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Wasabi

EMAILPRINTTriStar Pictures

Wasabi reviews
53
8.5 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 15 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 11 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama

Written by: Luc Besson

Directed by: Gérard Krawczyk

Release Date:
Theatrical: September 27, 2002
DVD: February 11, 2003

Running Time: 94 minutes, Color

Origin: France / Japan

Summary

RATING: R for some violence

Starring Jean Reno, Ryoko Hirosue, Michel Muller, Carole Bouquet, Ludovic Berthillot, Yan Epstein, Michel Scourneau, and Christian Sinniger

A French police inspector (Reno) with a tender heart and a tough manner pursues the killer of an old flame in Tokyo.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

80

New Times (L.A.) Andy Klein

This nearly perfect confection never takes its action more seriously than its comedy.

75

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Like a Hollywood buddy-cop movie gone through a multi-culti blender. It holds up a funhouse mirror to that familiar scenario in which a maverick cop breaks the rules.

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75

New York Post Megan Lehmann

The spaniel-eyed Jean Reno ("Ronin") infuses Hubert with a mixture of deadpan cool, wry humor and just the measure of tenderness required to give this comic slugfest some heart.

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70

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Enjoyable action comedy from the Clint Eastwood mold, though the comic elements are more fun than the action.

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60

LA Weekly Paul Malcolm

The film lapses too often into sugary sentiment and withholds delivery on the pell-mell pyrotechnics its punchy style promises.

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60

The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray

Offers watchable light entertainment, even though the prospect of the most respected national cinema indulging clunky cop-movie stereotypes is, if not scandalous, then at least disappointing.

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60

Village Voice Laura Sinagra

The real charm of this trifle is the deadpan comic face of its star, Jean Reno, who resembles Sly Stallone in a hot sake half-sleep.

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58

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Does its job colorfully and entertainingly, as long as you don't lean too hard on such niggling details as logic, legality and the laws of physics.

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50

Variety Lisa Nesselson

An acceptably entertaining but borderline bland vehicle for Jean Reno.

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50

San Francisco Chronicle Jonathan Curiel

A silly, cross-cultural shoot-'em-up -- the sort of movie that will work for those with some time to kill (no pun intended).

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50

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

At least Reno is around -- and he's the only spice in this stale, slick stew

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50

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Driven by sheer enthusiam (much of it for the worst excesses of Hollywood filmmaking), which makes it fun to watch in spite of its fundamental ridiculousness.

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40

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Culinary purists have observed that much of what passes for the spicy Japanese condiment wasabi at American restaurants is an ersatz concoction of horseradish and green food coloring. The French-language action comedy Wasabi is just as artificial, pumped with horseradish to give it heat in lieu of actual spice.

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40

Los Angeles Times Manohla Dargis

Wasabi dawdles and drags when it should pop; it doesn't even have the virtue of enough mindless violence to break up the tedium of all its generational bonding.

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38

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

It is a thriller trapped inside a pop comedy set in Japan, and gives Reno a chirpy young co-star who bounces around him like a puppy on visiting day at the drunk tank.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 11 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Xerxes K. gave it a10:
The best movie i've seen! High fun & perfect story line. It's worth it see.

Jose C. gave it a3:
This movie was horrible. I can't believe the other reviews below. It is not funny and you keep hoping it ends soon. Stay away from this, especially if you like Jean Reno -- your opinion may change after this.

Thomas L. gave it a 7:
Wasabi had a lot of heart. Reno and hirosue were great together. This is a refreshing comedy that has a human element that I enjoyed very much. Besides, movies aren't supposed to obey the laws of physics... if they did there would be no Hollywood.

Mazena gave it a 10:
I juust loved it! Maybe the fact that I'm crazy about Japan and I study french helped a little, but still... The soundtracks good too, it didn't have the ddr song though (it was 'dive' btw) nor the song Yumi played at her room. Well.. The movie deserved 10. The only downside of the movie was the english dub... thank god you could turn it off ^^

Joshua W. gave it a 10:
This is the kind of movie where plausibility has no place, and that's perfect. I saw it twice in one day and enjoyed it even more the second time. I had more fun watching this movie than I've had in quite a while. I wish more movies could be this entertaining and true to themselves.

Phat man gave it a 10:
This is great. rent it. great music and great fighting. ryoko hirosue is also hot.

[Anonymous] gave it an 8:
Pretty good comedy, if you know how to set aside some things like logic and the laws of physics :-)

Read more user comments >

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