CRYING FREEMAN is an okay martial arts flick based on a popular manga comic. Of course, I don't know anything about Japanese manga so I only have the film to go on and can't compare the two, but this is pretty much par for the course for a mid-'90s thriller: it has plenty of stylished action, a storyline involving rival gangsters battling it out, and a romance between the two leads. I enjoyed it, but it's not the rip-roaring action classic I wanted it to be, and I ended up enjoying 1995's other live-action manga adaptation, FIST OF THE NORTH STAR, a lot more.My main problem with CRYING FREEMAN is the action scenes. I wanted to enjoy these, and I thought I would because Mark Dacascos is a fine martial artist; just take a look at the athleticism and fluidity he manages in his fights in DRIVE and you'll see what I mean. Despite the presence of Dacascos in this movie, the action is nothing to get excited about. It's all hyper-stylised a la John Woo and just feels 'blah blah' to me; you see Dacascos leaping through the air with explosions behind him gunning someone down once, you've seen it a hundred times. If I think about an exciting gun action film I think HARD-BOILED, and this movie is no HARD-BOILED. When the action is slowed down here, I just get bored.Still, it has a mildly interesting storyline and some not-bad acting, including the guy playing a tough Japanese mob boss, brief turns from veteran star Mako (CONAN THE BARBARIAN) and COMMANDO actress Rae Dawn Chong and rent-a-nasty-Frenchman Tcheky Karyo doing what he does best. Leads Dacascos and Julie Condra ended up getting married in real life after this, so there's definite chemistry between the two of them, as well as some cool battles towards the end to enjoy. The problem is that the next film that director Christophe Gans and Dacascos made together was 2001's BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, which still stands as a mini masterpiece, and this just another in a long line of dated '90s action flicks.

Many critics didn't appreciate this movie. They mentioned the thin plot. They said that the movie contained too many stereotypes. They complained about thin dialogues throughout the movie. They criticized the editing of the action scenes. They said the movie was too slow paced.All these critics are partially right. Nevertheless, I truly enjoyed this movie. For a debut movie, Christophe Gans did the best he can with a very low budget.Even though a lot of scenes were turned in Canada or in the studios, the movie still has an exotic touch as it is set in Seattle in the United States of America first, later in the beautiful city of Vancouver, Canada and towards the end even in mainland China as well as in different places in Japan.Apart of the settings, the corpse paintings are well done, the Asian costumes are well chosen and the fight scenes with or without arms have some kind of aestheticism at some points without being too pretentious.The rather unknown actors at that time with the charismatic Mark Dacascos and the solid Julie Condra also did a good effort. Even though the story is not always credible and somewhat predictable, the connection between the two main actors is definitely there. They have known each other on the set of this film and became a couple that actually married and got three children until today. That's why the soft love story is more than just professional acting as it seems and surprisingly authentic.The movie is in fact a real life adaption of a famous manga and anime series but in comparison to many similar adaptations, this kind of movie can also easily please to those that don't know the original. I usually dislike the whole manga phenomenon. I think it's overrated and has taken the place of many other and more intriguing cultural aspects of Japan. It's a little bit like sushi as there are so many better Japanese foods than this one. But I happened to adore this movie without caring for its origins. A fan of the original series may analyze this flick from a wholly different point of view.This movie is basically a solid action movie with a good dose of suspense, different exotic cultural elements flawed by a few stereotypes, some soft porn moments that never get too far but also some calm and quiet parts with emotional moments that give the characters some depth and development. The balance between fast paced passages and slow moods is well found in my opinion. Fans of intelligent suspense flicks may find this movie too simple. Action fans would like to see more martial arts aspects. But those who like more than just a couple of genres will surely adore this movie as a whole and recognize its diversity.The movie won't win a price for exquisite and philosophical dialogues but I prefer the quiet silent and mysterious character of a skilled killer that has fallen in love with his victim to one of those films with endless chatting and pretentiously cool proverbs at each three minutes. I prefer the rude shooting scenes and the rare but well done martial arts moments to car chases without an end, big set explosions or soulless computer effects. This movie is rather grounded and simple. It's easy to watch. But it's sympathetic and still varies to be intriguing enough to watch this flick more than just once.Anybody that likes a simple but honest action movie with a romantic side story and some exotic Asian elements in a reasonable running time, should try this film out. Anybody that is waiting for something explosive, innovating or profound should go for a bigger production.Normally I would just give this film seven points but it had a certain kind of magic that is hard to describe but that really addicted me. I already feel the need to watch this movie again. I would also like to show it to some of my mates which doesn't happen very often. This flick is a surprising little gem.

This movie started out quite nicely, until the Chinese started speaking. It couldn't stop me laughing since then. The realisticity was completely broken when what the Chinese Mafia/secret society speak is Cantonese, which only people in Guangdong, Macau and Hong Kong speaks. But none of those places were featured in the movie. Additionally the Cantonese dialogues are really cheesy, and the stereotype of Asians being chain-smokers just annoys me. The same language problem happened to the Flight of the Phoenix where the locals were speaking Cantonese. There are way too many explosions, especially considering what caused them. The set where the main character was taken was poorly made too. I wouldn't recommend this movie if you can understand Mandarin or Cantonese, as it would be a laughing joke for you, like it did for me.

I've read the manga and seen the anime. I've now seen the live action film and like the earlier versions of the story I was entertained but not overly so.The plot of the movie has a girl witnessing the assassin known as the Crying Freeman killing several targets. (He's so named because he sheds a tear for each person he kills). She flees the scene of the crimes, and then waits for him to find and kill her. He does find her, but he does not kill her. They end up together. This turn of events along with a power void at he top of yakuza brings about a series of bloody clashes.A workman like production, this is a good little thriller that's not particularly special. It plays in many ways like a supped up TV movie, having the feel of a production that was made with an eye on every market in the world. Its a movie that will entertain you but won't stay with you very long after you've seen it.Honestly this version of the story made the least impression of all on me and I had to sit and think a while to try to remember, if indeed I really saw this movie or not.Certainly not a bad movie, its more middle of the pack. Its the type of thing that will entertain you while its on but won't really hang around in your head for very long after you've finished watching it. If you run across it on TV its worth trying.To be honest the worst thing that I can say about it is even though the actor playing our hero has no presence its still an enjoyable time waster.