariyoshi Miyagi) and he also received an oscar nomination for his performance as well, and he plays Miyagi as an eccentric but decent man, who helps out Daniel and during their training they become good friends.

Morita's oscar nomination ironically was actually the result of the scene where he get's drunk and wears his army uniform from his days in the second world war, and he sadly reflects on the death of his wife, who died in childbirth.  But the execs at the time of the film's shooting felt this scene detracted from the pace of the film and felt it should have been cut, which once again just goes to show what they know!

Morita get's most of the film's best dialogue and he has plenty of highlights, which include the scene where Daniel asks Miyagi what kind of belt does he have, i.e. belt in karate status, and Morita shows him his belt around his trousers "JC Penney, $3.98!  Do you like??  In Okinawa belt is only used as a rope to hold up pants!".

Then there is the scene where Miyagi goes with Daniel to confront Kreese over Johnny and his gang and Myagi proposes that Daniel settle their dispute at an upcoming karate tournament.  And in the scene at first Kreese asks "What are you here for, old man?" and Miyagi says "Come ask leave boy alone" and Kreese says "What's the matter, can't the boy take care of his own problems?" and Miyagi says "One to one problem, yes. FIVE to one problem, too much ask anyone!".

And after they arrange for Daniel to fight at the tournament against Johnny and his gang and leave, Daniel says in disbelief to Miyagi "I can't believe this!  What you just got me into!".  And Daniel says "I thought you said you would make things better" and Miyagi says "I did!" and Daniel says "How?" and Miyagi says "How?  I just saved you two months of beating!".    

Also there is the scene where Miyagi has Daniel agree with him to do what he says without question as part of their deal. So, Miyagi says to Daniel "First make sacred pact, I promise teach you katate, that's my part, you do what I say, that your part. Is it a deal?" and Daniel says "Its a deal". So, as Daniel puts out his hand to shake on it, Miyagi reaches down and picks up a wet sponge from a bucket of water an hands it to Daniel. So, Miyagi says "First wash car, then wax all car" and Daniel surprised says "Wait..." and Miyagui interrupts him and snaps "Remember deal!". So, Miyagi then shows Daniel the movements he wants him to use when cleaning his cars, he says the famous line "Wax on, wax off, wax on, wax off, don't forget to breathe, in through the nose out through the mouth, very important!" and as he moves off Daniel asks Miyagi where did he get his cars from and Miyagi answers "Detroit!".

But one of Morita's best scenes is of course where Myagi finally reveals to Daniel what his laborious chores have been about and that they were to train Daniel in using his defensive blocks.  And as Daniel is about to walk away in disgust at feeling used, Miyagi suddenly calls on him "Daniel san!  DANIEL SAN!!" and Daniel wearily asks "What?" and Miyagi says "COME HERE!" and asks Daniel to show him the moves that he has learned by saying e.g. "Show me sand the floor" or "show me paint the fence!".  And at the end of the scene as Daniel bows he looks down and Miyagi testily smacks him on the head and says "Eye!  Always look eye!  Come back tomorrow!".

Then there is the scene where Miyagi and Daniel finish training on the beach he walks up to his truck and Miyagi asks two men to remove their beer bottles of his car.  However the men refuse and one of them says "Do it yourself, Mr Motto!" which leads Miyagi to angrily carry out a karate chop, which cuts the tops of the bottles off without the bottles dropping on the ground, which scares the men into removing the bottle.  Daniel looks on amazed and then says "How did you do that???!" and Miyagi smiles and replies "Don't know.  First time!".

Another scene worth a mention is when Miyagi takes Daniel out on a boat in the sea, where Daniel stands on the bow of the boat and practices his moves while also learning to keep his balance.  And in the scene Daniel asks Miyagi "When can I learn to punch?" and Miyagi says to him "Learn to punch when first learn how to keep dry!" and he rocks the boat, which sends Daniel falling into the water, which causes Miyagi to burst out laughing.  And Miyagi laughs saying "Oh, Daniel-san!  YOU ALL WET BEHIND THE EAR!! HA HA HA!!!".

