ESPY is a Toho sci-fi film about a group of the same name, psychics who use their telepathic, telekinetic, and teleportation abilities to fight a group of super-humans who intend to foment world discord by assassinating world leaders while pinning the blame on other international powers.
I think this is a very unusual picture for Toho. I'm going to guess -- and correct me if I'm wrong -- that this didn't do very well at the box office since there wasn't a sequel nor really any other Toho films like this one.
It's interesting trying to figure out the rules. What distance does the psychic abilities cover? Who can read who's mind? Are telepathic messages private or is it like a party line? 3,000 volts of electricity will sap you of your skills. They can see through walls but don't seem to always utilize this talent. Psychic abilities can be developed. Miki is a race car driver whose abilities only show up during extreme emotion and fight-or-flight situations. The anti-ESPY organization has the most advanced psychic; he can teleport. A real treat is seeing Tomisaburo Wakayama as Ulrov, the evil leader of the anti-ESPY forces. His is a zen-like performance of minimal physical or facial movement and deep, guttural line readings. He has the strongest psychic abilities of anyone.
I had four favorite scenes. One was at the beginning when an assassin uses his ability to see through the walls of a traveling train and take out his targets. Another one is staged inside remote, deserted warehouse. Although the rationale for getting there doesn't exactly make sense it's still a pretty neat action scene on its own. A third occurs during an important political event in a huge auditorium. When things start to go to pieces it somehow reminded me of THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE without water or turning upside down. The fourth takes place at the end when our intrepid hero team breaches the castle stronghold of Ulrov.
The film features Toho's traditional production polish, excellent TohoScope cinematography shot in Japan, Paris, and Istanbul, and a good score. There's some nudity and shotguns that blow people to bits. Fun? You be the judge.
I think this is a very unusual picture for Toho. I'm going to guess -- and correct me if I'm wrong -- that this didn't do very well at the box office since there wasn't a sequel nor really any other Toho films like this one.
It's interesting trying to figure out the rules. What distance does the psychic abilities cover? Who can read who's mind? Are telepathic messages private or is it like a party line? 3,000 volts of electricity will sap you of your skills. They can see through walls but don't seem to always utilize this talent. Psychic abilities can be developed. Miki is a race car driver whose abilities only show up during extreme emotion and fight-or-flight situations. The anti-ESPY organization has the most advanced psychic; he can teleport. A real treat is seeing Tomisaburo Wakayama as Ulrov, the evil leader of the anti-ESPY forces. His is a zen-like performance of minimal physical or facial movement and deep, guttural line readings. He has the strongest psychic abilities of anyone.
I had four favorite scenes. One was at the beginning when an assassin uses his ability to see through the walls of a traveling train and take out his targets. Another one is staged inside remote, deserted warehouse. Although the rationale for getting there doesn't exactly make sense it's still a pretty neat action scene on its own. A third occurs during an important political event in a huge auditorium. When things start to go to pieces it somehow reminded me of THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE without water or turning upside down. The fourth takes place at the end when our intrepid hero team breaches the castle stronghold of Ulrov.
The film features Toho's traditional production polish, excellent TohoScope cinematography shot in Japan, Paris, and Istanbul, and a good score. There's some nudity and shotguns that blow people to bits. Fun? You be the judge.
statistics: Posted by ryanbrennan — 5:08 AM - 1 day ago — Replies 2 — Views 275