View Larger Image

Versus (Special Edition) Director: Ryuhei Kitamura Number of Items: 2 Format: Color, DTS Surround Sound Audience Rating: Unrated Studio: Media Blasters, Inc Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2003-08-19 Buy from Amazon

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 93 Average rating: 3.5 "Moderate and Disappointing" It sounds cool. The DVD has a neato cover. It has a neat name. It's made by the Japanese (which already brings me to attention, I love Japanese films). But sadly, Versus ended up being nothing but pulp. From its start I had a bad feeling, as I saw the first of many canted angles that the director was using to cover up the fact that its characters aren't imposing enough in reality. The entire film is like a single scene in a video game. Now, don't get me wrong, movies that emulate video games can turn out excellent. Versus however, never lets itself off the ground to supply a story to go with that video game. We begin on two escaped convicts who are running from their captors and end up in a beautiful forest. They meet up with a group of Yakuza gangsters who have kidnapped a girl and continuously insist that our main convict (I'll call him the Hero, because his name is never mentioned, and I still don't know it) and the girl must be kept alive because of anonymous "orders". Then the zombies appear from some lame plot device and then the plot vanishes. And there's a bad guy in there somewhere. While totally banal and pointless, the film does do a good job with its real purpose, making good action sequences, of which there are many. The film has some absolutely incredible action stunts and fight sequences, and some cool-ass cliches that are so snazzy that you laugh with girth. The movie is also chock full of "bishonen", or hot, pretty guys, to satisfy any girl's attraction. While including some fun shots and a few cool moments, they number 1 in 10, and so the movie still tanks. There is one thing it proves, though. Even through the banality of the movie, it still proves that the Japanese are the coolest people on Earth. "Hilarious!" This movie is so cheezy, it is hilarious! The over-dramatized actors and stupid plot make this the Japaneese version of Army of Darkness. I laughed through the whole movie! "don't believe the hype" lemme begin by saying that i love every movie this movie has been referenced to by writers on this site. i am a diehard evil dead fan and love tarentino films. this movie is like neither. don't get me wrong, it's not a bad movie, just diffrent than you'd expect from what this site is saying. this movie is long and a tad boring, and unlike movies like evil dead, it isn't funny because it is trying to be bad, it's funny because it's trying to be good and fails horribly. like almost all japanese horror films this movie involves the japanese mafia. and like all movie reperesentations of the japanese mafia, there is usually one really feminine member who is annoying as can be and you hope that he gets eaten by zombies first. then, like most japanese movies, the girls get absolutely no respect whatsoever. in this movie even the protagonist (an ash wannabe) punches the girl in the face to shut her up. and o yea, the zombies know kung fu and have guns. i think that's against zombie ordinance 55, ya know, the rule that says "thou shalt not make zombies able to work guns or turn door nobs". it's not that i don't recommend this movie, if you know what kinda movie you're in for then by all means go for it, but if you've been told that it's resovoir dogs and evil dead combined, you've been lied to. "Stylish But That's About It!" I liked this movie but for all the wrong reasons. The style of the characters particularly the martial arts sequences and even gun battles against a horde of undead were done very well. However the presentation seemed flat. It didn't feel like I was watching a zombie movie. Felt more like I was watching a Tokyo Pop video or something about the Yakuza. There are of course Yakuza types in this movie but they aren't exactly the bright kind. The zombies were done okay but it would've been nice if there were some of the undead showed more advanced signs of decay. But I am just being picky here. It's an okay film but I would rent it first. "VERSUS DIRECTOR HAS SINCE DONE BETTER!" VERSUS was a good start, but since this movie, he has directed a much better film - AZUMI. Versus was a warm-up compared to Azumi. Where Versus lacked in storyline and character development, as well as better action, AZUMI picks up and runs away with it! But he has yet to reach his peak, however. AZUMI, though better than Versus by far, still has some way to go. But he is surely getting there.