Brightlyme
i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.
BoardChiri
Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay
Doomtomylo
a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
Catherina
If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.
xredgarnetx
The live action version of WICKED CITY is one big mess of a movie, as all sorts of monsters chase each other and an anti-monster squad pursues the various monsters. The special effects go from awful to awesome, and the acting is typical Hong Kong cheese whiz. Very little of it makes any sense, so what good special effects there are, are basically wasted. Maybe it makes sense to a Chinese audience, but an endless series of shots of a toy model of a commercial airliner being ridden (!) by various characters made absolutely no sense to this viewer. I will say the actress playing the lead female monster is one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen, and she has some nude and near-nude scenes that you'd never find in an equivalent American flick. But she alone is not worth seeing this abomination.
Bogey Man
Mak Tai-kit co-directed this adaptation of the Japanese anime with Tsui Hark. This HK live version stars Jacky Cheung, Leon Lai and Michelle Reis as Taki, Ken and Windy, the characters from the anime whose names have been slightly changed as well as many other things, too. The anime has plenty of sex and nudity and this (of course) lacks all those elements and concentrates more on action filled mayhem. The plot is so confusing I don't even try to describe it, but it is about those reptoids who live "in peace" with humans and now someone is trying to destroy this peace and inhabit the world for reptoids only.The action and mayhem-o-meter are as high as possible in this film. Still the story and plot are so hard to follow that it all looks little gratuitous, but maybe it is that way for Western eyes only. The cinematography and atmosphere created by blue and moody lightning is gorgeous and easily the greatest thing this film manages to give. The film bathes in this color and thus is very dark and takes place in night time only.The film tries to say something about humans and our way of fighting and destroying everything and that is of course a positive point in a film like this, but still they don't concentrate too much on these deeper elements and they look little unconvincing. Also the fears of year 1997 (the film was made in 1992) when HK was given back to China are clearly visible and the film can be easily seen as a dark and pessimistic future vision of HK as well as the whole world of human beings. There is content but there is much more plain battles, shoot outs, chases and spectacular effects and monsters, which are really something rarely seen in Western films, but still they're miles away from those of the original Japanese anime, which I recommend very warmly for those interested after this film or in general.
I give this live version "just" 6/10 because of its mad and confusing elements and lack of any deeper meaning but still it is recommended for fans of fast paced Hong Kong action and fantasy cinema, but don't expect another Heroic Trio!
Ntox40oz
What can you say? Explosive action, intriguing characters, combined with a plot line that travels at one-thousand miles per hour. Think of Wicked City as a souped up "Blade Runner." Strong sexual content make this film probably not a good flick for younger kids to view, but the action and visual artistry make this a must see for those 17 or older. If you live near a video store that is up to stuff in the animae department. I urge you to check this little gem out. You won't be disappointed. On a personnal note, I've always thought that with the amazing special effects now in Hollywood, a major studio should turn out a live-action version of this killer animae. Enjoy.
paul-195
The european video version of this film sucks. It boosts pathetic dubbing, and claims to be an "uncensored version" featuring "scenes never showed before", but I doubt this is true. For the film: it's incredibly dumb, has a very ugly production value, bad acting and has such an intense pace that you feel it could end any moment. And if it did, you couldn't give a **** about it. If you must watch it, fast-forward it to the cool scene in which a woman is transformed from an elevator into a motorcycle...