Battle B-Boy

source: Battle B-Boy

First, let me state that I have given films like Gladiator, Casa Blanca, and other classics a "9" or "10". And though I don't put Battle B-Boy in that rank, I give it a "9" because I have never seen so much put into a low-budget ($20,000 I read) in my life. There was beautiful martial arts; not the Steven Segal faux stuff, dancing like one's never seen, buddies for life on the fight team, a peripheral plot of saving the life of one of their dying fathers, and some subtle moral lessons of decent human behavior from struggling middle class kids trying to do well, and do what's right. I was very impressed, and would love to see this Indie gem re-produced on a larger scale (or one like it with most if not all of the same cast). Not a waste of 90 minutes (though I was sure it might be at the start). Very worthwhile. Even my wife, a harsh critic, agreed.

The movie was great. It had all the thrilling dance/combat sequences to satisfy any thrill-seeking dance or martial arts fan, but it also had more. To call it a dance movie would be to do it a disservice since it had none of the crappy stuff found in most dance films. While one doesn't turn to these films to see fine acting (and dance films have some of the worst) the performers in Battle B-Boy had such charisma and charm and obvious love for what they were doing that I didn't even notice any lack of acting skills. I got completely caught up in their story. I kept thinking of something to compare the unique movie to, and later while talking with John Kreng, the stunt coordinator and one of the producers, I got the perfect reference. He said that they were trying to go for a Saturday Night Fever tone, and I thought that was EXACTLY the perfect comparison. Without the glossy Bee Gee's soundtrack the comparison had eluded me. The music for Battle B-Boy was more conducive to the battle sequences. The movie's highlight was a dance/combat battle against a group of dancers using an old-school robot technique. All the battle sequences throughout the movie were captured with amazing clarity by cinematographer Jason Inouye, and given the time constraints and budget for a film like this, that the scenes look as fluid and clear as they do is truly an amazing feat.

guys, there's some new concepts here. before you watch this movie, you've got to lower your regular standard you usually watched a movie. the problem of this movie is the casting and and roles background. there's no way an Asian guy pushing the icebox, selling popsicles on the street. 'cause never ever saw it so far. all the young guys in this movie actually performed well that only the weakness of the screenplay and the dialog blocked it to be more appreciated. the directing is also kinda weak and the low limited budget also affected the production. the 1.3 score is not fair, because it actually much much better than lot of lame movies with higher scores.