And lastly there is the scene where Miygai gives Daniel one of his cars that Daniel had previously washed as a gift and in the scene Daniel says how he feels scared about the upcoming tournament.  And Miyagi says "You remember lesson about balance?" and Daniel says "Yeah" and Miyagi tells him "Lesson not just karate only. Lesson for whole life. Whole life have a balance. Everything be better. Understand?".  And Daniel, touched, says "You're the best friend I ever had" and Miyagi smiles and says "You pretty ok, too!".  And as Daniel drives off, Miyagi wishes him luck and shouts "Banzai!! Daniel-san!  BANZAI!!".    

Elisabeth Shue is also pretty good (and pretty!) as Daniel's love interest, Ali, as she plays her as a nice girl, who falls for Daniel, but at the same time she has to contend with her jealous ex-boyfriend, Johnny, Daniel's nemesis who stands between the fledgling relationship.  Elisabeth and Ralph also both share a nice on-screen chemistry together in their scenes and their fledgling romance is a nice one that works well as the film progresses.    

To save time I won't mention many of Elisabeth's scenes but I will mention the one where Ali tells Daniel about Johnny being her ex.  So Ali says "Remember that guy you had trouble with on the beach?" and Daniel says "Yeah, King Karate?" and Ali says "He's my ex-boyfriend" and Daniel says "Oh that's good to know..." but all of a sudden he starts to talk to himself "What? Yeah you're right".  And Ali asks "What are you doing?" and Daniel says "Its this little voice in my head telling I've got to be nuts to be talking to you!".  And Ali says "It doesn't matter anyway, because its over" and Daniel asks "How over?" and Ali walks away saying "Weeks!" and Daniel follows her anxiously asking "One week, five weeks?!  How many weeks is "weeks".  

Then there is the scene where after Daniel receives his last beating from Johnny and his crew, next day at school, Ali sees him and angrily says "Right that's it! Its enough, Daniel!" and goes off to confront Johnny and Daniel interrupts her and says "No, its OK! Watch". So, he goes up to Johnny and his friends and teases them "How you doing? How's your arm? Remember not to step infront of any buses!". So, as Johnny is angry one of his friends reminds him they are not to touch Daniel and Daniel and Ali walk off, Ali surprised says "I should have kept my mouth shut" and Daniel says "Ah well but who would listen?" and Ali says "Me" and the two of them agree to a date.

Martin Kove is great as the main antagonist of the film, Kreese, the ruthless Cobrai Kai karate instructor, and he too get's plenty of classic lines, one such line is a classic where he says to his students during class "Pain does not exist in this dojo!" "fear does not exist in this dojo!".

Kove's main highlight is the scene where Daniel and Mr Miyagi pay Kreese a visit and Miyagi asks Kreese to have Johnny leave Daniel alone and Kreese says "This is a karate dojo, not a knitting class! Now get your boy on the mat or we'll have a problem!".  Miyagi then says "Too much advantage, your dojo" and Kreese then says "Name a place" and Miyagi having spotted the karate tounament poster behind him says "Tournament!" and Kreese says "You've got some nerve, old man but I think we can accommodate you". So, when Miyagi asks Kreese the favour of leaving Daniel alone to train, Kreese almost laughs and says "You're pushy little bastard, aren't you?!  But I like that!".  And Kreese then addresses his class and says "Alright then!  No one is to touch the prima donna until the tournament!  Is that understood?!" and the whole class shouts "YES, SENSEI!!".  But then Kreese goes on to warn Miyagi of Daniel "but if he doesn't show, then its open season on him and you!".

And of course there is the scene later on during the climactic fight between Daniel and Johnny where he says to Johnny "sweep the leg!" referring to Daniel's injured leg and Johnny looks shocked and Kreese says "You got a problem with that?!" and Johnny says "No, sensei".  John G Avildsen also amusingly gave Kreese a unique piece of direction throughout the film, which was never to smile, and Kove manages to do that really well and instead he proves a few smug smirks. 

Which brings me onto William Zabka as Johnny, who isn't bad in his role as Daniel's nemesis, although ultimately due to his bleach blonde hairdo he doesn't always looks that threatening or convincing as a baddie!

