(Movie Review) Jeon's Hollywood debut 'Blood' falls short of anticipation

By Shin Hae-in

SEOUL, June 5 (Yonhap) -- If you find yourself roaring with laughter while heads and limbs are being atrociously slashed off in this movie, don't doubt your sanity but blame the film's creator.

While botching nearly every effect it aims for, "Blood: The Last Vampire," a
supposedly brutal slasher, martial arts movie hybrid, does manage to make
audiences laugh at the film's silliness and coarseness.
As a Hollywood debut piece for top South Korean actress Jeon Ji-hyun, going by
the stage name of Gianna Jun in this international film, local movie fans had
high expectations since the film's crank-up some three years ago.
It is nice to watch the beautiful heroine flying gracefully about the screens
wielding a katana but alas, that's about it, with the negatives outweighing the
positives by far.
Based on a Japanese animation of the same title, "Blood" features half-vampire,
half-human Saya (played by Jeon), who is inserted into a high school at a U.S.
base located in post-World War II Japan as part of her secret mission to hunt
demons in disguise.
While the anime film, directed by Oshii Mamoru in 2000, was widely popular in
Japan and elsewhere, spawning a fifty-episode anime series, a video game and a
manga sequel, the live-action film adaptation appears to fall way short with
tacky computer-generated imagery and awkward acting both contributing to the
sense of disappointment.
Jeon, who has never played an action heroine before, apparently put a great deal
of effort into playing Saya, who cuts through demons with a blade like hot knife
through butter, and speaks both English and Japanese fluently.
But it would only be fair to say Jeon's effort has gone to waste.
With no villain really a match for the powerful Saya besides chief demon Onigen
(played by Japanese actress Koyuki), most of the chase-and-fight scenes are a
yawner.
And while Jeon manages to speak English fluently, Koyuki's English diction makes
the audiences strain their ears to try and make out what she is saying. As a
result, the climax showdown between Onigen and Saya triggers laughter, rather
than tension.
An outcome of over-reliance on badly delivered computer graphics, several chase
scenes and the coarse appearance of bat-like monsters draw ironic laughter from
audiences.
Swift and stylish, the scene of a ninja attack set in a leafy Japanese forest was
considerably well-shot -- a rare case in this very choppy film -- but it still
manages to amuse very few viewers, provoking a sense of deja vu for fans of
recently released Chinese martial arts movies.
To round things up, the only impressive aspect in "Blood" is the apparent effort
actress Jeon made, showing a potential in her future Hollywood career.
"I could not imagine shooting a sequel with an actress rather than Gianna," Bill
Kong, producer of the movie, said in a press conference after the film's Seoul
preview Thursday. "I was highly satisfied with her acting, especially considering
the fact she has no experience in action movies."
Kong is dubbed the "Midas of Hong Kong" as the producer of "Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon" and "Hero," which were internationally well-received.
Smiling broadly at the compliment, Jeon asked viewers to enjoy the film as an
"animation fantasy."
Directed by Chris Nahon, the creator of "Kiss of Dragon (2001)," "Blood" opened
in Japan on May 26, the first release among more than 10 countries that will be
screening the film including Singapore, France, Britain, the United States and
Taiwan.
The Hollywood film, jointly produced by Hong Kong and France, will hit the local
theaters beginning June 11.