Very Cool!!!

An action-packed slog

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Rikidozan is a fascinating figure, a man whose very existence captures the schizophrenic love-hate of the self imbibed in the Japanese psyche. Emerging at a crucial period in Japan's post-war turmoil, he galvanised national pride by defeating bigger, stronger Americans one after another. The naivety of the ordinary masses buying into this manufactured folklore seems twee observed from this distance, but hunger for some kind of hope and national pride in those desperate times is impossible for current generations to imagine.The film does a good job of depicting Rikidozan's rise to fame, his desire to succeed against discrimination and hierarchical relations, and the flaws in the man's character that would contribute to his downfall. Kyung-gu Sol in the lead perfectly captures the character. His Japanese is flawless, and he exhibits the hybridity of Rikidozan in his every gesture. Tatsuya Fuji as the oyabun who funds Rikidozan's path to glory is something we rarely see in films about Japan, a well-rounded, complex yakuza. He sees Riki as a business investment, but also has a surrogate parent-like affection for the man. But he never forgets his role as boss and mentor, and one of the tensions of the story is quite how long this man will go on protecting Riki.Miki Nakatani as put-upon wife Aya is quiet and mysterious. The film becomes more interesting every time she appears, but unfortunately her role is under-written, and the part does now do her acting skills justice.The first 60 minutes expertly chronicle Riki's rise, the odds he faces, and the significance of all this to post-war Japan. In the last 30 minutes the film sags and a sentimental tone creeps in. This culminates in a last scene that literally looks like it was shot in a giant snow-globe, with toe-curling melodramatic music to match. A tighter edit, and more cinematic approach, could have made this tale truly memorable. However, while the story of Rikidozan grips you, the patchy pacing and average technical skills on display are slightly disappointing.At a time when banal nationalism is rampant in Japan, Rikidozan's story is a sobering reminder of the complex realities that confound Japanese identity. On a human scale, it is also a competent depiction of how one man's hubris can lead to a fall.

I got to watch Kim Il wrestle in Korea as a little boy and then when I came to America I was hooked on all the wrestling I could get on my TV and cable through the years. I wish I was alive back in those days to see Rikdozan in the U.S.I remember hearing about the legend of Yeokdosan from my friend's father as he told me of his divine Karate chop and how he was assassinated by jealous Yakuza men for his Korean ancestry. I just marveled like a little boy as I listened to him describe the great Legend wide eyed and impressionable. Almost two decades later I waited with anxious breath to finally see the movie based on this man and boy was I hooked. I must have watched it 10 times already. I have to admit it was more for the story of the man than for the movie itself. Props to Sol Kyung-Gu for gaining weight and jumping into Japanese language for the role of his life.Can't say enough how I was moved by his refusal to accept defeat no matter what the powers that be would order him to do. Yeokdosan-A man who achieved greatness while having the odds stacked against him in nations other than his own back in those days? Priceless. I am humbled.Can we get an Eddie Guerrero film as well?

**** MAY BE SPOILERS ****Finally, a movie that represents professional wrestling as exciting, powerful and important. RIKIDOZAN is a fantastic work that illuminates the desire of a man who wants to be something more and how that same passion caused his self-destruction. One important aspect of this film is the portrayal of Rikidozan as a hero instead of the usual representation of wrestlers as animals and baffoons. It not only showed his professional success but allowed us to follow in the demise of his private life. I'm sure there are many wrestlers from yesterday and today who can identify with his rapid climb and fall as well as the struggle to hold on to what you had.Professional wrestling, in the United States, is considered the "male soap opera" and as of right now is regarded as little more than a joke. Are the matches pre-determined? Yes. Is it "fake"? No. Because in that ring you have wrestlers who have spent years perfecting their craft, to try and make you believe. They get injured more frequently and more severely than many athletes in other professional sports. They train and pull off stunts that other professional athletes can't even begin to dream about. But do wrestlers get the proper recognition for their efforts? No. Why? Well, they're not real athletes are they?Rikidozan was a real athlete and has been immortalized in this film. When Japan was crippled from World War II, Rikidozan became the nations inspiration. After, being rejected from sumo wrestling because he was Korean, he went to America where he became an in ring sensation. Upon his return he made the biggest impact of his life on the people of Japan as they considered him to have conquered America, their wartime enemy. He was a national hero. He brought professional wrestling to Japan, where it has flourished ever since. In Japan wrestling is not a fad that comes every now and again, it's a rite of passage.The downfall opposite Rikidozan's rise somewhat reflects today's current state of the business. He simply did not want to lose his status. The movie sees Rikidozan even change the finish of a match on the fly so he would not have to lose which was then topped by his already violent temper growing even worse due to his paranoia of the Yakuza murdering him. Here Rikidozan represents Triple H. Triple H refuses to build up new talent in wee because he is paranoid about losing his "top spot" and insists that he is still the top draw. Rikidozan followed this same path and ultimately succumbed to using drugs ("Western Medicine") like so many of the greats have like Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Mr. Perfect. This movie portrays wrestling as what it really is: A gritty business, full of politics and corruption and pain, with the only light being performing for the fans. Technically speaking the movie is no wunderkind. The translation of the dialog is weak. The performances tend to be a little over the top at times. The direction is not strong and at times (during the montages) can be a bit overbearing. But none of that is as important as the story. It follows the path of one of the all time great wrestlers, a true legend, who, despite his personal problems, brought a nation out of their seats at the mere mention of his name.