Wasabi
R
2002
**1/2 out of ****

I have been on a bit of a Jean Reno kick - in fact, right after I finish this review I’ll be writing one for “The Empire of the Wolves”, and I have more Reno movies coming from Netflix.

Premise: French cop Hubert (who has been reprimanded again and again for his tendency to throw punches when working) gets a surprise call from an attorney from Tokyo telling him that his long lost love has died and left him the sole legetee of her will - and guardian of she and Hubert’s nineteen year old daughter - the daughter Hubert didn’t know existed. Needless to say, Hubert hops on the next flight to Tokyo and into a mess of trouble - organized crime, $200,000 in stolen money, and shopping trips with his nineteen year old daughter.

This is an action comedy. There was nothing about this movie that was meant to be taken seriously. And it is hilarious! It’s actually kind of hard to review - it wasn’t a good movie, but it was definitely fun. Ridiculous, over the top, and fun. Taken for what it is, it’s wonderful, and if you’re in the mood for a silly action movie definitely pick this up. And actually, now that I think about it, I’m not quite sure why it’s rated ‘R’ - there are some shoot-em-up scenes, but no blood/gore. You’ve seen much worse in many a ‘PG-13′ movie.

The highlight of this movie is without a doubt Jean Reno. There is just something totally appealing about that actor, and his character was highly amusing. ^_^ Susprisingly the girl playing Yumi, his daughter, was entertaining as well. Skirting the edge of annoying, but not quite crossing over to the dark side. ^_^ The guy playing Reno’s sidekick was pretty obnoxious, but it didn’t detract from the film too much.

There was nothing different, innovative, or amazing about this movie. It had all the usual elements of an action-comedy. Tired story, cardboard bad guys, semi-decent writing. And like most action-comedies, it totally relies on the charisma of it’s main characters to pull the movie through. Which of course, in this casem, worked admirably. ^_^

Anyway, that’s it. I’m done. ^_^ Rent this movie for good silly action entertainment.