February 20, 2024 (New York, NY)– One-Percent Warrior is A Martial Arts Thrill Ride. Japan’s most dynamic martial arts movie star, Tak Sakaguchi, really makes deep impact in this thought provoking, martial arts thriller distributed by Well Go USA.
Synopsis:
After his devastatingly fast, samurai-style combat approach sets filmmakers against him, a legendary action star (Tak Sakaguchi) films his own movie—on turf claimed by feuding yakuza gangs, including Japan’s deadliest martial arts assassin.
Review:
If all this movie had to offer was the martial arts fighting of Tak Sakaguchi, it would be worth watching; however, it offers so much more. This is a really good addition to 2024’s martial arts catalogue. I expect you will see it on many “Best Of” lists when the year winds down.
This is a stripped down, gritty, somewhat comical movie about about an outspoken Japanese, martial arts filmmaker who hits hard times, and looks to bring his vision for realistic martial arts cinema back to the big screen. This all becomes complicated when the location he is scouting for his movie shoot is also the battleground for a Yakuza power vacuum, forcing him to utilize his lethal brand of martial arts training.
Japan has had a reputation in the past decade of being a place where high quality martial arts is widely practiced, but martial arts films are not widely produced. A recent series of great martial arts films, including this one, seems to be bucking that trend.
While this film is not as funny as Japan’s Baby Assassins, nor is it as dynamic as the top five (5) film from 2023, Bad City, it is still really, really good. It is gritty and stripped down in its approach to the story and the fighting, yet there is a complex thread of commentary interwoven into the plot that makes the viewer really think.
Even the title is thought provoking. It refers to the attainment of mastery in the martial arts. Only 1% of those that embark on their martial arts journey will achieve this level of excellence.
While there is enough action and fight choreography to keep any action fan engaged, there is also a thought provoking look at mental health issues, at the martial arts film making genre, and at the rise and fall of iconic “celebrity”. All this is packed in a tightly edited, 86 minute journey. Hat’s off to the Director, Yamaguchi Yudai, for turning this from a good martial arts film into a good film!
The cast is strong. The script is sharp. The visual setting makes for some great cinematography.
As martial arts fans, the fight choreography in One-Percent Warrior is a gift. It is a pushback against the high wires and the “over the top” choreography of many of the films coming out of China today. It is as close to true martial arts as you will see. After seeing Sakaguchi’s fight scenes in Bad City last year, I ,simply, can’t get enough of him. While the film jokes about whether he is more Jackie Chan, or Bruce Lee, I think he is a refreshing, breath of fresh air. His martial arts movie fighting style makes him stand out as one of the most watchable action stars of his day. He is one to watch.
One-Percent Warrior is a worth watching, then going back and re-watching the fighting. I recommend it.
Also released under One-Percenter.
ONE-PERCENT WARRIOR debuts on Digital and Blu-ray™ March 12 from Well Go USA Entertainment (English dub and making-of content available) before streaming exclusively on Hi-YAH! starting April 5
Yamaguchi Yudai
Kensuke Sonomura
Sho Aoyagi
Itsuji Itao
Kenjiro Ishimaru
Keisuke Horibe
Run Time: 86 Minutes/Unrated
Country of Origin: Japan
-review by Marc Zirogiannis, Editor in Chief
