Rating: 3 / 10
Recommended for:
For those who are in the mood for a Shinkansen version of the Hollywood classic "SPEED" and/or want to catch glimpses of your favourite actors in the cast
* Potential spoilers ahead!
* Currently showing on Netflix
Liked:
- If you liked the Hollywood movie "SPEED" which featured Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock stuck on a bus which couldn't stop due to a bomb planted on it, this movie can be likened to a Shinkansen version of that film with even more lives at stake with the speed limit raised even higher. Since JR provided filming support, the reality factor was heightened and thus helped to accentuate the tension and intensity needed for such a movie.
Disliked:
- The positioning of this movie was a big issue. I don't know whether to classify this as a remake, sequel or refresh of the first movie in 1975 but there were a lot of references to the case in that movie. It may come across bewildering to people who are unaware of this link or have never watched that movie. To have them keep harping on that while assuming that viewers are in the know - I thought that was a bad move and didn't allow me to enjoy the movie on its own.
- The story was also very flat in that the ultimate motive for the bombing was somewhat "childish" and "trivial". I had also read comments from viewers about how this was comparatively small-scale and hard to empathize with vs. what was the motive in the first movie i.e. a thinly-veiled criticism towards the societal problems brought about by the period of high economic growth in Japan at that time. It also didn't help that because there were so many characters in this movie, there simply wasn't enough time to delve further into their personal circumstances, mentality or motivations behind their actions. As such, it was really difficult to identify with the criminals' motives.
- The information overload and technicalities involved in this movie was rather hard to stomach. To begin with, the number of characters and their positions, the places which the Shinkansen moved to and past as well as other trains involved in the rescue process were a lot to take in and the captions and subtitles flew by so fast that I had to rewind many times to read them. And when they got started with using the technical terms in the control centre, I pretty much lost track of the plot and decided not to try to make sense of how they were trying to manipulate the other trains to save the Shinkansen in question. Unless you are in the know, I think it's hard not to feel alienated by the amount of technical information overload here.
- While the cast did boast quite a number of credible actors including Non who hasn't been seen in many big productions ever since her dispute with her old agency, I think the movie just didn't offer these actors enough room to work with and that was a big pity.
No comments:
Post a Comment