WASABI
Reviewed by Sam Hatch
Luc Besson, the French director of such action classics as La Femme Nikita, Leon (aka The Professional) and The Fifth Element settled into the writer/producer seat following his mixed bag Joan of Arc epic The Messenger. Stateside he's written and produced the Jet Li film Kiss of the Dragon and more recently the Jason Statham vehicle The Transporter, but he's been much busier in his homeland. Luc helped create the wildly successful French film series Taxi, and more recently the mind blowing Yamakasi, which follows the exploits of seven Parkouristes, or free runners. Wasabi is tonally similar to the Taxi series, and finds longtime Besson collaborator Jean Reno in the lead as a Dirty Harry-esque cop named Hubert who kicks ass on the job yet spends all of his private time mourning the departure of his Japanese wife, who up and left him twenty years ago. Or was it nineteen? Carole Bouquet (Melina of For Your Eyes Only fame) steps in as a potential suitor, but Hubert is apparently a lost cause in the romance department.
After a brash and stylish opening featuring nifty titles and pounding techno music, Hubert is called to the carpet by his boss for ‘accidentally' injuring the chief of police's son during a nightclub fracas. After a silly and very politically incorrect showdown with a gang of cross dressing bank robbers, Hubert learns that his long lost paramour has been found dead and that his presence is requested in Japan, much to the delight of his superiors. Once in Japan there's less of a stress on the traditional culture shock story technique as it brings into focus the relationship between Hubert and a young girl (Ryoko Hirosue's Yumi) on the cusp of adulthood, whom he soon learns is his daughter. It seems Hubert's ex had more than just the one big secret, and in true Professional style, he finds himself forced to protect the girl from naughty guys in black suits. A shopping excursion set to the tune of The Prodigy's 'Voodoo' is a delight, as Yumi trots along gaily as her guardian stealthily annihilates a score of Yakuza henchmen while she's not looking.
Other comedic relief comes from Momo (played by Taxi 2's Michel Muller), another displaced French cop with whom Hubert worked way back when. All in all the script is a light confection, and feels a tad underdeveloped at times. Though when the action does erupt it does so ably and creatively, if not as jaw-droppingly intense as in Leon. That said, there's a brief scene involving CGI golf balls that just plain rules. Japanese pop star Hirosue does a great job as Yumi, though some may find her over the top antics a bit annoying. According to some online resources she suffered a nervous breakdown after this film and was promptly labeled crazy, but she's a very charming presence in this film. As with most of Besson's work in France, Wasabi received a very limited release here in the States, but is relatively easy to locate on DVD from Columbia/Tri-Star.