So bad it was almost good... almost

Did you watch it dubbed or sub-titled? Sub-titles offers much better dialogue and the natural flow of Japanese sounds much better with regards to the characters.

Yeah, first of all, you've got to watch it in Japanese. And second.. watch it with a group of friends, so you can all laugh at it together. Because then it's just brilliant and one of the best movies ever.

same here... i felt that way too...the first time i watched it.

i remember hearinig so much about this movie and finally seeing it.....it was horrible.

then a month later i got bored and watched it again. strangely you notice some of the finer points second time around. i didnt start actually liking it til the 3rd time i watched it. after the 4th i was hooked. i dont see how anyone can like this the first time around, but you should give it another chance. if you dont, thats up to you and itll just be another closed view

Well... completely sober, followed this movie around and wondered what it was like for 2 years, sought it out, found it...

...LOVED IT.

Thing is, everything you've cited actually adds to the movie's value. It has the campiness of an absurd comedy flick, like The Master of All Martial Arts or Green Shirt Yakuza or Hysterical Runt. They make you burst out laughing... especially or specifically when you're watching it with someone. All alone it doesn't add up to much, it's a "company" flick!

The dialogue borders on the insane. A hero who claims he's a feminist and proceeds to slap the girl that tagged along around, a Yakuza member that isn't bothered or shocked by ANYTHING, a runt that mostly screams... good stuff.

The worst story ever... I'll have to disagree on that one. They tied it up nicely, it got the movie going, and wasn't any worse than your classical horror/zombie flicks.

One set for the entire movie - it serves its purposes. It isolates the characters further and makes room for the craziness to ensue smoothly, without having to add additional bystander reactions into the cut.

The budget of pocket change... wouldn't have it any other way.

The cast is incredible, and their acting is cutting-edge, since they are all acting in insane ways.

The production value, and camera angles - alright, I take issue with that. Does a movie HAVE TO BE "BLINGED OUT" to be good? Sure, "Mirrors" - great production value, does it make it a good flick? No. "VERSUS" is precisely about how amateur it is! Further, the camerawork is incredible. Take note of the Mexican standoff in the beginning, the camera does a 360 degree turn, while letting us know who does what (and nobody does much of anything). See?

Thing is, this movie isn't meant to be taken seriously. It's meant to be watched in the original Japanese (so as to catch the Green Shirt Yakuza's wierd sounds), with friends (never alone) and with a healthy sense of humor. Savvy?

True. It sucked. 3/10

"The camera angles sucked..."

Stop right there. If anybody wants to criticize this film for its lack of story, character development, etc., that's fine. Those aspects of the film clearly were not a priority. But if you're going to bitch about the camera work, then you've lost ALL your credibility.

The truth of the matter is when it comes to shooting style, Ryuhei Kitamura is one of the ballsiest directors in the world. Seriously. There are only two other directors I can think of that even compare to him in this area - Takashi Miike and Timur Bekmambetov.

So what, do you prefer the lame-ass conventional static camera, 2-shot, reaction shot, opposed reaction shot, cookie cutter BS? If so then continue to devour the horses--t Hollywood feeds you and get the hell out of here.

Okay. Now I'm going to do his teeth and cut off his fingers. You might want to leave room.

don't think you understood the movie, mang.

This is the worst movie I have ever seen. I cannot believe how poor the story was, the shoddiness of the action sequences etc. Yes, I watched the subtitled director's cut, original Japanese audio, etc. DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE!