Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (UK Blu-ray)
Gareth Jones
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Starring Fan Siu-Wong, Faan Mooi Saang, Ka-Kui Ho, Yukari Ôshima
Directed by Ngai Kai Lam
Distributed by Mediumrare Entertainment
After punching a crater into the skull of the drug dealer responsible for his girlfriend’s death, kung-fu master Ricky (Siu-Wong) finds himself shipped off to one of his future world’s brutal, privatised prisons.
Managed by its ruthless warden and his one-eyed assistant, and ruled internally by the iron fists of the officially sanctioned Gang of Four – each of whom are dedicated to keeping the prisoners of a wing in check – the prison is a cruel regime of violence and oppression (not to mention an opium farm!), immediately set to come up against Ricky’s good-hearted nature.
Yet, being good-hearted doesn’t mean he’s averse to using his martial arts skills and seemingly superhuman strength to punch giant, gaping holes through any thug unwise enough to confront him. And so the stage is set for one of Hong Kong’s most legendary, and profusely entertaining, cinematic bloodbaths.
Based on the manga of the same name, Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky is one of the most unique films to come out of the 1990s. A mixture of classic martial arts and some of the most stunning splatter to ever hit the screen, it emulates the source material with such gusto that it’s almost impossible not to fall in love with.
As Ricky punches, kicks and breaks his way through adversary after adversary, you’ll be rooting for him all the way amidst a storm of chunky, meaty practical effects work (a moment featuring Ricky shattering an opponent’s fist in mid-flight with his own is a gruesome highlight) and moments of quirky humour and outright excess.
Histrionic performances, ridiculous situations, impossible feats of physicality via wire-fu and a climax that includes a ridiculous rubber-suited monster straight out of some demented “Power Rangers” episode are just the tip of the treat-filled iceberg as people are decapitated, disembowelled, crushed alive… and basically obliterated in just about every way possible.
Fan Siu-Wong makes for the perfect leading man in this environment, keeping attention glued to Ricky as the next bout of bloodshed approaches. It’s there’s anything to be said in the negative towards the flick, it’s a problem in pacing – there’s a definite lull to be found as the film’s second act stretches on, placing Ricky into one too many torturous predicaments at the hands of the warden and his crew. Thankfully, it soon explodes into a chop-socky frenzy for a wild third act that throws in everything including the kitchen sink.
Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky is undoubtedly a divisive flick – its all-or-nothing nature demanding a similar critical approach for the viewer. You’ll either loathe its completely outrageous approach, or it’ll find its own little spot in your heart, nestle and stay there… never to leave. Unsurprisingly, in this case it’s very much the latter.
Mediumrare Entertainment bring Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky to Blu-ray in the UK for the first time with a new high-definition transfer. There does appear to be some room for improvement, with a few spots of softness and lack of fine detail on occasion (clothing, for example). Still, the film has most assuredly never looked better for home viewing, the restrictions of the source material being a necessary consideration.
On the audio side, we have a nicely balanced Chinese audio track with English subtitles, and a hilariously awkward English dub which is notably muddy – lacking in range and sporting some poorly edited musical cues. Stick with the original language on this one, folks! On a problematic note, the review copy did show a couple of mistakes in the English subtitle formatting, with the final word of some lines appearing above the others, rather than below.
Hitting the special features, we have a circa 40-minute interview with star Fan Siu-Wong, which covers his career and The Story of Ricky and is well worth spending the time with. Alongside that, there’s a short wushu demonstration from the star, as he flips and spins in an impressive display of some wushu taolu. That one’s throwaway, of course, but still fun.
Both the original theatrical trailer (featuring visual comparisons between shots in the film and panels from the manga) and a UK trailer are included, alongside a 24-page collector’s booklet (which was not provided for review). The box sleeve has the option of two (very cool) new piece of artwork.
Finally, on the disc, there’s a feature commentary with stuntman and critic Jude Poyer, and critic Miles Wood. This appears to be lifted from the earlier Hong Kong Legends UK DVD release, and is a good listen for fans of Hong Kong cinema. The two speakers are very knowledgeable on the topic, and both seem to enjoy The Story of Ricky very much.
Sadly, there’s quite a large technical issue with the commentary on the review disc – though this may have been fixed before production. Specifically, around the middle of the film the commentary goes out of sync with the video, leaving Poyer and Wood describing events, characters, stunts and effects that have yet to actually appear on screen. There are a couple of spots of dead time in the commentary, and these really should have been used edited to sync the track correctly. It does prove a distraction, and a real shame for commentary fans.
Special Features:
- Rising Star: Interview with Fan Siu-Wong
- Martial Hero: Fan Sui-Wong wushu demonstration
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- UK Promo Trailer
- Audio Commentary with Jude Poyer and Miles Wood
- Collector’s Booklet
- Reversible Sleeve with new artwork on both sides
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Film
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Special Features
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