Take It For What It Is & Give It A Chance

Rating: 8/10 (30 October 2006)

Okay - I really wanted to see this at the cinema but missed it, so waited till it came onto Sky Box Office. My boyf and I had read up some of the critiques on the Net and thought we'd give it a go, even though most of the write-ups were negative.
It is my belief that if you expect a lot from a film it can sometimes be a disappointment - so with that in mind we settled in on the sofa.
The first half hour is extremely annoying and plays into every cliché in the book - the girls are all hot, the Americans are all loud and obnoxious, the weird German man on the train wanting to take advantage of the USAers - it's your average jocks-going-on-holiday-to-have-sex-and-take-loads-of-drugs movie - but I believe the writer and director were doing this intentionally. A comment on what a section of the world is actually like and leading you into a misguided sense of security.
What really makes this puppy fly is the relentless cruelty that comes out. The gory scenes are actually very well done and whilst the sickest scene of all (Japanese Eye is all I will say) could have been better, the payback is beautiful, tongue-in-cheek and downright nasty.
The main character, who also gets his kit off, is not that wooden an actor and does carry the film well. It's one of those films that if you keep an open mind and realise that yes, there are better films out there, that yes, it is not the most incredible film you'll see this year and that yes, it falls into cliché-territory from time to time, it's actually a thoroughly decent movie.
Plus, it is the only film in 17 years that gave me really bad dreams (I'm talking about being skinned alive here, veins being ripped out of my arms) and any film that enters into my sub-conscience in that way gets more points because those are the kind of films you do remember for longer.
Like I said, keep an open mind, relax into the ride and give it a chance...