Post by bladestarr on May 25, 2004 17:41:17 GMT -5
I thought I'd start this thread up again not just because I had reviewed the film just recently (plug is in the Movie's section under BladeStarr's Reviews) but also because of an odd coincidence that I noticed.
I went back after I had reviewed the film and looked at the Mutants' reviews of the film, and what I saw shocked me. I saw the Dead Alive, Matrix, Evil Dead AND Matrix references. I swear to you I had not read these reviews before writing my own review, but the similarities are absolutely stunning. Anyways, being an expert on Japanese Cinema, I'd like to take the next paragraphs to explain the plot of Versus for all those that care. Remember though, it is Japanese Cinema, so while this will tell you who people are and what they are doing, it will not tell you WHY they are there and WHY they are doing it. The Japanese are known for making mysterious worlds and characters, and for learning more from 'the spaces between' the events rather than the events themselves (thus all the scenes with nothing going on are put there for all the Buddhists to have the time to make out their own personal meanings in the plot/characters/etc.).
[WARNING, SPOILERS]And with no further ado....
We begin with two escaped Convicts (no names are given as far as I can remember for any of the characters, interesting), and then Gang 1 shows up. This gang was hired by an unknown Boss to help free the Convicts and presumably take them to safety. However, there is a Girl with them. Apparently an escape is not in the plan, as one of the Convicts, Convict Number Two is quickly deemed unnecessary and dispatched (translation, killed). He comes back to life, and must then be killed again (More on that later).
Anyways, Convict Number One sees the Girl and decides that she was too cute to die, so he pulls some fast moves and gains partial control of the situation, becoming Our Hero. A fight ensues and he runs off with the Girl. Eventually after some hunting and chasing, and Unnecessary Fight Scenes, it is revealed that the forest they are in is the Forest of Resurrection, a special place where the dead can come back to life (albeit as zombies, but hey, whaddya gonna do? fuggedaboutit!). It is also learned that Our Hero and the Girl had met before. Oh, and also the Police come to capture the Convicts, having no clue about what else is going on.
Eventually the Boss shows up. As it turns out, he needs both the Girl and Our Hero as two keys to open a gate of some sort to the Other Side (underworld, dark dimension, whatever). So we now have motive and reason. Apparently this Forest is a portal to the Other Side, and while it does have a crack in it, the Boss needs these two Keys (a Girl with special Resurrection Blood, and a Human Sacrifice) to open the gate fully and receive whatever powers the Unmentioned Dark Lords have promised him.
Now, the Boss meets with Gang 1 to find out where Our Hero and the Girl are. Gang 1 has different plans, because apparently the Boss is a bigwig back home, and the Psycho Gang Leader wants to become that bigwig by killing the Boss. Thus, he calls on Gang 2 to attempt to dispatch the Boss. However, Gang 2 and Gang 1 are no match for a Boss that we learn has mystical powers. Eventually they are all turned into zombies, except for one Gang 1 Scaredy Cat and one Gang 2 Lucky Lady. They escape and harass the Police, who still have no clue what is going on.
Anyways, more fights and zombie action occurs and the Police prove useless, and everyone is quickly taken down in battles here and there until there are only the Boss, the Girl and (presumably dead from an earlier battle) Our Hero, who promptly comes back to life. You see, the Girl gave her Resurrection Blood to Our Hero, and since it can only be used once, she is now useless to the Boss. Now it comes down to the Boss and Our Hero (of course). They face off (so that the Boss can get the Resurrection Blood from Our Hero) and the Boss reveals that he and Our Hero are actually brothers (of course!) and that this has happened before. Our Hero protected the world from the Boss 500 years ago by killing the Girl and wasting her Resurrection Blood on the ground. So, the Boss had to wait for the Girl to be reincarnated. Thus the rest of the story is revealed.
The Final Battle takes place, and Our Hero wins (of course!!!). All is right in the world, or is it? Flash forward 99 years into the future, and apparently Our Hero has ruined the world and has filled it with Crack-addicted Mutants. The Girl is re-thinking having chosen Our Hero's side, and conveniently the Boss (who is NOW Our Hero?
) appears and a fight is about to begin. The end.
Huh???
