The interest of this movie was two fold for the Japanese. First they wanted to see good fight scenes, two the movie explored what post apocalyptic world would look like in Japan. For this reason, the movie lacks universal appeal as it deals with lores (For instance, Takemikazuchi is a name of ancient god that appears in Japanese history) and interest that have meaning only to the people living in Japan.
This is the movie that catapulted the career of actor Yumiko Shaku. She has a nack for sci-fi movies, which is rare for a female actor. So the movie did make some impact on the audiences in Japan.
Where this movie failed was they didn't have good actors playing the antagonists, and because of this, many fight scenes became who cares if these guys lives or dies. Supporting casts are pretty non descript also, and didn't make the story interesting. Only one who conveyed realism was Yumiko Shaku, and probably that's why she's still in demand, whereas the others just faded away.
I also didn't care much for Donny Yuen's fight choreography. His purely physical action works for him, but it's rather dry when others tries to do the same.
So this movie ultimately boils down to Yumiko Shaku. Watch it if you're her fan.
This is the movie that catapulted the career of actor Yumiko Shaku. She has a nack for sci-fi movies, which is rare for a female actor. So the movie did make some impact on the audiences in Japan.
Where this movie failed was they didn't have good actors playing the antagonists, and because of this, many fight scenes became who cares if these guys lives or dies. Supporting casts are pretty non descript also, and didn't make the story interesting. Only one who conveyed realism was Yumiko Shaku, and probably that's why she's still in demand, whereas the others just faded away.
I also didn't care much for Donny Yuen's fight choreography. His purely physical action works for him, but it's rather dry when others tries to do the same.
So this movie ultimately boils down to Yumiko Shaku. Watch it if you're her fan.
