I have a problem with this film as it purports to associate itself with Sosai Oyama and hence, it may affect the way in which young minds see the great legend. Mas Oyama dedicated his life to karate, he didn't aim for fame but instead used it as a tool to spread his message of the benefits of karate, it's meaning, purpose, etc, or "the search for the ultimate truth". My problem with this film is that instead of furthering Sosai Oyama's message or giving an accurate portrayal of his life, this film tends to be full of Korean propaganda. At a certain sequence, one of the characters, after seeing some moves from Bae-dal ( the hero ) notes that, "it's Tae Kyun" ( a Korean martial art). At the film's climax, it shows how the evil Japanese martial masters conspire to stop this upstart ( because he's Korean ) from being superior to the Japanese. With the evil syndicate conspiring to assassinate the hero. The film then proceeds to emphasize how the bad Japanese oppress the poor helpless KOREAN who uses a KOREAN martial art to defend the oppressed against the evil Japanese ( it's that redundant, trust me ) and all the Japanese martial masters including the head of the Japanese Martial Arts Association. Hell, while we're at it, why did they not portray him using KOREAN weapons and items as well! Now, I'm not Japanese, nor do I have anything against the Koreans but puh- lease, enough from the Ministry of Propaganda already! First of all, Sosai Oyama loved Japan, he loved the culture, that's why he adopted a Japanese name. He even tried to be a Japanese pilot in World War II to defend the nation he grew to admire a great deal. The leader of the Shotokan at that time was NOT his enemy. In fact, Funakoshi, Gichin Sensei was gracious enough to have taught Sosai Oyama. An event that Sosai would refer to often in his lifetime as the basis of his karate. Sosai Oyama also studied a form of Chinese Kempo, Goju ryu and Judo by the way.As a fantasy- period piece, this film would've been fine. I liked the sets and how they portrayed post- war Japan. Granted, there may have been some forms of discrimination at that time but not to the extent this film portrays it to be, otherwise, the Japanese would not have taught so many of their arts to Sosai Oyama. As a film associating itself with the great legend, great care should have been taken as to avoid confusing young, impressionable minds.Sosai's message was to strive hard in life, persevere, overcome all obstacles in one's search for the ultimate truth. Karate, being a convenient vehicle in such a search due to it's benefits to humanity if studied arduously and properly. This film instead, bastardizes that message and translates it into: It is better to be Korean and learn Korean martial arts to get back at the evil, cruel Japanese since all their martial arts are crap.For the record, I respect both the Japanese and the Koreans. I also appreciate and admire all of their contributions to society. It's with this film that I have an issue with as it tends to affect Japanese and Korean sentiments which, until now, are quite sensitive. Stay away from this film, it is difficult to classify as an art piece, action film or as a documentary. It is however, clearly a form of bad, misinformed propaganda. This is the movie industry's version of an Internet Troll.

I will not talk about the movie summary since it has been covered by other reviewers.I want to explain to people who criticized the fighting scenes to be too short and boring. Some ignorant audience also compared Fighter in the Wind to Jet Li or Jackie Chan attractive choreographed scenes. If you read up about Masutatsu Oyama, founder of Kyokushin Karate, you will know that most of his fights ended in less than 3 minutes (in real life). The first and finishing blow is usually his single punch or single roundhouse kick. Thus Fighter in the Wind is only reflecting the truth of Mas Oyama's fighting powers. He was nicknamed 'Godhand' because of his deadly single moves.Movie trivia #1: Most of us would have heard of Street Fighter by Capcom. Do you know who is Ryu? The style and appearance of Ryu was actually inspired from Mas Oyama. We all know that the infamous enemy of Ryu was Sagat. Sagat was inspired from a famous Thai kickboxer who once challenged Mas Oyama. It was a good long fight and Oyama won the fight with heavy injuries.Movie trivia #2: Over many years, Mas Oyama has won XXX times and lost only 1 match. I believe he lost to a 80 year old Taiji master from Hong Kong.Justice without strength is empty, but strength without justice is violence.Mao points: 8/10

To be quite honest, I didn't know anything about this film before I had purchased it. In fact, I had only bought it for two reasons. The first was that I knew it was a martial arts film and two, because it featured Masayo Kato, who appears in a few movies that I happen to like. However, by the time I had finished watching the movie, I had to admit that it exceeded my expectations for a few reasons. For instance, it had some drama, which most martial arts films tend to lack; the picture quality was superb; and above all, it was an autobiographical sketch based on a real life martial arts master.I won't go over the story, as I'm sure that a few other people had already given it away anyway. But to those who have criticized the film on the basis that it was "boring" just because the fights were too quick and not very well choreographed, I think it's important for them to acknowledge the fact that this was based on a true story. Most fights really did end relatively quick because of Choi Bae-dal's lethal blows. In fact, it was said that most fights between him and his opponents did not last more than three minutes, while other matches ended with only single blows coming from one of Bae-dal's kicks or punches.Needless to say, I did enjoy the film as I've already emphasized above and was glad that I saw it for another reason: because I would not have embraced Bae-dal's depicted character with the same respect that I currently have for the other great martial arts legends, the likes of which include Musashi, Bruce lee, Wong Fei Hong, et al.8 out of 10

OK, first things first; this is NOT a martial arts kung-fu beat em up movie (If you want that, go watch Ong-Bak!). Throw those expectations OUT and prepare to enjoy a very gripping action/drama with some of the most beautiful filmwork i've seen in a while. To keep it simple, this movie is very exaggerated biography of Choi Baedal (Later changed his name to Mas Oyama), founder of Kyokushin karate, starting from before WW2. The fight scenes are not like standard kungfu flicks. They don't fight for 5 minutes. It's realistic in this sense. They trade a few blows and one or the other falls down in severe pain. This movie screams of a comic book feel. Fight scenes are stopped in mid-action to emphasize the form and the impact of the blows, the color and framing of each shot is reminiscent of comics as well. It emphasizes Choi Baedal's super-heroish qualities. The storyline is very interesting, although it runs a little long. Overall, its a very beautiful film to watch. Its great to see a movie really focus on the philosophies and ideas of martial arts rather than just the fighting itself. It also deals with the fears mindset of a fighter. Its VERY sad, and can sometimes come off as corny, but the overall emotional impact is there. Watch it, and remember, its NOT a pure kung fu beat em up movie and you will enjoy it.