However Zabka notably took a real interest in the martial arts after the film was made and he kept it up, and throughout you can see how effective he is in the practice of the martial arts.  Zabka's best scene is probably in the sequence where at the school prom (dressed in a ghoul outfit) Danny plays a practical joke on him, dousing him in water from a hosepipe fed into his toilet cubicle, to which Johnny soon chases and catches up with Daniel.

So after Johnny catches up with Daniel, he grabs him and shouts "You couldn't leave well alone, could you, you little twerp!  Well now you're gonna pay!".  And when Johnny beats Daniel up further, one of his gang, Bobby (Ron Thomas) protests saying Daniel's had enough and Johnny says "I SAY WHEN HE'S HAD ENOUGH!" and he looks to Daniel and says "No mercy, man!  No mercy!" and he moves to kick him but all of a suddeny Miyagi shows and whops their asses!      

WARNING: NEXT SCENE IS THE FINAL ONE IN THE FILM!!

And Zabka's last scene where Johnny fights against Daniel is also pretty good, even though again he wears a pretty cheesy angry look as he prepares to fight him.  Zabka also has a great little moment where during his final fight scene with Daniel, he has a timeout where he goes to his corner and Kreese says to him to "sweep the leg" i.e. Daniel's injured leg (during a previous round in the tournament) and Kreese angrily says "you have a problem with that?!" and Johnny looks shocked and says "No sensei".  Its a great moment as Johnny realises how for Kreese this is more a personal victory over Daniel and Miyagi than a victory for Johnny. So, in the last moment of the fight, Daniel adopts the crane technique pose and wins the title with a kick to Johnny's face and afterward, Johnny impressed with Daniel's win, hands the trophy to him and says "You're alright, Larusso, good match!".  

And finally I will quickly mention Randee Heller as Lucille LaRusso, Daniel's mother, who puts in a rather corny and excessively cheery performance but at the same time manages to show Lucille to be an endearing mum. However, this doesn't remove the rather mortifying moment she has of picking up Daniel and Ali for their date and dropping them off, only later on arriving just in time to embarrass Daniel in front of Johnny and his friends to slag him off for being picked up by his mommy.

However Heller does share a good scene with Macchio when Daniel angrily throws his bike in a skip, as he has just been pushed off the road by Johnny and his classmates.  And in the scene Lucille asks Daniel "Can you tell me what's going on and don't tell me about another bike accident?!" and Daniel asks "What do you want to hear mom?" and Lucille says "I want to hear the truth!".  And Daniel refuses to say exactly what is going on but insists he has to take karate lessons and Lucille says "But fighting doesn't solve anything Daniel!" and Daniel says "Well neither does palm trees, mom!" and she says "That's not fair!".  And Daniel says "Like it was fair coming over here without asking me how I felt about it. Right, that was real fair!" and Lucille takes a moment and says " You're right. I should've asked".  

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC 

Getting onto the direction, John G. Avildsen does a fine job here and he keeps the pace moving along nicely, and he does a great job in bringing the characters to life and making them endearing to an audience, also largely thanks Mark Robert Kamen's fine screenplay, which is both funny and charming. Avildsen, having previously directed Rocky, also knows a thing or two about staging fight scenes so its worth mentioning he does an excellent job here at staging the karate fight scenes during the tournament and Daniel's encounters with Johnny's gang.   

As for the music score, Bill Conti provides the music as he did for Avildsen's Rocky and its another fine one from Conti and it features a pleasant theme tune, which isn't as instantly memorable as Rocky but it captures the Eastern theme of the film nicely.  Its also worth noting that the score for the film features pan flute solos by the Romanian musician, Gheorge Zamfir, which feature in the film's main theme itself.

The film however does use a pretty cheesy synth pop song "You're the best" by Joe Esposito, which is one of the film's more cringeworthy aspects and one of the weaker parts of the film's soundtrack.  Regardless of this though and a few other cheesy sounding 80's songs thrown in for good measure, the soundtrack is for the most part fairly good.   

FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!) 

As for Karate Kid flaw wise.... well yes the film has one or two here and there.

