Dark Warrior

Original Title: 魔宮戦場
Romanized: Makyuu Senjou
Literal: Demon Temple Battleground

Plot Synopsis

A Silicon Valley whiz kid, billionaire creator of the most intelligent computer on Earth, has got bigger problems than being on the cover of Time magazine. The thing is, the corporation he works for is planning to use his ideas to take over the world. As if that weren't enough, they're planning to wipe the slate of humanity clean and install their own race of preprogrammed superbeings in their place. The unwitting prototype? Our angst-ridden programmer, of course. Now that the corporation's done with their testing, they're preparing to move into the next phase of the project. Except for one thing: Their prototype isn't exactly ready to forgive and forget.

His company (and the Pentagon) wants him dead at all costs, his life is a myth, everyone he knew is an enemy, and he suddenly grows a foot and a half and develops a body that Stallone would envy (hey, life's not all bad). Will he be able to escape the unlimited resources of his former employer and stop their evil plans?

Review

Rating: 1 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2006-09-06

Dark Warrior is a good idea done badly. Other than being every nerd's fantasy (well, sort of), the concept is interesting enough and the plot could definitely go places. Unfortunately, the production is so poorly constructed that the premise ends up going to waste.

If you ignored the visuals and the specifics of the plot, the basic foundation isn't bad: There's angst, tragedy, secret plots for world domination, and a programmer with superpowers--what more could you ask for? That's the theory, but in practice, the writing is weak, the plot is thin and full of holes, and I never felt much empathy for any of the characters. Even the angst-loaded protagonist just isn't likable. There's also the fact that you aren't too likely to mistake this version of Southern California for the real thing, but then again Hollywood isn't known for its accurate depictions of foreign locales, either.

Technically, Dark Warrior doesn't fare any better. The art is unremarkable, the animation is barely average at absolute best, and the action sequences aren't well done. There are a few decent-looking moments, but none worth mentioning, and certainly not enough to save the production as a whole. At least the character designs are passable, though certainly not noteworthy. The acting in the Japanese version is mostly unremarkable, although the main character has a few decent dramatic moments.

In all, a good premise, but the story is a sloppy mess, and it's visually unremarkable. The second half might pick up a little, but there's not much to see in the first other than a superpowered nerd (which does, admittedly, have its appeal).

Related Recommendations

Similar to every other moderately cheesy action movie where a normal guy develops super powers. Probably has the most in common with Guyver and Baoh.

US DVD Review

None exists as of this writing.

Content Guide

Has quite a few objectionable scenes, easily making for 16-up.

Violence: 4 - Not terribly gory, but lots of violence, and there is also a non-graphic rape involving the main character.

Nudity: 2 - A couple of scenes.

Sex/Mature Themes: 3 - The above mentioned scenes.

Language: 2 - What you'd expect.

Notes and Trivia

Based on a six volume manga series of the same name by Shou Takeshima. It is not available in English as of this writing.

The Japanese title could translate as either "Demon Temple Battleground" or "Demon Zodiac Battleground." I assume the former, but the latter isn't impossible. The first part was also, apparently, subtitled "God Blood."

Availability

Formerly available in the US from AD Vision on two individual VHS volumes, "First Strike" and "Jihad." The first was available both subtitled and dubbed, the second subtitled only, and both are long out of print.

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