Henry's Asylum

Oh Ricky

I like martial arts films. I’ve been a fan since the days when my high school friends and I would take the el (elevated train) from the Bronx, transfer to the subway and head on down to 42nd and Times Square to catch the latest Bruce Lee flick. We all began studying various forms of martial arts at the time and my friend, Paul, even went on to own his own martial arts school and became something of a celebrity in the field of Tai Chi Chuan. Back then, you didn’t have the “wire-fu” productions that have since become (rightfully so) so popular, here, in the United states (finally!). Bruce Lee was great, I’ll grant you – but none of his films were any match for a spectacle like “Hero”. Sometimes change is a good thing.

Sometimes, it’s not.

Enter “RIKI OH the Story of Ricky”.
I had heard a lot about this film. Mostly, that it consisted of an over-the-top, cartoon-ish approach to the martial arts genre. The story revolves around a young martial arts master who is sent to prison for killing an opium dealer. The opium dealer had kidnapped Ricky’s girlfriend and to get away, she decided that the most intelligent thing to do would be to leap to her death from the building she was held captive in. Yes, that’s exactly what I would do. When faced with a threat, one should always consider jumping off a building.
Anyway, while in prison (which appears to be privately owned), Ricky becomes involved in a conflict with the evil warden (of course) and his “gang of four” (martial arts masters – of course). It seems, not only is ridiculous brutality used to control inmates, but the prison itself is an opium factory. Ricky, being the valiant hero, takes exception to this. This is when all the “fun” begins. There are no words to describe the level of violence depicted. Personally, I love a violent film. I’ve always been that way. But seriously, strangling your opponent with your own intestines? Alrighty, then. We also have the infamous “head crushing” scene shown on “The Daily Show”. Yowza! I’ll admit, the scene where a blow from a fist punches in somebody’s skull shown in “x-ray vision” is pretty cool, but most of it just had me staring in stunned disbelief. As the movie draws to a conclusion, the violence escalates to a point where I just had to stop and say, “What the hell is this?” This movie is in a class all by itself. Some movies are just plain repulsive. But others can keep you glued to your seat in shock until you realize you’ve just spent a couple of hours looking at something you had no intention of wasting your time on . Bravo Ricky!

Next up "Singapore Sling"

posted by hbrennan @ 4:40 PM