Interesteg
What makes it different from others?
Matialth
Good concept, poorly executed.
pointyfilippa
The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.
max williams
Hot on the heels of what was at the time his greatest film, the dark and beautiful Gamera 3, Kaneko took a breather from the world of kaiju, and directed and co-wrote this adaptation of a popular horror novel. In his own words he wanted to attempt something more focused on human drama.While it the script does occasionally meander, it is refreshingly free of the self consciousness which taints so many similar films, (such as the X-men movies) and its earnest take on the ethics of revenge is served with a fascinating dash of moral ambiguity. What's more, it has a surprisingly powerful emotional core, and one scene in particular was so unexpectedly touching that it brought tears to my eyes.The film's greatest strength is its character development. The heroine, Aoki Junko, is one of Kaneko's most compelling characters outside of the Death Note films. The fine details of her everyday life, -such as the precautions she has taken against her own powers- add greatly to her believability, and her development as a person in response to the plot's twists and turns gives the film its backbone. Her hesitant attempts to connect with other people after a life of solitude are very touching, and provide a poignant Yin to the Yang of the brutal action sequences. Actress Akiko Yada's portrayal of Junko is strong and subtle, wonderfully capturing her emotional torment and moral uncertainty. The secondary characters and are also given a nice degree of ambiguity and depth, and are nicely acted to boot. Of these, the standout is Kaori Momoi as Ishizu, a shrewd, cynically jovial and compassionate female detective. These three qualities are a hard act to balance, but Kaori and Kaneko pull it off nicely. What's more, she gets a ton of awesome lines, such as this gem to a male colleague, "Don't look at me like that, you remind me of my dog."Though the passionate enthusiasm he brought to GMK and the Gamera trilogy is noticeably absent, Kaneko's direction is solid nonetheless. While his pacing could use some tightening, his characteristic uses of crane shots and character mannerisms are effective, and as with his kaiju films, his artistic composition turns what could have been merely serviceable FX shots into beautiful works of art.Speaking of the special effects, they are very impressive. While a few of the death scenes are slightly cheesy and fake, the pyrotechnics are overall spectacular, and the marriage of digital and practical techniques is daring and competent. It may look slightly dated today, but for a relatively low budget film made in 2000, it's an admirable achievement.Sadly, the score by Ko Otani is rather weak. It adds little in the way of tension or drama, and is quite distracting at times. Furthermore, it's a serious disappointment given his usually very high standards, and the magnificence of his prior score for G3. Overall, Crossfire has some flaws, but also enough strong positives to outweigh them. It may not measure up to G3 or the Death Note films, but it's still a well made and entertaining fantasy film with a lot more emotional depth than most of its stable mates.
rstef1
Sorry about the pun, but I really did enjoy this Japanese take on Firestarter. The acting is uniformly excellent, especially by lead Akiko Yada as the pyrokinetic Junko, and Kaori Momoi who gives a wonderfully atypical and original performance as Inspector Ishizu. The film has so many nifty plot threads that I scarcely knew what to expect next. It begins as a typical Carrie-type shocker, becomes a tragic romance, then veers into crime drama by introducing a gang of thugs who appear to kill for thrills. After that, we have a few plot twists which involve snuff films, a corrupt police chief and a mysterious band of vigilantes named the Guardians. That's a lot of plot for a horror thriller, and the movie carries it off beautifully leading to a final, explosive and exciting showdown in an amusement park involving all the lead characters.The special effects in this movie are among the best I have seen, absolutely impeccable, and this helps the film considerably. The pace may seem slow at times for western audiences used to breakneck action, but it pays off by making the action scenes here stand out and resonate with the audience. At almost two hours, the film is long, but it is packed with enough interesting characters, events and revelations to keep most viewers thoroughly entertained.
scobbah
First of all, this one is filed as "Horror", but I didn't find this too much of a horror, not much enough for claiming it to be a pure one. It felt more like a b-thriller, but it had its moment for sure. This movie is a bit special, and it is weird because I can't really put my finger and point out the elements that made this film good (average). When it was all over, I still felt touched by it. The plot is quite neat with some interesting conspiracy ideas, and besides the b-effects (who were a bit "too" much, ehm) there were some moments that I did found quite charming. It didn't turn out to be the movie I expected, but still a good time-killer. 6/10.
movieman_kev
Junko Aoki (Akiko Yada), is an average adopted shy young women, with one minor quirk: she can incinerate anyone in a ball of flame with but a thought. You see good old Junko was born with a certain brand of ESP called pyrokinesis. She falls for her co-worker Tada Kuzuki and feels a strong need to avenge the senseless death of Tada's younger sister when she's murdered by young street thugs. A chance encounter with a fellow ESPer, this one has telekinetic powers, an and offer to join a group of others called "The Guardians" starts a chain of events that will find poor Junko a target of the police. This film was like a Japanese version of "Firestarter", but a better and more mature take on the theme. VERY competently directed by Shusuke Kaneko and nicely acted, this rises above the source material to be an extremely enjoyable experience.My Grade: B+ DVD Extras: Intro & Subtitled Commentary with Director Shusuke Kaneko; 19 and a half minute Interview with Shusuke; a 17 minute Making of; 8 Theatrical Trailers; and Trailers for "Kunoichi: Lady Ninja", "Versus", "Pistol Opera", & "Samuri Fiction"
