"Blind fury" is a perfect example of a movie that could be very awful in the hands of wrong people . Thankfully , Australian director Phillip Noyce ( known for "Dead calm" , " Patriot games " and "Bone collector") is a solid craftsman . He doesn't turn the movie into "so bad , it's good" kind of movie , but tries to make this movie as good as possible.
How could a movie featuring Rutger Hauer as a blind swordsman be anything but gloriously entertaining? Loosely based on the Japanese samurai movie, "Zatoichi Challenged", the humorous, action-packed tone of "Blind Fury" is vaguely akin to a Hong Kong flick – in fact, it's the sort of vehicle Jackie Chan would have excelled at in his prime, with its numerous scenes of slapstick action, and its lead character's habit of "accidentally" injuring his hapless opponents. Here , Rutger Hauer plays a blind Vietnam veteran - Nick Parker who also knows how to use a sword. His friend and friend's family got trouble with mafia, so Nick must help them.
Sounds cheesy , right ? "Blind fury" seems to fall into B-class movie category , but still manages to be a good movie. This movie has got brains , humor and (what is surprising) a heart. Noyce was able to convince a viewer that blind man with sword is able to defeat mafia . The movie doesn't take itself too seriously , there are plenty jokes , especially the ones about Nick's injury. Creators of the movie obviously had ironic distance to whole story. Despite that there were able to involve viewer EMOTIONALLY to the story .
The friendship between Nick and Frank is done good , but the relationship between Nick and Billy ( Frank's son ) is done simply great. The ending to the movie is one of my favourite movie endings of all time . I'm always crying at the end and that is a a big achievement for a B-class movie.
Acting is very decent . No performances worthy an Oscar , but Rutger Hauer is great as Nick Parker . He makes his character very human - funny , lonely , brave and honorable. He isn't a one dimensional tough guy , but someone who could exist in real life (just like John McClane from "Die hard"). It was also nice to see Randall "Tex Cobb" as one of the bad guys.
There is some good music here . The main theme is quite funny and very memorable , just like the dialogue.
Overall , I recommend "Blind fury" . I give it 6/10 . Give it a shot . You might be pleasantly surprised.
How could a movie featuring Rutger Hauer as a blind swordsman be anything but gloriously entertaining? Loosely based on the Japanese samurai movie, "Zatoichi Challenged", the humorous, action-packed tone of "Blind Fury" is vaguely akin to a Hong Kong flick – in fact, it's the sort of vehicle Jackie Chan would have excelled at in his prime, with its numerous scenes of slapstick action, and its lead character's habit of "accidentally" injuring his hapless opponents. Here , Rutger Hauer plays a blind Vietnam veteran - Nick Parker who also knows how to use a sword. His friend and friend's family got trouble with mafia, so Nick must help them.
Sounds cheesy , right ? "Blind fury" seems to fall into B-class movie category , but still manages to be a good movie. This movie has got brains , humor and (what is surprising) a heart. Noyce was able to convince a viewer that blind man with sword is able to defeat mafia . The movie doesn't take itself too seriously , there are plenty jokes , especially the ones about Nick's injury. Creators of the movie obviously had ironic distance to whole story. Despite that there were able to involve viewer EMOTIONALLY to the story .
The friendship between Nick and Frank is done good , but the relationship between Nick and Billy ( Frank's son ) is done simply great. The ending to the movie is one of my favourite movie endings of all time . I'm always crying at the end and that is a a big achievement for a B-class movie.
Acting is very decent . No performances worthy an Oscar , but Rutger Hauer is great as Nick Parker . He makes his character very human - funny , lonely , brave and honorable. He isn't a one dimensional tough guy , but someone who could exist in real life (just like John McClane from "Die hard"). It was also nice to see Randall "Tex Cobb" as one of the bad guys.
There is some good music here . The main theme is quite funny and very memorable , just like the dialogue.
Overall , I recommend "Blind fury" . I give it 6/10 . Give it a shot . You might be pleasantly surprised.