Well there you go, the whole plot to Versus. You now know how the characters are related, how they got there, and what they were doing. All that leaves is the unanswered 'WHY' questions. But remember, the Japanese love to ponder these questions forever, so why would they give us the answers? Until next time, the Cuisinart of Doom has spoken! ;D
I went back after I had reviewed the film and looked at the Mutants' reviews of the film, and what I saw shocked me. I saw the Dead Alive, Matrix, Evil Dead AND Matrix references. I swear to you I had not read these reviews before writing my own review, but the similarities are absolutely stunning. Anyways, being an expert on Japanese Cinema, I'd like to take the next paragraphs to explain the plot of Versus for all those that care. Remember though, it is Japanese Cinema, so while this will tell you who people are and what they are doing, it will not tell you WHY they are there and WHY they are doing it. The Japanese are known for making mysterious worlds and characters, and for learning more from 'the spaces between' the events rather than the events themselves (thus all the scenes with nothing going on are put there for all the Buddhists to have the time to make out their own personal meanings in the plot/characters/etc.).
[WARNING, SPOILERS]And with no further ado....
We begin with two escaped Convicts (no names are given as far as I can remember for any of the characters, interesting), and then Gang 1 shows up. This gang was hired by an unknown Boss to help free the Convicts and presumably take them to safety. However, there is a Girl with them. Apparently an escape is not in the plan, as one of the Convicts, Convict Number Two is quickly deemed unnecessary and dispatched (translation, killed). He comes back to life, and must then be killed again (More on that later).
Anyways, Convict Number One sees the Girl and decides that she was too cute to die, so he pulls some fast moves and gains partial control of the situation, becoming Our Hero. A fight ensues and he runs off with the Girl. Eventually after some hunting and chasing, and Unnecessary Fight Scenes, it is revealed that the forest they are in is the Forest of Resurrection, a special place where the dead can come back to life (albeit as zombies, but hey, whaddya gonna do? fuggedaboutit!). It is also learned that Our Hero and the Girl had met before. Oh, and also the Police come to capture the Convicts, having no clue about what else is going on.
Eventually the Boss shows up. As it turns out, he needs both the Girl and Our Hero as two keys to open a gate of some sort to the Other Side (underworld, dark dimension, whatever). So we now have motive and reason. Apparently this Forest is a portal to the Other Side, and while it does have a crack in it, the Boss needs these two Keys (a Girl with special Resurrection Blood, and a Human Sacrifice) to open the gate fully and receive whatever powers the Unmentioned Dark Lords have promised him.
Now, the Boss meets with Gang 1 to find out where Our Hero and the Girl are. Gang 1 has different plans, because apparently the Boss is a bigwig back home, and the Psycho Gang Leader wants to become that bigwig by killing the Boss. Thus, he calls on Gang 2 to attempt to dispatch the Boss. However, Gang 2 and Gang 1 are no match for a Boss that we learn has mystical powers. Eventually they are all turned into zombies, except for one Gang 1 Scaredy Cat and one Gang 2 Lucky Lady. They escape and harass the Police, who still have no clue what is going on.
Anyways, more fights and zombie action occurs and the Police prove useless, and everyone is quickly taken down in battles here and there until there are only the Boss, the Girl and (presumably dead from an earlier battle) Our Hero, who promptly comes back to life. You see, the Girl gave her Resurrection Blood to Our Hero, and since it can only be used once, she is now useless to the Boss. Now it comes down to the Boss and Our Hero (of course). They face off (so that the Boss can get the Resurrection Blood from Our Hero) and the Boss reveals that he and Our Hero are actually brothers (of course!) and that this has happened before. Our Hero protected the world from the Boss 500 years ago by killing the Girl and wasting her Resurrection Blood on the ground. So, the Boss had to wait for the Girl to be reincarnated. Thus the rest of the story is revealed.
The Final Battle takes place, and Our Hero wins (of course!!!). All is right in the world, or is it? Flash forward 99 years into the future, and apparently Our Hero has ruined the world and has filled it with Crack-addicted Mutants. The Girl is re-thinking having chosen Our Hero's side, and conveniently the Boss (who is NOW Our Hero?
) appears and a fight is about to begin. The end.Huh???
Well there you go, the whole plot to Versus. You now know how the characters are related, how they got there, and what they were doing. All that leaves is the unanswered 'WHY' questions. But remember, the Japanese love to ponder these questions forever, so why would they give us the answers? Until next time, the Cuisinart of Doom has spoken! ;D