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Starring
:
Fan
Siu Wong
Frankie
Chan
Yukari
Oshima
Bin
Shimada
Cheng
Chuan Yam
Action
:
Kwok
Choi
Producer
:
Raymond
Chow
Director
:
Nam
Nai Choi
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STORY
OF RICKY (1992)
A.K.A.
- Riki-Oh
Reviewed
by Phil Mills
'Story
Of Ricky' is a film that has garnered quite a reputation over
the years, mainly thanks to the excessive amounts of gore used
in the fight sequences that was often heavily edited.
However, now that it is freely available in it's uncut form,
is the bloodshed enough to make the film entertaining or has
the fuss all been about nothing?
In
the year 2001, prisons have now become a business that are
ruled over by corrupt wardens and their henchmen.
However, from one such prison emerges Ricky - a wrongly
convicted inmate who is extremely adept at fighting and very
hacked off. When the tough guys on his cell block start
causing trouble, it doesn't take Ricky long to take justice
into his own hands and he begins dishing out punishment with
his fists. As his activities begin to draw the attention
of the people in charge, Ricky soon becomes top of quite a few
hit lists and he is bombarded by numerous assassins.
Will Ricky's unique approach help him bring down the crooked
management or will he find himself on the fast track to death
row?
Based
on a popular manga comic strip, it's probably fair to say that
'Story Of Ricky' emerges as an adaptation that is centred
around extravagant visuals rather than a decent storyline.
Perhaps this is an easy trap to fall into when it comes to
converting a comic book to the big screen as they often
concentrate more on artwork than scripting but when done
properly, it is still possible to come up with a strong
concept (as we've seen with recent Hollywood successes such as
'Blade' or 'Spiderman'). However, 'Story Of Ricky' sets
itself up for a fall instantly with an extremely simple
"corrupt prison" plot that holds no depth or
originality and leaves the viewer (particularly those of us
unfamiliar with the source) completely devoid of emotional
attachment to the characters. It must be said though
that this is through no fault of the actors who are adequate
and do their best to incorporate the interesting traits into
their characters, but when they have so little to work with it
is difficult to produce a noteworthy performance.
In
a film that is so dependent on it's action sequences, its a
disappointment that 'Story Of Ricky' fails to capitalise on
it's many opportunities. Rather than utilise the obvious
talent of it's star Fan Siu Wong (made all the more apparent
by his demo in the HKL DVD), the film opts to make the fights
very basic with an over-reliance on gore rather than Martial
Arts ability. Obviously, this method is in keeping with
the typical manga style and on the printed page it is quite
captivating, but here it only leaves the fight fan frustrated
by the lack of actual content. However, if it is low
budget eye gouging, head crushing and limb ripping that you
crave, then there is still a saving grace to 'Story Of Ricky'.
Much like Romero's classic 'Dawn Of The Dead', the effects on
display here are created using simple materials but are
extremely effective and cause the viewer to cringe on queue.
Perhaps
at one time, 'Story Of Ricky' was a curio for fans that was
highly sought after due to it's censorship but now it just
seems like an empty vessel that is an excuse to experiment
with grotesque make-up. Definitely one for fans of
shallow horror movies or late night post-pub viewing rather
than reference material for the industry.
Rating:
 
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