Captivating movie !

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

My quick rating - 3,6/10. I honestly have no idea if this was an infomercial for a local Karate studio or a home movie. The way the movie focuses on the young girl who is the star is so obsessive it has to be the daughter of someone. But the annoying camera work that consists of more replays of moves than even the WWE packs into their programming makes you wonder what the point really is. And this isn't just a replay from earlier in the flick, this is the exact same move or moves shown a frame or two earlier throughout the WHOLE movie. I have to say that if all the replays were left out, instead of 85 minutes, the flick would've clocked in around 70 minutes. I would go into the plot, but there wasn't one. Basically high school girl kicks butt. Yep, that is it. Back to the infomercial possibility, I suppose this movie could be recruiting for someone and spreading the message of how disciplined martial arts are and great for kids (which is true, btw) but this film does a poor job conveying it. With all the great martial arts flicks out there this is a definite pass up on film.

HIGH KICK GIRL! starts off promisingly enough, as Rina Takeda "hunts black belts." Her "hunting" attracts the attention of a local gang, The Destroyers, who promptly try to recruit her (shades of THE PROFESSIONAL). Throughout the movie, characters are introduced by name usually mere moments before they're killed off. I've seen this kind of thing in kung fu movies and have come to believe it's because the movies in question (like THE WATER MARGIN or THE BRAVE ARCHER, for instance) are based on books. HIGH KICK GIRL! is so linear, however, that it's hard to believe it's based on a book (a manga, maybe). Like Kathy Long's character in KNIGHTS, Takeda wades through the opposition like a freight train- and then abruptly steps aside to allow her sensei (Tatsuya Naka) to take over a little more than halfway through the movie (which he does without missing a beat). The action is tight throughout and there appear to be more than a few instances where some solid contact was made. I had no problem with the slo-mo replays, myself. If you like full contact filmmaking, you'll like HIGH KICK GIRL!

Usually I start reviews with a plot summary, but it is not necessary. The title says it all. It's Japanese, but don't worry about having to keep up with the subtitles. None of the dialogue is worth reading. All of this movie is, is lousy fight scenes and training in between.Now I could write about the acting, the directing or the production design etc. but I'm not, they are all lousy. Instead I'm going to write about the fighting, because when it comes to a movie like this, that is what is important. The fights are mildly entertaining. They are obviously fake. Very few of the attacks look painful. In a few shots it visible that the punch or kick doesn't make contact, yet the actor still acts like he is in intense pain. All of the fights are rather one sided and feature basic fighting moves. There is nothing amazing in this movie. No dangerous stunts or amazing attacks. Sure there are high kicks, but they are all replayed and disrupt the flow of the scenes.Now I would like to touch on the camera work. I usual don't notice the camera work in movies, but it was terrible. There are jump cuts, shakiness and odd angle that make the fight scenes even more unpleasing. There also long pause to create drama, but only create yawns.There is one good thing I can say and that is that the movie is inspirational for teenage girls interested in karate. The main character is someone that girls can relate to. She is also a good role model. At the beginning of the movie she is disobedient. Then over the course of the movie she learns to respect her teacher. It does teach some morals for teenage girls. It also show the amount of discipline need to learn karate.Over all I give the movie a four out of ten and that is generous.

Rina Takada plays a girl who is relentlessly pursuing her 'Black Belt' by beating up every top fighter around her neighbourhood. Unfortunately, her challenges draw the attention of an elite group of fighters who have an old score to settle with her Sensei.As the film goes on it becomes quite boring and dull, it is the age old story of a student who goes off the rails, and then her teacher arrives to save the day...However, the film is not focused on drama, it's aim is to create a amazing fight scenes. And it succeeds to an extent.The fight scenes are very realistic and brilliantly devised as 'High Kick Girl' takes out her opponents with spinning kicks and head kicks, but the one thing that ruins a perfectly good fight scene is a 'Replay'...and this film has a lot of 'Replays'....An awful lot. Sometimes it nice to see a close up of a kick...But honestly, you'll hate it after Thirty minutes.All in all, a satisfying Karate movie.