Set in a future where the state has effectively collapsed after a financial meltdown where cartels trade children and what law enforcement there is is corrupt or ineffective an eighteen year old girl is determined to bring down 'The Emir', the leader of one such cartel. She is Sawa, the daughter of a police officer who was orphaned when her parents were murdered when she was twelve. She is looked after by her father's former partner, Lieutenant Karl Aker. Sawa is also hooked on a drug known as 'Amp', which blocks much of her memory. As Sawa works her way through the cartel, Aker cleans up any evidence that could point to her. After one confrontation she meets Oburi, a young man who tells her that they were once friends.I must say that I have not seen the anime that this film was based on so can't say how this treatment compares. That said I enjoyed this a bit more than I'd expected given its rating here. When we first see Sawa, wearing a vivid pink wig and watching clothes I wondered if perhaps the creators were just a little too keen to make the film look like a live action anime; thankfully that wasn't the case… if anything it looked too grim rather than excessively bright. The story might not be the most original but as revenge thrillers go this wasn't bad. India Eisley does a solid job as Sawa; a character that is tough but still has enough vulnerability to make the viewer think she is in real danger much of the time. This clearly isn't Samuel L. Jackson's best film but he does a fine job as Aker. The rest of the cast are decent enough although some are clearly better than others; many of the villains are a bit too over-the-top but they never last very long. The action scenes were plentiful and fairly brutal with plenty of blood spilt and a few wince inducing moments. There is a twist that many viewers will probably spot in advance but thankfully it is neither too obvious nor is it too unlikely. Overall a decent enough revenge thriller; not a must see but worth checking out if it is on TV or in the DVD bargain bin.

I wasn't expecting too much from this film. A cartoonish, stylish, over the top pseudo science fiction with lots of action and violence were in the mix for my bag of expectations for that kind of films. I kind of got all those in the bag and some more. The direction was nothing revolutionary but stylistically nice and well paced. The acting was decent. The twists were not that unexpected for an experienced viewer but enough to keep an average viewer guessing till the end. I really don't understand the reviewers lately. I think some of them are trying to promote or demote some certain films. I realize there's some kind of common pattern in some one star and ten star reviews and frankly don't trust them anymore. Well my real rating may be around 6 and a half to seven stars out of ten but honestly I gave 8 to compensate those false one star ratings. When you read some of them you think either those people have never watched those kind of films before and don't know what to expect or they are flat out dishonest. If you want a decent pseudo sci-fi action film with a young heroine than you may want to give this film a chance.

This movie just lumbers along to an oft used no surprise ending.. Its a shame because EVERYTHING in this movie is GREAT except the story.. The visuals,cinematic,acting,etc are all mainstream quality!!The story just sucks all that down into an irretrievable void of boredom and watch watching wondering when it'll all be overThese reviews HAVE to be 10 lines? Seems a little excessive especially when you've already spent a portion of your life on a particularly disappointing movieHopefully this saves some of you from a grueling 2 hour snore fest

This film is really poor. The main actress, India Eisley, is completely mis-cast for an action role. She looks like she couldn't slap her way out of a girlie fight in a nightclub toilet, let alone take on any of the vicious nasties that she encounters in the film. Her pout screams "spoilt brat" and is more akin to a young lady that didn't get the right manicure for her poodle somewhere on Sunset Boulevard than any sort of supposedly drug- dependent action heroine (sic). What on earth was Sam Jackson thinking when he joined the cast? I guess they all get it wrong from time, and thankfully for him, his role is fairly small - I wonder how many people would have passed this film by had his name not been on the billing? He was on decent, if not epic, form in his limited role. The action scenes are poor, the fight scenes are excruciatingly slow and very obviously staged (badly) and none of the actors look convincing doing or saying anything. Even the bad guys come across as being somewhat weak and pathetic - shouldn't actors thrive on playing a really mean villain in a film? The villains don't seem to have any menace at all. Chuck in some beaty music that is meant to make some of the basic Parkour based scenes look dramatic with a few wisps of smoke thrown in for added "drama", and you've got a recipe for disappointment. 4.3 is a somewhat generous score - I wished I hadn't wasted 90 minutes of my life watching this utter tat.