[.ca] Wasabi

From Amazon.com:
This high-energy Dirty Harry in Japan stars Jean Reno (The Professional) as a maverick Paris cop with sledgehammer fists and a short temper. Promoted to sudden fatherhood when he "inherits" a spunky Japanese daughter (Ryoko Hirosue) he never knew, he becomes her droopy guardian angel, protecting her from an army of yakuza gangsters. Written and produced by Luc Besson, the former fashionista director of Euro-sleek shoot-'em-ups, this colorful B-movie blast is as gritty as an oil slick on a water slide but packed with explosive action. Director Gerard Krawczyk punctuates his gunfights with the Hong Kong school of recoil (bullets blast victims across the screen) and an undercurrent of humor. As long as you don't lean too hard on such niggling details as logic, legality, and the laws of physics, this silly, splashy, family bonding bulletfest is a spirited good time. --Sean Axmaker

Jean Reno doesn't disappoint:
Very entertaining movie, that is both an action movie and kind of a comedy as well as there are many funny scenes in it. Jean Reno carries the movie, which is set in a Japanese environment with Japanese gangsters and what not. Certainly preferable to any classical Hollowood movie.

Not too intense, enjoyable, funny, action-packed:
Essentially it's a story about a man (Jean Reno) called Hubert. He has no life other than his cop life. He has a tendency to proceed about investigations in a rather violent manner (he actually punches anyone, good guy or bad guy, who gets in the way or interupts him). The chief puts him on leave for 2 months for his violent behavious. Then he gets a phone call from a lawyer telling him that his lover, Miko, has died. The whole movie is about the mystery Miko leaves after her death. Along the way, he manages to find out that he has actually fathered a Japanese daughter (with Miko) called Yumi. This movie can be 'analysing material', but not as itself. This is because Jean Reno has this history of playing men who have fighting and shooting as their job description, e.g. The Cleaner in Luc Besson's Nikita; The Professional. So Jean Reno actually brings his screen experiences on board the show. Unless you happen to be watching him act for the first time, it is quite hard to detach yourself from his film pressence. The French and Japanese mix is interesting enough. But Japanese culture is not really presented realistically here. Sure, the surface materialistic youth culture carries across, but no more than this. Yumi's plaintive cries for her papa are touching, but shallow. She also cries a whole lot. The dialogue is witty. The camera angles are nice, especially when Yumi sticks her legs up in the lawyer's office. It's a great movie, not too intense, enjoyable, funny, action packed. Would I buy the DVD? Probably not. I do not think it bears rewatching.

Kickback tongue-in-cheek entertainment:
It's not the greatest, deepest movie ever filmed. But it doesn't aim to be. Luc Besson provides a light, humorous, and easy-on-the-brain flick that leaves a clean taste behind. Great for casual rental or to have in your DVD library to entertain friends when they're looking for something to watch. The pace keeps you engaged, the story is silly but fun, and the actors are more than watchable.

Fun:
This is a very fun action comedy that throws together a father and daughter that didn't know each other existed. Style, culture clash, humor, and fast paced action are what make this work, as well as some fine performances.

For those who take their action raw.:
I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about films, but in purchasing Wasabi (2001), I had no prior knowledge about the movie other than it was written by Luc Besson and starred Jean Reno, who were both involved in Nikita (1990) and The Professional (1994), two wonderful films worth any action movie fan's time. Given the talent involved in Wasabi, I thought it would be a pretty worth looking into, and I wasn't disappointed. Reno stars a Hubert, a retired secret government operative who is now a no nonsense French cop who seems to follow the guidelines within the Dirty Harry Law Enforcement Manual, that's to say his methods, while extreme, get results. The films dives headfirst into the action as we see Hubert single-handedly bust up a transvestite bank robbery ring. While Hubert is very good at what he does, his superior notes that that is all he does, as Hubert has no life. That, along with pressures from a local politician with regards to Hubert's' old school tactics, forces Hubert's boss to put him on extended vacation, with a recommendation that he basically get a life. Soon Hubert gets word that a Japanese woman he once loved but who left him almost 20 years ago to which he still carried a torch for, has recently passed, and she has named him in her will. He travels from France to Japan to witness the reading of the will, and see his long, lost love, but gets more than he bargained for as he learns the woman had a daughter, Hubert's daughter. Not only that, but the woman has also left a mystery behind not only in why she left him in the first place, but why now the Yakuza is after the daughter. Hubert must learn his now deceased lover's involvement with the Yakuza, protect himself and his daughter, named Yumi, and deal with the fact that he's an instant father, and the complications of having to try and relate to a 19 year old girl. Wasabi mixes a very genuine blend of action, comedy, and a pinch of drama pretty successfully. The action is pretty steady throughout, and is more of the comic book variety, like what you might see in a Jackie Chan film. The comedy comes mostly in the form of Hubert's contact in Japan, a fellow Frenchman named Momo, whom Hubert worked with many years ago when he was a government operative. Momo reminded me of a chubbier version of Rob Schneider, except a bit funnier. The drama, while present but not over done, comes in the form of Hubert and Yumi trying to come to terms with the fact that they are now all they have. While the combination of these three elements doesn't allow for a whole lot of substance within the story, that mattered little as this was just a fun, exciting ride I enjoyed all the way to the end. Certainly one who has seen the Besson/Reno film The Professional will notice similarities, but more or less these two films relate superficially. What's really interesting is how much this French-made film looks like an American actioneer. The quality of the wide screen picture here looks great, and the audio is really excellent. Keep in mind the dialog is in French, with English subtitles available, but there is also a dubbed English track, for those of you who don't care to read while watching a film. I, myself, preferred to allow the original voices to come out, while reading the translation below. The dubbed voices sound a bit weird at times, especially since I am fairly familiar with how Jean Reno's voice sounds like, and the guy hired to dub him is way off. As far as extras go, there are some theatrical trailers available, for this film, and Formula 51 (2001), Swept Away (2002), and Trapped (2002). While Wasabi really isn't a cinematic feast, it's definitely a satisfying appetizer, and sometimes that's all you need. Cookieman108