Ajisajawa (Ken Takakura- Ridley Scott's Black Rain) is an ex-Special Defense Force soldier. He was discharged and his records cleared following a disaster while his unit was on an intense survival exercise. The disaster in question involved the slaughter of a small village. After the subsequent cover-up by the army and his discharge, Ajisajawa adopted the only survivor, a young girl, Yoriko (Hiroko Yakashimaru), who was so traumatized that the tragedy was wiped from her memory.

Now, settled into a humble life working as an insurance investigator, one of his cases causes him to cross paths with a reporter, Tomoko (Ryoko Nakano), whose twin sister was killed in the village massacre. He takes it upon himself to be her protector, which is timely because both of their investigations involve the local yakuza gang, the Oba's, who pretty much rule the entire town from the local politicians to the police.

Though Ajisajawa is reluctant to become the violent killer he was trained to be, he still wants to protect Yoriko and Tomoko and fight the corrupt gangsters. Circumstances get worse and the pressures pile up. From losing his job, to Yoriko's returning memory and psychic visions, to the gangsters increased bullying, to police investigating him, to his old special forces buddies frowning on all of this attention digging up the past, Ajisajawa becomes a man who has been pushed too far.

Befitting its era, Never Give Up feels like a De Laurentis or Golan/Globus production. It is pretty disjointed and feels like there is a lot going on; though really that is just because so many coincidental paths cross. Plus the dizzy hodgepodge of styles make it one part drama, one part gangster, one part supernatural, and one part action flick. Be it editing for time or just loose scripting, logical transition just clearly wasn't the first thing on the film makers minds. The narrative makes some odd shifts- for instance, a scene where two cops attack Ajisajawa and Yoriko in their home sort of cuts off mid-fight and the next time we see them they are walking down a road and are attacked by gangsters on motorbikes. Likewise, later in the film, in the span of about a minute, Ajisawa goes from being arrested, to attacked by dirty cops, to captured by the Special Forces.

But, you know, it is supposed to be a popcorn flick. As someone raised on a steady diet of 80's action cheese, the labyrinthian plotting and sometimes glaring lack of lucidity is kinda' endearing to me- especially at about 2AM. Plus, the kid in me enjoys watching action films with Radio Shack helicopters exploding. And, come on, if you are looking for a horn-a-plenty film, Never Give Up offers everything from hang gliding commandos, psychic girls, sleazy gangsters, plucky reporters, determined cops, and a haunted hero. As much as the mature me largely hates modern popcorn films, there is something about the ones made in the late 70's throughout the 80's (we'll call it the Delta Force era) that were appealing simply because they were so blunt and shameless and less savvy in packaging themselves in shiny slick packages.

Now, initially, for much of the films running time, I found it hard to pin down why it was a hit. It was okay, purely a b-film, but so ramshackle in its plotting and characters that couldn't see the appeal. But, as it gets into its final hour, the sporadic action quotient is raised and rarely lets up. By that time you/the audience has stuck with it so long, you just have to give in and accept the messiness in all its antiglory. Plus, Ken Takakura has great screen presence. He is a guy, like Robert Mitchum or Jean Reno, who can play characters that are an equal measure of macho and sensitive. Or, maybe I'm wrong and it was a hit purely because Japanese audiences were lining up for the Richard Anderson (The Six Million Dollar Man) cameo.

The DVD: Adness

Picture: Anamorphic Widescreen. Well, it does show its age. While there is not really any bad damage in terms of excessive dirt and spots, the image has some problems. Grain levels are fairly high. Contrast leans toward grays and the black levels could use some better balance. Especially suffering from this are some night scenes that come across way too dark and murky. Color details and sharpness are decent. But, you can really see the twenty-plus years of age on the film. It is an okay enough transfer but just not as technically sound as it could be.

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Japanese language, with optional English subtitles. The source has all kinds of little quirks. The dialogue is mostly okay but has the distorted bit here and there. Most glaring is the sound fx, where there is some dropoff or lack of fx noise for some scenes, like you'll see a crowd of soldiers firing guns or a tank cannon firing and hear no gun or shellfire. I'm pretty sure you cannot blame Adness but blame the source, because even when there is fx noise, it is weak and stock sounding, so clearly there was some skimping on the post sound mixing. This one could use a remix.

Extras: Liner Notes— Trailers.

Conclusion: This is by no means a very good polished, rational film. It is however a pretty fair b-action flick that cannot quite live up to its ambitious scope. If you look at your movie rack and your eye glances over the likes of Commando, The Last Hunter, Invasion USA, or P.O.W.: The Escape, then, although flawed and sometimes slow, this could still be right up your alley. If it sounds like your kinda' film, the low retail price helps for a casual purchase, otherwise, for the wary, it is a decent weekend rental.