One Percent Warrior – Meta Action Movie Thrills (Early Review)

One Percent Warrior (or One Percenter) is the latest action film from star Tak Sakaguchi (of Versus fame) and legendary action choreographer Kensuke Sonomura. The film tells the tale of what happens when an action star finds himself in the middle of an actual action movie scenario.

The film opens on a very convincingly recreated early 2000s DVD featurette for the fake film that our lead became a cult icon for. Showing his methodology in martial arts and offering a behind-the-scenes look at training and planning for an action film. A featurette filled with heaps of praise and passion. However, cutting to the present day, his career never quite took off, playing second fiddle in a wuxia style action film (lots of wire work and stylistic unrealistic moves) surrounded by bored producers and hack directors, a sharp contrast to the passion displayed initially. Sakaguchi (his character is never given a name but he’s ostensibly playing a version of himself) decides to take on a pupil, to teach him his unique, signature form of martial arts.

Assassination-jitsu is a form so intense and so deadly, no action star but him would ever commit to it. Training oneself to dodge bullets and kill a man…when all one needs to do is fake it for the camera? Luckily for him, that training will come in handy once the pair came face-to-face with a Yakuza gang while location scouting. What should be a moment of terror becomes a lightbulb moment for Sakaguchi as an opportunity to kickstart his career flashes before his eyes. A chance to showcase his moves by single-handedly taking down this gang, and have his apprentice film it all from the sidelines. As one can surmise from the premise, One Percent Warrior is a very meta film, with plenty of digs and allusions to the modern state of cinema and action filmmaking in Asia.

Once the set up is established and the action plot takes off, the meta satire unfortunately takes a back seat for the remainder of the film. The shift primarily to action both highlights the film’s greatest strengths while also limiting it from hitting its full potential. To start with the positives, choreographer Kensuke Sonomura has slowly been building up an impressive body of work, with his involvement alone now becoming a major selling point for action fans and his work here did not disappoint. The blisteringly fast speeds at which Sakaguchi dismantles and destroys the bad guys is astonishing and is so fast and controlled that slow-motion would have come in handy, if only to make it easier to follow along. A particular highlight is a nighttime fight featuring what was, by far, the most creative use of a flashlight.

That being said, the fight choreography is all that the remainder of the film has to provide, as its meta satirical premise set up earlier is dropped fairly quickly for something far simpler. Had the film started off more straightforward, it would have been no issue, but with a premise so fun and full of potential, it was hard not to feel disappointed the further it went. The film’s sense of humour and poking fun at it’s genre also gives way to a more serious action story. While some may disagree about how the film’s meta satire continues throughout in a far more subtle way, only those intensely familiar with the Japanese action scene are most likely to pick up on it, coming off as a little too “inside baseball.” The true kicker is ultimately the ending, where a complete tonal shifting twist leaves the film on a confusingly sour note. A turn of events that feels like it was a leftover from a prior draft that lacked enough prior set up to make it land.

In the end, One Percent Warrior is an enjoyable watch but one undoubtedly better suited for the hardcore fans. For viewers just looking for incredible fight choreography and action, they will be more than well served, however, if its meta narrative had been better utilized, the film could’ve been something special!

Author’s Note: Ahead of this film’s North American release, new information has surfaced regarding allegations of sexual misconduct by lead star Tak Sakaguchi, who also has a history of past allegations (of which he has admitted and apologized for). Finding out about these latest allegations shortly after reviewing the film and not wanting to dismiss the talented work of everyone else who worked on it solely because of one man’s actions, it was important to at least acknowledge and inform potential audiences before they decide to rent or purchase the film for themselves. Whether you wish to separate the art from the artist or decide to boycott the film is up entirely to you, and both stances are understandable. To read more on this case, read this X (formerly Twitter) thread here.

still courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment

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Alex Josevski

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