And to start off first of all we have Johnny, who doesn't make for a very effective antagonist as he is morely just like a spoilt yuppie brat, with a ridiculous blonde hairdo, who fails to convince in his role as Daniel's nemesis.  And yet the remake of the film years later with Jade Smith and Jackie Chan had a far more vicious young baddie, a young boy named Cheng (played by Zhenwei Wang) who really kicked some serious ass in comparison and really gave off an aura of someone you wouldn't want to mess with. 

You could also say the whole thing of Miyagi's pain suppression technique is a bit daft, particularly in how he can use it to reduce the pain of Daniel's leg injury during the film's final fight scene (sorry SPOILER!!).  Yet after Daniel goes out to fight he is still limping and despite during his fight with Johnny, Johnny injures Daniel's leg again, but somehow Daniel can still find the energy to stand up and fight on!

I also felt that the romance between Daniel and Ali, while it has its charm and they have a nice chemistry, the sequence where they go on a date was a bit slow and it drags the pace of the film down a bit, especially during the mid-section of the film where you are more keen to see Daniel to do his karate training.  Not only that though but to get back to Daniel himself, during this sequence you can't but help feel mortified for him when his mother, Lucille turns up at the end of the date to pick him up in front of Ali's high school friends!  

Another daft thing about the film was how Daniel had to pretend he was a black belt to get into the tournament yet Kreese said he thought they could accommodate him for the event in the first place!  If that was the case then surely he wouldn't have to worry about all this regardless.  And not only that Miyagi has no clue about how karate works on a tournament level and the points system involved, which is fair enough I guess, but Daniel never even thought to ask about it either!  But then again he is just a young kid after all so I guess he wouldn't have thought that far ahead. Its just as well then that Ali knew the rules for the point based system in the tournament otherwise they wouldn't have had a clue!  

Further to this point, when Daniel turns up to sign in for the tournament, he is told by one of the staff at the desk that only brown belt students or above can enter the tournament, so Miyagi blags a black belt from a nearby open bag, since Daniel has no belt rating. However, this is something not even Kreese mentions even though he said he could accommodate Daniel at the event and again neither Daniel or Miygai bother to find out the tournament setup! Further even to this, Kreese said it would be "open season" on Daniel if he didn't show but he did fail to mention about the belt rating system, so if Daniel did tell the truth, then he couldn't enter anyway, so ultimately he had no choice but to lie regardless. Ah well, that's Hollywood film logic for you. ;-) 

And lastly the film's final scene (SPOILER!!!) is also a bit cringeworthy with Daniel triumphing in his fight, with Mr Miyagi looking on in pride and how they use that as a freeze frame shot to end the film was also pretty corny and cringeworthy.  And surely they could have finished it in a better way than that, although John G Avildsen seems to like using final freeze frame shots to end his movies, just like he did in Rocky.

One last note further to all this (my favourite word is further it appears ha ha!) its a bit improbable to say the least that Daniel could win the tournament despite having NO experience whatsoever in karate tournaments or having even fought ANY other opponent either before this either! Yet somehow, he does make it through thanks to the quick tips from Ali and I guess to be fair, Miyagi's training, but even at that its still pretty far fetched.  

Anyway that's it for the flaws!

SUM UP   

So to sum up, The Karate Kid is still a highly entertaining film, which to this day is still the best of the three films, with Parts II and III (also directed by Avildsen) being still enjoyable but not in the same class as this one.

And years later, the film was remade starring Jackie Chan and Jade Smith (son of Will Smith) except the main difference being it was set in China, and Jackie Chan taught Jade kung-fu instead of karate, and for the most part it is almost a scene for scene remake of the original, but its still a good film as well in its own right.  Is it as good the original here??  Well its close but not quite, although it does have a much more menacing villain in Cheng than the stroppy blonde haired Johnny.

So, 40 years on, The Karate Kid is definitely still worth a look and I can certainly recommend it.

So, with that said, I will rate the film:

9 out of 10

So, that's it for now guys and I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and I will hopefully be back with another post before the New Year.

Until then Merry Christmas!