Wasabi (2001)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Gérard Krawczyk

Writer:

Luc Besson (writer)

Release Date:

31 October 2001 (Belgium)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Quite Possibly The Greatest French-Language, English-Subtitled, Japanese Action-Comedy Of All Time.

Plot:

Hubert is a French policeman with very sharp methods. After being forced to take 2 months off by his boss...

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Yakuza | Shinkansen | Fight | Coffin

Cast

Jean Reno	...	Hubert Fiorentini
Ryoko Hirosue	...	Yumi Yoshimido
Michel Muller	...	Maurice 'Momo'
Carole Bouquet	...	Sofia
Yoshi Oida	...	Takanawa
Christian Sinniger	...	Le Squale
Alexandre Brik	...	Irène
Jean-Marc Montalto	...	Olivier (as Jean Marc Montalto)
Véronique Balme	...	Betty
Fabio Zenoni	...	Josy
Haruhiko Hirata	...	Ishibashi
Michel Scourneau	...	Van Eyck (as Mikhel Scourneau)
Jacques Bondoux	...	Del Rio
Osamu Tsuruya	...	Douanier 1
Akihiko Nishida	...	Douanier 2

Also Known As:

La petite moutarde qui monte au nez (France) (subtitle)
The Professional II (South Africa: English title) (DVD box title)
Wasabi - The Japanese Dip That Kicks Like a Mule (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

France | Japan

Language:

French | Japanese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

UK:15 | Finland:K-15 | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:13 | Canada:14A | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Norway:15 | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company:

Europa Corp.

Trivia:

In the arcade, the game that all the young characters convince Hubert ('Jean Reno') to play is "Dance Dance Revolution". Before you see the DDR machine (it's a 5th Mix), many of the other music-related games that are shown are also part of the Bemani series, including Beatmania and many others. The song that the characters play is 'Dive' by BeForU, and Jean Reno's character does fail on the easiest difficulty level (Basic Mode, known in more recent generations of the game as Light Mode).

Goofs:

Factual errors: There is a scene where Hubert tips the bellhop. Tipping is not customary in Japan, and unless they have worked with Westerners for a long time, most Japanese feel uncomfortable receiving gratuities.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Taxi 3 (2003)

Soundtrack:

Shakoto & Narita Smurf

Mission accomplished!

The goal of this film is to entertain. And it works. Leave your brain at the door and enjoy. The soundtrack is appropriate and good. Jean Reno is at the apex of coolness and Ryoko Hirosue is hip and refreshing. One could say the movie is some kind of techno-cop film that takes some aspects of the traditional French cop movies and push it to the limit during a crazy few days in Tokyo. Great to see the mega-city by the way. The movie is a cross between your typical James Bond and a modern Japanese action flick. Seen at home, in Toronto, on April 4th, 2006.

74/100 (**½)