Electric Dragon 80,000 Volts was quite a ride. Personally I enjoyed it and I think there are multiple factors that play into the appeal. Firstly I was unsure of what to expect when I saw it was only 55 minutes long. On average, the shorter the movie the less I enjoy it. I can't quite say why this is but I suspect it has something to do with the director, budget and overall story. Honestly, I was unaware this movie was on the selected watch list for this lit class. I picked this movie out on a whim the other week just to watch it out of sheer interest because of my ever-increasing need to see intriguing science fiction films.
Overall the film played much like a storm. It was overall black and white, started with a rumble, got calm then BAM! the storm hit and the then died just as quick as it came. This was fitting for the film. I am sure the director knew the story was not deep and so to make it short was essentially a necessity. The pacing worked well and it did not bother me that it was slow for a lengthy time. I can appreciate this. It seemed to have a French Nouveau approach and reminded me a bit of Breathless. A considerable amount of time was spent in one place and it had a mundane a-day-in-the-life feel even though Dragon Eye Morisson's daily life was quite energetic. Chaos is the keyword. It's only logical that the story takes place in Tokyo, one of the most electrified cities in the world.
Energy throughout and everywhere is an understatement. The shots added to this as well. Even from the first shot I felt as if I were reading a comic book or manga. The electric tower shots were actually quite nice and got me interested fairly quickly. The framing as well as the on screen text, narration and character actions seemed to be pulled right out of a comic. I suppose this is expected of Sogo Ishii considering his background and interests. I have not seen any of his other films but I would be interested in checking them out.
The concept of becoming a super-charged individual and shooting lightning bolts to fight your enemies is not necessarily a new thing. Even William Wallace joked about shooting it out his 'arse' and there's also Raiden from Mortal Kombat who I could probably have gone without mentioning but I had to get my video game kick in somewhere... The point being that at least in this film there are some new approaches such as the necessity of an outlet for excess energy through playing his guitar. Without his guitar, he would become an uncontrollable violent slob who would need to punch something to satiate this loss of humanity. Well this isn't that far from any typical metal-head now that I think about it... I always enjoy a nice little satirical stab on occasion. Thunderbolt Buddha is just ridiculous. Being super-charged from an electrical tower and absorbing energy from shock-therapy treatments and emitting lightning is totally understandable and believable but a dude who wears a mask that covers half of his face and is half possessed is just silly. I love it. Anything that is bizzare is brain food to me. I say bring it on. I like to see that some directors can still step outside of the box on occasion and produce something that not only looks professional, but challenges audiences to accept something beyond reality on a ridiculous level.
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