Arahan (2004)

A Mediocre Imitation of Something Greater

The potentially interesting (although not entirely original) premise for this movie is not done many favors by the actual content. The often impressive action and hints of the character development and progression of a better movie are muddled into mediocrity by confused writing, unlikeable protagonists, and a cliché villain plot with few tangible stakes. And that's not even mentioning the usually abhorrent visual effects. I'm not usually one to dock a show for it's cgi, but it really trivializes the content, even more than it already is.

And really, that's one of the biggest flaws with this movie. One of the core concepts of the premise is that the "Seven Masters" have obtained many mystical abilities through their mastery of martial arts, and that these abilities can be taught to those with enough Qi. But from the beginning, the tone is confused. Initially, the concept and abilities are trivialized, used nonchalantly and played off for comedy. But later on, they are glorified and something to be used with great caution and responsibility. The Seven Masters (although there are only five, somewhat funnily) are viewed as both stereotypical bickering old people and also martial arts masters worthy of great respect. Having this sort of duality is something that can be pulled off, but it's not done effectively here, and the two sides only seem to detract from the other.

By far the biggest asset to the movie is the action: as it should be, for a martial arts movie. The choreography and stunts are for the most part very well done and extremely dynamic. The only problem is the story that contains them. Having great actions scenes is good, but to make them really impactful, you need tangible stakes, rising tension, and emotional investment from the characters. These things are all attempted by the story, but each falls flat in its own way. The stakes are far too grandiose and unexplored to be meaningful to the audience, the tension is messed with when the comic relief starts to detract from the main story, and our characters are too numerous and too unexplored to develop much attachment from the viewer. Even between the two protagonists (in what was likely supposed to be a romance subplot) there is pretty much no chemistry, meaning no investment when fighting for the other.

What I hoped would be the saving grace, was the protagonists. My initial impression was a guy with little skill but a good heart and unshakable morals. However this notion is contradicted time and again as he whines about training, disrespects his teachers and the privacy of others, and even considers fleeing at crucial plot points. It feels like a weak imitation of Karate Kid in a place where there shouldn't be one (keep in mind we're talking about a karate *kid*, who complained once and was done, versus our adult protagonist who never shut up). In fact, the whole training montage was done poorly in my opinion. What's more, there's very little character development, and perhaps he even gets worse from where he starts as the movie progresses. Towards the beginning of the movie, he is obsessed with learning the "Palm Blast" move so he can get stronger. Of course, we expect that by the end that he'll learn that martial isn't about just being strong. Instead, he just learns the Palm Blast move and that's that. Cool...

In summary, let me say this. My drive to continue and complete this movie was singular: the catharsis of a previously weak (but likeable) protagonist learning to be strong and proving his enemies wrong. If you're looking for that, turn back now. If you're looking for a good story, turn back now. If your looking for good characters, turn back now. If you're looking for comedy, you might be satisfied initially, but the story gets more serious very quickly, so I'd say turn back now. And finally, if you're looking for some solid actions scenes... well, I mean, you'll get those, you'd just probably be better off finding them in a better movie. So with that, overall, I will recommend against watching this movie.

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