Wasabi (2001)

This high-energy Dirty Harry in Japan stars Jean Reno (The Professional) as a maverick Paris cop with sledgehammer fists and a short temper. Promoted to sudden fatherhood when he "inherits" a spunky Japanese daughter (Ryoko Hirosue) he never knew, he becomes her droopy guardian angel, protecting her from an army of yakuza gangsters. Written and produced by Luc Besson, the former fashionista director of Euro-sleek shoot-'em-ups, this colorful B-movie blast is as gritty as an oil slick on a water slide but packed with explosive action. Director Gerard Krawczyk punctuates his gunfights with the Hong Kong school of recoil (bullets blast victims across the screen) and an undercurrent of humor. As long as you don't lean too hard on such niggling details as logic, legality, and the laws of physics, this silly, splashy, family bonding bulletfest is a spirited good time. --Sean Axmaker Amazon.com

Probably Reno's best non-English film

I remember seeing this movie on pay per view TV once and being awestruck by it. Now that I've seen it again, I've come to appreciate it more. It helps that I think Jean Reno is a marvelous actor, regardless of the kind of Hollywood crap he appears in these days (Da Vinci Code, the American Godzilla movie, the Rollerball remake).

The plot is a little cliched (character realizes he has a long-lost relative), and the additional element of the character traveling to Japan and experiencing culture shock is also a mild cliche, but the other elements of the film overcome this. This film almost never takes itself seriously, from the action scenes that last less than a minute to the film's terrific ending, which I refuse to spoil.

For the most part, Reno puts on a good performance, although he delivers his lines in a slight monotone. Michel Muller is the source of most of the film's humour (including a scene where Reno and Muller both try wasabi, with heavily varying reactions), and the other actors are generally good.

If you're looking for a snappy, self-mocking action film, this is definitely worth checking out. However, I recommend watching the movie in the original French with subtitles, as some of the voices in the dub are horrendous. August 8, 2008

Another Besson action-comedy

This story of French cop, Hubert (Jean Reno), who travels to Japan following the death of his former lover and discovers a 19 year-old daughter he never knew he had is not Luc Besson's finest movie (Besson wrote the script of this movie, but did not direct it), but it is entertaining enough and Reno is always worth watching. The tone of the script is very much along the lines of Besson's action-comedy, "Taxi", with elements of "Leon - the Professional" thrown in. This film does not take itself too seriously and there are some fun action set-pieces along the way (the fight scene at the golf range is particularly notable), although the film could have been improved by an increase in the number of these action scenes. Overall, I see this film as Besson-light (much like "Bandidas"). The comedy isn't as fine-tuned as Besson's best comedies and the action isn't up to the same standard as his best action films, but it is still better than a lot of the action-comedies that are around and worth the price of purchase. June 7, 2008

Love this movie

I really enjoyed this movie, and have been looking for the soundtrack for years! Will say this though--it's better to watch with the subtitles, with the original actors' voices. Jean Reno does his voice in the dubbed version though so if all you can find is the dubbed version, it's still a great movie. April 24, 2008

Wasabi...Very Hot

I am a major Jean Reno fan. I think Wasabi is one of his best works, I rented it on VHS, then bought a used copy at Blockbuster on VHS and finally decided it was time to upgrade it to DVD. It is a thoughly entertaining movie, and on a par with "Just Visiting". It is one of the real show cases of Reno's comedic/action talent. For several years now "Wasabi" is one of the standard videos I show people at video get togethers at our home. March 16, 2008

Great Movie

An excellent combination of comedy and action,
Jean Reno is great in this film March 9, 2008

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