Wasabi is an ambitious, mindless action-comedy, written by Luc Besson, starring Jean Reno and a bunch of unknown actors, most of which are pretty annoying.
The story revolves around a French cop, Hubert, who finds out he has a daughter and goes to Japan to take care of her. Shortly after, Hubert, his daughter Yumi and his colleague Maurice are being chased by angry mobs, without knowing why.
The high budget doesn't repair any bad part of the storyline. Thankfully, Wasabi is fast paced which is the thing that saves it from being a complete disaster and quite possibly, the worst action film of the 00s. All characters are dull and simply, do not fit into the whole thing. Reno's supposed "hilarious" lines are often a waste of time. The "good guy" is too boring this time. Apart from the first scene, the rest of his on screen presence is pail and highly forgettable. Reno is a good actor, but the character he plays is simply uninteresting and childish.
Wasabi, for my surprise, is violent and impudent for such an ordinary action flick, appreciated only by kids, tired of Adam Sandler and Eddie Murphy. Lots of action scenes, blood, dead bodies - completely unbalanced plot following. The comedy element is noticeable, only because of the lack of dramatic themes. Terrible humor, terrible dialog.
However, Wasabi is a modernized action, with impressive special effects, entertaining stunts and big name under the "Screnwritter" column. It deserves some points for that.
As I said, the acting is horrid. The Asian girl, who plays Reno's daughter is almost unbearable. The so called villains are unintentionally funny, completely separated from character individuality that some viewers still expect, even from action films.
Besson himself said "Jean Reno is an incredible actor. I have watched him in great roles, but I also have seen him in pretty bad roles". Too bad, that great director didn't know that right there, he was reviewing one of his own creations since the script and the dialog are two of Wasabi's biggest flaws.
The story revolves around a French cop, Hubert, who finds out he has a daughter and goes to Japan to take care of her. Shortly after, Hubert, his daughter Yumi and his colleague Maurice are being chased by angry mobs, without knowing why.
The high budget doesn't repair any bad part of the storyline. Thankfully, Wasabi is fast paced which is the thing that saves it from being a complete disaster and quite possibly, the worst action film of the 00s. All characters are dull and simply, do not fit into the whole thing. Reno's supposed "hilarious" lines are often a waste of time. The "good guy" is too boring this time. Apart from the first scene, the rest of his on screen presence is pail and highly forgettable. Reno is a good actor, but the character he plays is simply uninteresting and childish.
Wasabi, for my surprise, is violent and impudent for such an ordinary action flick, appreciated only by kids, tired of Adam Sandler and Eddie Murphy. Lots of action scenes, blood, dead bodies - completely unbalanced plot following. The comedy element is noticeable, only because of the lack of dramatic themes. Terrible humor, terrible dialog.
However, Wasabi is a modernized action, with impressive special effects, entertaining stunts and big name under the "Screnwritter" column. It deserves some points for that.
As I said, the acting is horrid. The Asian girl, who plays Reno's daughter is almost unbearable. The so called villains are unintentionally funny, completely separated from character individuality that some viewers still expect, even from action films.
Besson himself said "Jean Reno is an incredible actor. I have watched him in great roles, but I also have seen him in pretty bad roles". Too bad, that great director didn't know that right there, he was reviewing one of his own creations since the script and the dialog are two of Wasabi's biggest flaws.