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Review by
Calvin
McMillin: |
No, LoveHKFilm.com
has not lost its collective mind and decided to review
the Kevin Costner/Whitney Houston flick from several
years back. This Bodyguard stars Sonny Chiba,
who makes for a far more intimidating presence than
the director of Waterworld ever could. Before
the audience even meets the guy, they are treated
to a number of gimmicks to prepare them for just how
much of badass the filmmakers intend their protagonist
to be. For starters, the film's opening crawl uses
the same fiery "Ezekiel 25:17" speech spouted
off by Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction. However,
there are a few differences between the two; most
noticeably, the words "The Lord" are replaced
with "Chiba the Bodyguard!" How's that for
intimidating?
If comparing Sonny Chiba
to God wasn't enough, the film's credit sequence is
peppered with repeated quasi-religious chants of "Viva
Chiba!" to emphasize the man's standing. And
in this version of the film (more on that distinction
in the notes), the filmmakers insert an early sequence
with Aaron Banks and Bill Louie, two real life martial
arts champions, who go on to debate who was the better
fighter, Bruce Lee or Sonny Chiba. As one man demonstrates
the trademark kicks and punches of Bruce Lee, the
other shows off Chiba's many karate antics, including
his patented testicle-smashing finishing move. Looks
like a draw to me. If this part of The Bodyguard
is to be believed, the events of the movie take place
in a parallel universe in which Sonny Chiba is not
only a famous Japanese actor, but an international
crime fighter as well. Sure, I'll buy that.
Still, even with all
the hype surrounding him, Sonny Chiba doesn't disappoint.
He's the consummate badass. We finally meet Chiba
when mafia terrorists (yeah, you heard me) hijack
Japan Airlines to off our hero. Of course, Chiba thwarts
their attempts, killing five mobsters with his bare
hands and a lit cigarette hanging precariously from
his mouth. After his midair heroics, Chiba holds a
press conference in which he slices the top off of
a Coke bottle with the side of his hand, painfully
illustrating what he'll do to any mobsters and drug
dealers who cross his path. He also offers his services
as a bodyguard to anyone who will squeal on the mob.
Soon enough, he's approached by someone ready to take
him up on his offer: Reiko (Judy Lee), the longtime
Japanese companion of Don Salvatore Rocco, the recently
slain mob boss of New York. It seems the Cosa Nostra
is after her, and for some reason they're all played
by Japanese guys. The accurate casting of ethnic roles
doesn't matter much to Chiba; he kills them all. But
like most of Chiba's films of this ilk, there's significant
gains and losses. It's never a totally happy ending.
As typical with this
sort of movie, there's plenty of gratuitous violence,
whether it be bonebreaking, eye gouging, arm ripping,
or good old fashioned decapitations. Surprisingly,
this otherwise cheesy exploitation flick has a few
arty shots, too. For instance, when Chiba's sister
Maki gets roughed up by the mob, she's left lying
nude in the shadow of a church's giant cross. And
for some reason, there's more Christian imagery than
you can shake a crucifix at in this picture—in
fact, so much that you'd almost swear John Woo directed
the flick. Sadly, Chiba doesn't brandish two guns
at any time in the film.
To clarify for those
who aren't familiar with the genre, it's an accepted
fact that good exploitation flicks are evaluated from
a different set of standards than good mainstream
pictures. They're a completely different breed of
animal. Many times, what would be perceived as "poor
qualities" in a mainstream picture are actually
the things that make exploitation flicks all the more
worthwhile. In this alternate take on the concept
of "quality," the real crème de la
crème are the movies that are unabashedly trashy.
Simplistic plots, loony dialogue, and gratuitously
over-the-top violence are actually a plus. The
Bodyguard doesn't exactly achieve the same dizzying,
grindhouse-style heights as Chiba's Street Fighter
series, but it does make for a passably entertaining
time killer. As usual, Sonny Chiba makes the best
of it. His magnetic screen presence is obvious, despite
the fact that spends the majority of the picture dressed
like the world's stuffiest English professor.
A film's entertainment
value can sometime rest entirely on its presentation.
And with all the wonderful technological advances
made with DVD, it's a shame that The Bodyguard
has been given such shabby treatment for home viewing.
The only DVD version of this film in the U.S. suffers
from the pan-and-scan treatment as well as an atrocious
(even for VHS) picture quality. The film could have
benefited from a restored widescreen transfer, but
even the correct aspect ratio and a cleaned up print
probably couldn't have saved this turkey. However,
regardless of any complaints, fans of Sonny Chiba
and grindhouse cinema will probably be satisfied.
(Calvin McMillin, 2003)
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