SS – Special Stage (2008)

movie

(17)

Country: Japan
Genres: Action, Drama
Release: 2008-01-12
Director: Yoshinori Kobayashi
Writers: Shôhei Harumoto , Masashi Sogo
Language: Japanese
Stars: Show Aikawa , Kenichi Endo , Megumi , Mariko Ookubo , Noriko Sakai , Hideo Sakaki
Runtime: min
Awards: N/A
AKA: Esu esu , SS - Special Stage , SS エスエス (Japan)
Plot: SS is a racing movie based on a manga series.This movie's story was really good, and I really felt the passion for racing while watching this movie. However, this film has its share of flaws. Aikawa Shou and Endou Kenichi did a phenomenal job as the leading actors, but Sakai Noriko, who I was a big fan of back in the 90's, was absolutely horrible, and all the family scenes were cheesy like you wouldn't believe. The racing scenes in this movie was also a bit too undramatic and cars seemed very slow. I appreciate the realism with lack of CG and special effects, but it felt like they were driving slowly on purpose so that the car with camera could keep up without shaking. Seeing the legendary Stalion in action was a sufficient consolation though. One more thing that really bothered me was the purpose of the side characters. Some of them had absolutely zero contact with the protagonist, and felt like fillers for the film. I'm sure they are characters from manga, but if it's impossible to develop their characters in a 90 minute movie, they shouldn't be included.Despite all the flaws, this is a solid movie and a nice story. Recommended for true auto lovers.
IMDB:tt1171533