15 Apr 2008

Midnight Eagle

Original Title: Middonaito Iguru

Director: Izuru Narushima

Language: Japanese with English subtitles

Starring: Takao Osawa, Tatsuya Fuji, Yoshihiko Hakamada, Ken Ishiguro

Release: 2008-04-15

Midnight Eagle is a disappointing action film from Japan starring Takao Osawas a nature photographer who witnesses an American stealth bomber crash-landing in the snowy mountains of Japan.

As bad luck would have it, the plane is carrying a nuclear warhead that is set to detonate very soon. Japan's elite troops are quickly assigned to retrieve it, as are American forces as well as the North Korean enemies setting the stage for a three-way international conflict.

Unfortunately for Midnight Eagle, director Izuru Narushima doesn't seem to know whether he is directing an action pic or a sentimental drama. The film has a strange way of mixing weepie dramatic scenes within action sequences, slowing down the action just when it's supposed to be getting faster.

The result is an oddly and unnecessarily sentimental action film with an improbable storyline and equally improbable characters.