Wasabi (2002)

Directed by: Gérard Krawczyk

Writtien by:  Luc Besson

Stars: Jean Reno, Ryôko Hirosue, and Michel Muller               

Plot: Dispatching crimanls with succinct success but also collateral damage ala Riggs/Murtaugh, policeman Hubert Fiorentini is pushed to vacation while still pining over his lost love for the last 19 years.  After receiving a phone call that she has passed away, he returns to Japan where he once lived to obtain her remaining effects… including the daughter he never knew.

Review: Borrowing this from a friend at work, I can say I was not exactly sure what I was in for.  Based on the artwork, it had to be fun, entertaining, and have a certain mix of euro-action and comedy that’s come to be known in varying degrees throughout Luc Besson’s work (The Professional, Taken).  Upon completion, I can say it was mostly expected and enjoyable, but not totally without surprise.

Fairly consistent action and fast paced camera work are almost required with this pedigree of film.  You generally have a cop, hitman, or anyone who can easily eliminate a plethora of bad guys, and then throw in a personal “hook” that challenges them (i.e. plethora ad infinitum) to the point of every action junkie’s pleasure.  Here we have the same ingredients:  bad ass policeman who along with finding out he has a daughter, discovers her mother stumbled onto something sinister, resulting in her demise.  Enter guns and explosions…well at least the former.

For being marketed as an action film, there is oddly not much.  That is not to say its isn’t vibrant like one, also including plenty of entertaining moments featuring our protagonist (Jean Reno) taking out baddies creatively yet efficiently.  However, the newfound relationship between parent and child (of which the the latter is oblivious of for some time) appears prominent, and refreshingly so.  Fiorentini discovers his daughter actually hates policemen, as well as the idea of her father, enticing him to remain silent of his role while a bond between slowly but surely develops.  With the mystery being fleshed out alongside, we have a fairly effective and believable look into family members meeting for the first time, even with the fairly unbelievable action surrounding it.

"I used to protect Natalie Portman you know... where the hell is MY oscar?"Besides surprising devotion to characters, humor and laughs are fairly constant throughout.  The writing and acting are no doubt thanks to that, with Jean Reno bringing bittersweet comedy to his bad ass cop without a family, while Ryôko Hirosue (playing his daughter) is young and vibrant, ignorant to the fact this man is protecting her (to hilarious effect).  Adding comedic support is Michel Muller playing a bumbling former colleague in Japan, always saying the wrong thing while attempting to back up his friend throughout his ordeal.

Even though one may easily see a formula at work, Wasabi succeeds at throwing out fun oddities; look at the title?  The actual Japanese horseradish only plays a small cameo and joke in the film, but makes sense as the title, with Japan playing the main setting.  Even phonetically it somehow seems right.  Is the film really spicy though?  Medium to medium hot.