Ricky-Oh: The Story of Ricky (1991) * Weird And Wacky * * Caution Films *

Nowhere near as exciting as kicking a dog in half in midair...

Genre: Action Crime Fantasy Horror (Hong Kong, Japan)

Starring: Siu-Wong Fan (Supercop 2), Mui Sang Fan

Directed By: Ngai Kai Lam

Overview: Poor sensitive Ricky Ho doesn't like what privatization has done to the penal system. With corrupt guards and wardens, his unique and ultra-powerful Kung-Fu comes through to save the day! (Or does it?)

Acting: This is going to be hard. It's one of those kinds of films where it has to be bad to be good. The overdubbing really seems to help, especially when stuff is lost in translation. Always a resounding laugh or a confused laugh, or a sarcastic laugh, you'll be laughing at the melodrama of all these guys.
Rating: 7

Cinematography: The look is nastee, with big empty minimalist scenes inside a jail, terrible costumes and low budget look, however GORE GALORE! And that end sequence? Holy moley, splashing cannoli. The gore and the fight scenes more than makes up for what the camera sees. You know actually the camera work itself was not too shabby.
Rating: 7

Script: Oh my, my, my. What to say about poorly translated overdubbed dialogue that is so poorly written that the bad becomes good? Just that I guess. Such inhuman motivations, just juxtaposition of human nature from literally one second to the next? You have to revel in it, bathe in the mire of terribility. If you do, grasshopper, you will be enlightened.
Rating: 7

Plot: The story on the other hand, is what it's all about. Ricky cries out against injustice and when we find out there a Warden, an assistant and a guard for each wing (N,E,S,W), we know in the first 10 minutes who's gonna get it and in which order. There's something to be said about a predictability as comforting as meat loaf and apple pie, it's like you think, "Ok I don't need to guess, I'm just ready for it!" But you know what? There twists! Sorta. Awesome. Seriously.
Rating: 8

Mood: The fact that these people are overzealous caricatures right out of terrible (read: Giant Robo) Anime makes it that much better. It's like they took Japanimation, made it live action but it didn't suck ass like Mark Hamel's The Guyver. *shudder*. Honestly, the gore then end, the characters, it's almost like a low budge Sin City, all cliquey and hyper-cult specific. If you like it, you'll love it. If you don't you won't.
Rating: 9

"YOU WILL TAKE STEAK RARE!"

Overall Rating: 76% (The Story is a Good One)

Aftertaste: There's a guy in the movie who kicks a dog in half, for no reason but to stuff dog meat in Ricky's air tube. Poor Ricky! You will prevail! I will never forget this movie.

Ever.

And I'd watch it again, for sure.