The Inside Scoop on Gaming

The first film was a dark urban fantasy. Our heroines emerged hurt and bloodied, but they walked away triumphant. Things got much worse in the meantime. The nukes fell, and the city became something of a refuge amidst the post-nuke nightmare. All of the city's water fell to contamination, save one source controlled by the movie's villain- "The Black Knight". He wants power, or he cuts off the water supply.

You'd think our heroines would jump back into action, but no. Only Invisible Girl, who's not invisible anymore and works as a nurse in a Red Cross hospital, sees what must be done and desires to reunite. Wonder Woman (foolishly) promised her husband to never be a heroine again, and she's got a Scrappy Kid to raise; Thiefcatacher is just as mercenary as she always was, so she requires gold to get into the action. With this barring the way, you can tell that Things Must Go Wrong before our heroines get their acts together.

This time the subplots get spread out a little. More friends, loved ones, and innocents get killed in the course of opposing the evil forces of the Black Knight. (Death by Hammer Hand! Set up by the Rebellious Military! Death by Explosive Quarrel!) Wonder Woman spends most of her time in prison before finally remembering that she's a heroine; then she quickly busts out in a (surprisingly) bloodless display of cool and style. Thiefcatcher gets the romance subplot that's doomed to end tragically. Invisible Girl gets to be a goody-goody, and then she gets to go out with true melodramatic style.

This movie feels like a weird hybrid of Gamma World, Cyberpunk, and Feng Shui. So far as the plot's concerned, this is more of a gamer's movie than the first. Who hasn't seen or heard this before? ("I have control of the water! Surrender or die, puny mortal!") The villain, in addition to be horribly scarred, is a martial arts master with superhuman strength--he tosses cars around like stacked cordwood--and intelligence to match. He also has the attendant meglomania, and he's got the eunuch-like cackle. He's got an ambitious military commander for an ally, and he's made a puppet of the local religious leader.

Oh, and he's got an endless stream of mooks to throw at the heroes and their allies. You see them a lot after the coup against the president (who isn't specified), and it's funny to see CIA-types fight against military mooks. They're equally ruthless, so you're not quite sure who to root for until one of the villains or heroines arrives on the scene.

This movie reminded me of many a less-than-clear session wasted playing Rifts, TMNT, or Gamma World back in the day. You had a group of illogical characters in an illogical world using their powers in illogical manners during a struggle that you're best off not thinking too hard about. For KoDT readers, this movie will remind you of many stories where Something Went Wrong--usually when you saw "I waste it with my crossbow!"--and it quickly went downhill from there. (I swear that the whole "Run around guarding the decoy president." idea feels like a KoDT type of thing.)

The villains felt like a gaming session come to life. The Black Knight was Evil for Evil's Sake, before and after the expository bit that failed to explain why he was what he was. The film didn't try to do the same with his allies. The same applies to the mooks; they just do whatever they're told like the brainless cannon fodder that they were. The president and his men were no better, but at least they cared enough to not risk destroying the clean water.

How does it end? First, Thiefcatcher and her doomed lover (along with Wonder Woman's child) find a supply of clean water. They catch up to Wonder Woman when all three heroines meet at a church. Then the Black Knight arrives, and all three go at it. One dies to save the rest and end the villain's reign of terror. The rest limp away, saddened and weary. Much blood gets shed, much melodrama ensues, and all is safe once more for the people of the Unnamed (Post-Apocalyptic) City.

This is best reserved for Cheesy Movie Night with the gang. You'll enjoy it. It's not good, just entertaining. Go in with that idea, and you'll become a fan.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Executioners
Author: Johnny To/Ching Siu Tung (Co-Directors) Category: Motion Picture Company/Publisher: Century Pacific Entertainment/Tai Seng Video Marketing Line: n/a Cost: $19.95 (US) Page count: n/a ISBN: n/a SKU: 31883 Capsule Review by Bradford C. Walker on 08/17/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Conspiracy Post-apocalypse Asian/Far_East	The first film was a dark urban fantasy. Our heroines emerged hurt and bloodied, but they walked away triumphant. Things got much worse in the meantime. The nukes fell, and the city became something of a refuge amidst the post-nuke nightmare. All of the city's water fell to contamination, save one source controlled by the movie's villain- "The Black Knight". He wants power, or he cuts off the water supply. You'd think our heroines would jump back into action, but no. Only Invisible Girl, who's not invisible anymore and works as a nurse in a Red Cross hospital, sees what must be done and desires to reunite. Wonder Woman (foolishly) promised her husband to never be a heroine again, and she's got a Scrappy Kid to raise; Thiefcatacher is just as mercenary as she always was, so she requires gold to get into the action. With this barring the way, you can tell that Things Must Go Wrong before our heroines get their acts together. This time the subplots get spread out a little. More friends, loved ones, and innocents get killed in the course of opposing the evil forces of the Black Knight. (Death by Hammer Hand! Set up by the Rebellious Military! Death by Explosive Quarrel!) Wonder Woman spends most of her time in prison before finally remembering that she's a heroine; then she quickly busts out in a (surprisingly) bloodless display of cool and style. Thiefcatcher gets the romance subplot that's doomed to end tragically. Invisible Girl gets to be a goody-goody, and then she gets to go out with true melodramatic style. This movie feels like a weird hybrid of Gamma World, Cyberpunk, and Feng Shui. So far as the plot's concerned, this is more of a gamer's movie than the first. Who hasn't seen or heard this before? ("I have control of the water! Surrender or die, puny mortal!") The villain, in addition to be horribly scarred, is a martial arts master with superhuman strength--he tosses cars around like stacked cordwood--and intelligence to match. He also has the attendant meglomania, and he's got the eunuch-like cackle. He's got an ambitious military commander for an ally, and he's made a puppet of the local religious leader. Oh, and he's got an endless stream of mooks to throw at the heroes and their allies. You see them a lot after the coup against the president (who isn't specified), and it's funny to see CIA-types fight against military mooks. They're equally ruthless, so you're not quite sure who to root for until one of the villains or heroines arrives on the scene. This movie reminded me of many a less-than-clear session wasted playing Rifts, TMNT, or Gamma World back in the day. You had a group of illogical characters in an illogical world using their powers in illogical manners during a struggle that you're best off not thinking too hard about. For KoDT readers, this movie will remind you of many stories where Something Went Wrong--usually when you saw "I waste it with my crossbow!"--and it quickly went downhill from there. (I swear that the whole "Run around guarding the decoy president." idea feels like a KoDT type of thing.) The villains felt like a gaming session come to life. The Black Knight was Evil for Evil's Sake, before and after the expository bit that failed to explain why he was what he was. The film didn't try to do the same with his allies. The same applies to the mooks; they just do whatever they're told like the brainless cannon fodder that they were. The president and his men were no better, but at least they cared enough to not risk destroying the clean water. How does it end? First, Thiefcatcher and her doomed lover (along with Wonder Woman's child) find a supply of clean water. They catch up to Wonder Woman when all three heroines meet at a church. Then the Black Knight arrives, and all three go at it. One dies to save the rest and end the villain's reign of terror. The rest limp away, saddened and weary. Much blood gets shed, much melodrama ensues, and all is safe once more for the people of the Unnamed (Post-Apocalyptic) City. This is best reserved for Cheesy Movie Night with the gang. You'll enjoy it. It's not good, just entertaining. Go in with that idea, and you'll become a fan. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average)

Executioners