Lik Wong / Riki-Oh / The Story of Ricky (1991)
When one peruses the dark vaults of the cinematic world, chances are that one has ventured upon this little gem. There's a reason why 'Riki-Oh' is so (in)famous.
Yes, it is an adaptation of a manga. Yes, it's martial arts Hong Kong-style. But those are not the reason why this one is almost considered a holy grail of awesome.
This is probably the goriest kung fu-film ever made. Heck, at times, it has more gore than Italian zombiefilms and thàt is saying something.
In the gloriously dated future of 2001, prisons have become privatised and this of course opens the door for ruthless guards, prisoner abuse and crime. In the prison our hero Ricky is sent to, discipline in the four wings is maintained by four martial artists who rule under the auspices of the assistant warden and the warden himself. Any and all slights are settled through brute force and the death toll among prisoners is pretty high.
If you're wondering why Ricky is sent here: it's because he killed several men that caused the death of his girlfriend. It should also be noted that Ricky still has several bullets embedded in his chest, that he is insanely strong and heals surprisingly quickly. At times, this feels a bit like 'Hokuto no Ken/Fist of the North Star', except Kenshiro gets his ass handed to him more often than Ricky.
Ricky is also a pure soul, someone who will always choose the side of the oppressed and downtrodden, something that doesn't sit well with the assistant-warden. And when Ricky finds out that poppies for opiumproduction are grown on the prison grounds, things really start to heat up. Add to that the deaths of some of his fellow inmates that didn't need to die, and all bets are off.
Let's be honest: we're not watching this for the story. In fact, the story is pretty perfunctory anyway. Character motivations are often vague and/or switch and even Ricky isn't that consistent when and why he starts to fight or not. He does take quite a lot of abuse, though. Luckily, a young Siu-Wong Fan is charismatic enough as Ricky, even if he does come across as a total goofball in the flashback scenes.
But thé reason to watch this, is to gaze in awe at the insane splatter that occurs whenever there are fights. I'm talking heads caved in, smashed in, jaws ripped off, fists going through torsos, decapitations...
To give but one example of how completely bonkers this all is: there is one fight when a combatant realizes he is going to lose, so he cuts open his own abdomen and proceeds to try and strangle his opponent with his own intestines! And that isn't even the half of it!
Needless to say: this isn't for everyone. But if you can stomach over-the-top violence meshed with excellent Hong Kong-style martial arts, then this has to be your jam.
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