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My review of 'The Challenge'


Source: http://freewebs.com/mhchallenge

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THE CHALLENGE(1982)
(Directed by John Frankenheimer)

"Wow, that was pretty mediocre."- Signed by MartialHorror.

Plot: A low life boxer agrees to smuggle an antique sword into Japan, but finds himself caught between two brothers who will do anything for the sword.

Review:

The only thing remarkable about “The Challenge” is that it is NOT an easy movie to find. It underperformed in the theaters, possibly even being a flat out bomb, and after its initial release on VHS……..has yet to be re-released. Allegedly it’s occasionally shown on TV, but I’ve yet to see it. The easiest way to find it is on the internet, but the cheapest copy tends to be around $30. I’ve actually seen it go up to $2,500 at one point, and I’d personally smack anyone who feels this movie is worth that. Still, it’s lack of release is quite jarring considering it stars Scott Glenn and Toshiro Mifune and was directed by John Frankenheimer. Sure, it’s a pretty mediocre movie, but they also released “Bushido Blade”. So why not “The Challenge”?!

Rick(Scott Glenn) is a talented boxer who is simply passed his prime, forced to live as a stepping stone at best. This changes when he’s asked to smuggle an ancient katana(Japanese sword) into Japan. At first, everything goes by swiftly, but he soon realizes he’s in over his head as he’s attacked by several Yakuza. It turns out a powerful Yakuza, Hideo Yoshida(Atsuo Nakamura), wants the sword and will do anything to keep his brother, Toru Yoshida(Toshiro Mifune) from having it. Toru runs a school where traditional Japanese martial arts is taught and where honor rules everything. When Rick is forced to live among them, he finds himself drawn into their world, but blood must be shed.

The problem with “The Challenge” is that we’ve seen this all before. It’s a typical ‘White guy(usually) falling in love with a foreign culture’ movie. To the films credit, maybe it was considered original by this point. Unfortunately, before seeing “The Challenge”, I’ve seen “Avatar”, “Dances with Wolves”, “Pocahontas”, “FernGully”, “The Last Samurai”, “Soldier(1998)”, “Solo(1996)", “Terminator 2”(sort of), "The Karate Kid remake" and even both adaptations of “The Day the Earth Stood Still”. I’m sure there are more examples, and even I can’t deny how messed up it is of me to mention all these other films despite most of them coming out long after “The Challenge”, but I can’t help it. I saw “The Challenge” last, and you’ll find yourself chalking up the clichés and conventions.

1) Naturally, you have your American acting even more idiotic than he should be in order to establish the differences of culture. Sure, I don’t expect him to know Japanese etiquette, but demanding your money to a guy whose still grieving over the loss of his son is a bit insensitive, no? I always hate that in ALL of these movies, they always make the protagonist act like a complete dolt in order to establish the cultural differences. It’s poor writing. You'd think writing cultural clashes would be easier........

2) Naturally, he will fall in love with the (only) cute girl of the tribe for some obscure reason that makes little to no sense and she will fall in love with him for a reason that makes even less sense.

3) Naturally, there will be a rival for her affections, who will constantly scowl at the stupid ‘foreigner’ and try to surpass him in everything but will come to respect him in the end.

4) Naturally, the foreigner will become a leader of the people in some way or form, mastering their lifestyle despite having significantly less experience than everyone else….because you know, white people are awesome that way.

5) Naturally, the protagonist will talk crap about the culture…….especially if a friend is wounded or killed.

That’s the problem with “The Challenge”. This whole story is so familiar that it creates a feeling of deju vu. In fact, these stories are mostly the same but with different settings. Unless you’ve seen “The Challenge” prior to the others, it will be hard NOT to make comparisons. Beyond that, the script offers little substance and even fails to resolve some of its subplots. It leaves too many questions hanging. However, I did love the absurd finale, which was pretty crazy in a ridiculous kind of way.

Frankenheimer, an accomplished director, doesn’t really add much to the proceedings, which might be a good thing. He does add some B-movie moments(some of the death scenes are hilarious), but he also has a few really good scenes. I did like the bamboo forest and the fight scenes are actually……..pretty good. In fact, in terms of American martial arts, “The Challenge” offers some of the better swordplay I’ve seen…….especially at the time.

“The Challenge” is just………..unremarkable. That’s all I can say about it. The script is standard, the direction is standard……….even the lead actors are obviously phoning it in. With that said, I liked Scott Glenn and especially Toshiro Mifune, even if they're barely trying. They kept the movie afloat and when the story or direction felt uninspired, at least these men kept me from losing interest. Otherwise, “The Challenge” is a mediocre film that has gained notable notoriety for being so damn hard to find. If it ever gets re-released, after everyone has seen it once, no one will care….

Violence: Rated R worthy. It is a pretty violent and a few times, even gory, movie.

Nudity: There is a sex scene with some nudity.

Overall: If you can find it for free or cheap and are a big Mifune completest such as myself, go ahead and give it a look. DO NOT PAY A LOT OF MONEY FOR IT THOUGH!

2/4 Stars



my reviews of martial arts and horror films
http://freewebs.com/martialhorror



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