Versus (2000/II)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Ryûhei Kitamura

Writers:

Ryûhei Kitamura (writer)
Yûdai Yamaguchi (writer)

Release Date:

20 February 2002 (France)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Fantasy

Tagline:

Witness a battle no one has ever seen

Plot:

There are 666 portals that connect this world to the other side. These are concealed from all human beings. Somewhere in Japan exists the 444th portal.... The forest of resurrection.

Plot Keywords:

Forest | Girl | Escaped Convict | Zombie | Back From The Dead

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Tak Sakaguchi	...	Prisoner KSC2-303
Hideo Sakaki	...	The Man
Chieko Misaka	...	The Girl
Kenji Matsuda	...	Yakuza Leader with butterfly knife
Yuichiro Arai	...	Motorcycle-riding yakuza with revolver
Minoru Matsumoto	...	Crazy yakuza with amulet
Kazuhito Ohba	...	Yakuza with glasses
Takehiro Katayama	...	Red-haired assassin
Ayumi Yoshihara	...	Long-haired female assassin
Shôichirô Masumoto	...	One-handed cop
Toshiro Kamiaka	...	Samurai warrior
Yukihito Tanikado	...	Cop with Barrett
Hoshimi Asai	...	Short-haired female assassin
Ryosuke Watabe	...	Yakuza zombie in alligator-skin coat
Motonari Komiya	...	Other prisoner

Also Known As:

Down to Hell 2 (Japan: English title) (working title)
The Ultimate Versus (Japan) (director's cut)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong pervasive violence and gore, and language.

Runtime:

119 min | Australia:115 min | South Korea:102 min

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Germany:18 (cut) | Germany:Not Rated | South Korea:18 | Australia:R | France:-16 | Japan:PG-12 | New Zealand:R18 | UK:18 | USA:R (cut) | USA:Unrated | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Company:

KSS

Trivia:

Video game producer-director Hideo Kojima (of "Metal Gear" fame) was an extra in the film. Kitamura, as a friend, was later handpicked to direct Kojima's remake of "Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes." Versus is attributed to heavily influencing the sword-fighting scenes in the game.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After Prisoner KSC2-303 gets shot in the face, he falls down a hill. "The girl" then finds him lying dead on the ground. Although he is "dead", you can see him breathing.

Quotes:

Girl: If you did something like that, you're no different from those men.
Prisoner KSC2-303: They're bastards, I'm not.

Movie Connections:

References Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo. (1966)

We don't need no stinking plot

This movie, while made to be an action type with some subtle humor, grades pretty low to folks looking for an action movie to snuggle up with and watch alone. This movie is much, much more fun to watch with others, preferably with a sense of humor.

If you're not a fan of action, and are looking for anything remotely deep and meaningful, look someplace else.

The movie is shot entirely in a forest setting, with the times shifting from morning to twilight frequently.

The action is very well put together despite being on an obvious low budget. I recommend this movie to anyone with a few hours to kill with a few friends.