Versus (Director's Cut)

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Versus (Director's Cut)

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Review Date: 2009-06-18
Zombies. Escaped convicts. Mobsters. An ancient battle between two men. And a forest that seemingly grants eternal life... one way or another.

More questions than answers are raised in the oblique, shifting storyline of the cult hit "Versus," since director Ryûhei Kitamura seems intent on winding eerie, bizarre plot twists all around the seemingly simple plot. It has plenty of gore, fighting and a brilliant debut performance by Tak Sakaguchi -- as well as a timeless battle between good and evil that apparently lasts throughout multiple reincarnated lives. And we're not quite sure which is which.

According to the movie, there are 666 portals concealed in this world, which connect to the "other side." One of these is in Japan, called the Forest of Resurrection -- which apparently is connected to a long ago priest and samurai's fight.

Present day: Prisoner KSC2-303 (Sakaguchi) and his fellow escapee are met near the Forest by a gang of mobsters, but the already-tense atmosphere rapidly degenerates into a bloody war. And then dead bodies start getting up and savagely attacking people. The prisoner escapes with a mysterious girl (Chieko Misaka) whom the mobsters had been ordered to bring there -- he's compelled to protect her, and she seems strangely familiar to him.

The mobsters pursue the girl and the prisoner into the Forest, intending to kill them both -- but the prisoner and their crazy leader both cause even more deaths... and more gun-toting bloodthirsty zombies. So what exactly is going on here? Apparently a neverending battle throughout the centuries in this very Forest, over a young woman with a mysterious power -- and it brings Prisoner KSC2-303 up against an ancient enemy (Hideo Sakaki) whom he's fought in endless prior incarnations.

"Versus" is one of those movies you should watch at least twice -- a lot of its cryptic twists and eerie explanations fly over your head on the first viewing, and you're likely to not really understand the underlying plot. While it's a cool horror/action flick on the surface, it becomes even more than that as the story of the Man versus the Prisoner is slowly unpeeled like the layers of an onion. Flashbacks, hints of familiarity, and a brilliant twist ending that turns everything upside down.

If there's a problem with "Versus," it's that many of the questions raised are left unanswered -- while some are best left to the imagination, others are just headscratchers.

And Ryûhei Kitamura does a great job directing, with lots of gritty action, circling cameras and sharp jagged cuts from down on the ground. He also liberally slathers the entire movie in vast gushers of blood, dismembered body parts (Sakaguchi bisects a guy in the first scene), and savage fights with guns, swords and fists.Tak Sakaguchi spins through the movie with savage grace like a blood-spattered ballet dancer, and he manages to make constant mayhem and destruction look easy and uncomplicated.

And Kitamura gives the whole movie a certain gruesome sense of humor -- there's a knife-swinging mobster who is absolutely cackling-bugnuts, and the zombies produce plenty of over-the-top gore. And Sakaguchi has a brilliantly tongue-in-cheek scene where he strips off a dead man's clothes, and poses coolly in a long sweeping leather coat (while the girl tells him, "You're crazy!").

This was only Sakaguchi's first movie role, but the gorgeous guy handles it beautifully -- he's all cool, sharp-eyed intensity, and manages to hint that there's something strange underneath the callous criminal exterior. Sakaki has an equally dangerous, lean vibe as the mysterious Man who serves as the prisoner's counterpart, and Misaka holds her own as a psychic damsel who is trying to stay afloat in a situation where nobody can be fully trusted.

"Versus" is a brilliantly layered, twisting tale with plenty of gore, dismemberment and razor-sharp action scenes -- and if it didn't leave some of its questions unanswered, it would be the perfect cult flick. Definitely catch this one.

User: E. A Solinas
Rating:
Summary: One versus another
Helpful Votes: 0
Total Votes: 0
Review Date: 2009-06-02
The movie did not meet my expectations. Was excited to receive it after reading reviews, but fell short of what I expected. Not best quality, acting, nor fighting scenes. Fell asleep first time I tried to watch it; ended up giving it away. Not worth the money. Shinobi is a far better movie.

User: Mmatt
Rating:
Summary: Less than what expected
Helpful Votes: 0
Total Votes: 0
Review Date: 2009-04-25
I won't bore you with all the details that others have pored over, but know this. To rate a foreign film based on watching the DUBBED audio track is idiocy. You cannot judge a Japanese film based on the American actors inability to emote. And having seen MANY versions of this film, both domestic and overseas releases, I can say it is NOT CUT, NOT EDITED, NOT an R-Rated Version as some reviewers seem to think. This is the longest, cleanest, and frankly most violent version of the movie to date. If you want a copy of VERSUS in your library, buy this one.

User: C. DONALDSON II
Rating:
Summary: GREAT TRANSFER OF A GREAT MOVIE
Helpful Votes: 0
Total Votes: 0
Review Date: 2009-03-27
If you're into martial arts comic style things made into movies, you'll dig this. It's not the best one out there of it's kind but it's definitely worth checking out and having in your collection.

User: Elizabeth Rivera
Rating:
Summary: yeah it's actually good.
Helpful Votes: 0
Total Votes: 0
Review Date: 2008-07-24
whoa, what a fun movie, for fans of Takashi Miike's stuff, or over the top Asian cinema in general should check this one out. essentially it follows an escaped convict trying to initially cut a deal with the mob to aid his escape, but when things go wrong and people start getting shot, things get weird. the first dead body stands back up, only to be filled with about 50 bullets before falling back to the ground.

the chaos begins when our main character, a feminist, was introduced to the female hostage. after multiple warnings the gangsters wouldnt release her. after all hell breaks loose, the chase through the forest begins, and gradually our hero and the girl begin to regain their memory, and their place in a much bigger picture.

acting wasnt horrible, although pretty over the top. camera work was decent. the gore effects were awsome for the most part. the story was interesting but could've been explained much better. basically, if you want a non stop blood bath of carnage with too many guns, samurai swords, and body parts to count, then check out this movie immediately!

User: Raul Duke
Rating:
Summary: a little Ichi the Killer and a little Izo, with a dash of cheese
Helpful Votes: 4
Total Votes: 5