'High-Kick Girl' review by MartialHorror

Source: http://freewebs.com/mhhkg

Please check out the site!

HIGH-KICK GIRL(2009)
(Directed by Fuyuhiko Nishi)

"Well, at the absolute least, the movie delivers what the title offers."- Signed by MartialHorror.

Plot: A schoolgirl who happens to be a skilled karate fighter is dragged into a feud between her Master and his old foes.

Review:

Not too long ago, I called Tony Jaa's “Ong Bak 2” arguably the best example of martial arts in a film that I've ever seen. This was in direct contrast to the actual movie, which was kind of a mess. Sure, it had good camerawork, but the script.........I'm convinced there was no script.....and the acting......I'm convinced there was no acting. Especially when you consider that Tony Jaa was going insane while making the film, he probably had that sullen look on his face the whole time. But that was all fine, as the martial arts on display were amazing. “High-Kick Girl” is sort of like that to a lesser degree, except it makes different mistakes and the fight scenes aren't as good. But it is shorter, has better acting and a better pacing.

Kei Tsuchiya(Rina Takeda) is already skilled in the art of karate, despite being in high school. The problem is, she's kind of a bitch. She's a bully who goes around, finding strong karate experts, beating the crap out of them and taking their black belts. She usually badmouths them too in the process, even if they do surprisingly well against her. Yet despite her abilities, her kata skills aren't quite up to par, so she can't achieve her black belt. She wants to prove herself to her sensei, Matsumura(Tatsuya Naka), who treats her like he does the rest of his students. But when she gets an offer to join a group known as the Destroyers, she makes a mistake in taking up with them. They are a group of well trained martial artists, and they have a deep grudge against her sensei. He now has to save her and together, they must kick ass.

Thanks to Tony Jaa and the UFC, more realistic martial arts are becoming more popular. Unfortunately, they were only popular for cult fans. For the U.S, we got “Blood and Bone” and “Undisputed 3”. For Japan, they got “Black Belt” and “High-Kick Girl”. “Black Belt” is a superb martial arts venture, amazing because it made karate look stylish and good. It's not that karate sucks or anything, it just doesn't usually look good on film. Only Sonny Chiba and his group seemed to use it and even then, it was usually combined with kung fu. “High-Kick Girl” follows in the steps of “Black Belt”, offering realistic yet stylish karate fight scenes. To enjoy the movie, you HAVE To enjoy these fight scenes, because that's really all you're going to get.

The fight scenes come fast and they come often. There are no wires, only skill. The choreography is excellent and it's often obvious they are really hitting each-other(one guy looks like he even got smashed in the nose). I'm sure there were a lot of injuries on set. As time goes on, we get to see more outlandish fight scenes, like when Matsumura fights people with various styles. It made me happy. There is also a really cool battle between the heroine and a group of schoolgirls. There is something edgy and graceful about the fight scenes. Some people have complained about the fight choreography, but the problem tends to be with the directing.

Fuyuhiko Nishi reeks of inexperience. Luckily for him, most of the movie is fight choreography(which he's used too), so his inexperience can often be overlooked(by me). Most people tend to complain about the unrestrained use of slow motion. That actually didn't bother me, sometimes even pleasing me. However, sometimes it did break up the action- as it's usually done when repeating a scene so we can see the actual hit- and worse, the editing sometimes felt choppy. Sometimes you'll think they're repeating the scene in slow motion, but it's a new scene and it looks odd. This also makes for some noticeable continuity errors. One scene has a character look like they're about to punch but it cuts to them striking them over the head. It's as if Nishi didn't realize that scenes often had multiple takes and he just failed to tie them in together. Someone also needs to teach the guy that sound effects are important. The punches all connect, but the lack of a 'thump' is noticeable(whether it's more realistic or not). The most distracting sequence is when Matsumura fights some chick with a chain weapon. Whenever she attacks, we don't hear any kind of a 'woosh' or anything. It just makes the scene come across as limp. A few fight scenes have an irritating blur that ruined them(the waterfall fight, for example) and one villain was hyped up a lot, only to be beaten quickly. He also screams like a little girl, but at least that was kind of funny.

The film tries to have substance and succeeds to a degree. A main theme is kata's significance in karate. This is a theme I feel that needs to be explored more. It also might reflect the intrusion of Mixed Martial Arts schools, which only teach you how to fight but don't help improve character or anything. The film also tries to make our heroine a little sympathetic at times due to her relationship with a high school boy. She's a bully, but this is curbed slightly by her friendship with this kid, who strikes me as the kind who would be bullied himself. These little touches kept me interested, but they weren't the films focuses. “High-Kick Girl” exists only to please purist martial arts fans. If you want anything else, stay clear. Hell, I can't even guarantee you'll like the fight scenes, but I did. I was happy in general, impressed with the fight scenes and never getting bored. I will pay attention to what the cast and crew pull off in the future.

Violence: PG-13 worthy. Pretty brutal at times but nothing severe.

Nudity: None. Strangely, one character states he sees Kei's panties. But when you see her undergarments, she looks like she's wearing either spandex or bloomers. Whoops.

Overall: Watch “High-Kick Girl” if you're into kick ass fight scenes, and nothing more. It's one of those movies I can't guarantee you'll like, but purists should watch anyway just in case they do like it.

3/4 Stars


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