Animal World (2018) User Reviews

Surprisingly entertaining and engaging

[linkus-88363 · 7/10 · 5 July 2018]

Animal World is the Chinese adaptation of the Japanese film Kaiji Ultimate Gambler.

The effects in this film are extremely good. It's used in a way which highlights impact moments and helps the film explain its logic based obstacles. Not everyone will be able to follow the logic unfortunately. The film does it's best to explain to the audience but does not slow down. My partner who is a native mandarin speaker said she got lost at times, so it wasn't really the language that was the problem. I really enjoyed the puzzle / riddle type thinking exercises the movie places in front of you.

The characters aren't built up or developed and lack substance. The film isn't focused on that. It uses that as a background to set the stage for the main part of the film. Once it starts though, the film managed to me engaged and excited looking forward to what happens next. Through clever use of special effects and camera work, you get to enjoy some well executed cinematography.

I would actually recommend this to some of my family and friends who I know enjoy these kinds of films. I would watch it again once it comes out on my devices.

In conclusion, those who enjoy fast paced, straight into the action that requires a bit of thinking will enjoy this movie. It was definitely executed well for the type of movie it is trying to be. 7 / 10

Different, but good

[blackseakt · 7/10 · 12 October 2018]

It was quite different than the original Kaiji. I did not know what to expect when I saw the weird clown fights, but in the end they were a nice dark addition to the story, can't say the same about the other elements. The worst thing for me was that I could not see Kai Si's ultimate despair mode, and that is a bit lacking because that was the moment when Kaiji came up with all of his greatest ideas. And of course, I missed the "zawa zawa" onomatopoeia, as a mark of Nobuyuki Fukumoto.

Not what I expected

[druiz-38703 · 7/10 · 13 July 2018]

Im not gonna lie, when I first saw the trailer I was excited to see the movie, then I had the chance and it was not even close to what I expected. But at the end it was a really good movie. No regrets

Simple concept turned into good story.

[rainfollower-95-646324 · 7/10 · 9 September 2019]

First of all, "gambling for life" is not anything new. We've seen the idea development in many movies and books already. There were all kinds of such games: walking day and knight, card games, labyrinths, TV shows, computer games... Even the extra-dimensional space sliced into cubic rooms (you know what I am hinting at!) So you can hardly be surprised or entertained by yet another kind of a game where stakes are so high.

And you can hardly say that you couldn't guess what would be the plot in general. Really, you can roughly outline it since the very beginning.

Yet, this movie is really good! And what makes it good is how story writers turned a very simple kind of game into a very deep and complex human interaction. How the gaming process melts into background to highlight all the complex things that happen between characters downstage. How the plot twists are really powered by human passions, not just gaming activities. And this is really cool! This is where really good movie making begins!

I won't say this is the best film of the year, but it is definitely good, and entertaining, and also quite beautiful (even with all the surrealistic ugly monsters that appear on-screen). Unexpectedly "western" kind of movie for China, too. See it! It's fun!

They tried to hard!

[martimus-56459 · 6/10 · 26 July 2018]

My favorite Anime is Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji and so I watched this movie to in a way find out they just tried to hard to get away from the anime with these more Deadpool like effects and a different personality, that's also why many said it would be like Deadpool but it isn't anything like it! This movie completly goes over the Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji Ship plot of the first Season and tries to varie a bit with a somewhat different plot at the start on how or why he got there and why he needs to get back! Thoese Jumps with the clown just in a way simbolise how filthy and asshole like many of the people there are and he is the hero that fights through it wich isnt really in any way important and are mostly confusing! I found that the Anime Explanation was a bit better because it wasnt really as fast explained as it is in the movie! It is defenitly something for poeple that wont wanna see a really awesome and well crafted Anime! It would had potential if it was directly based on the Anime and not with so many confusing and really unessassary scenes! If you like stuff like this i can only recommend either watching the anime if you are more Live action oriented like this movie is then Liars Game is a really good Recommendation for you!

Animal World: Fantastic, but not for the reasons you'd think

[Platypuschow · 8/10 · 25 March 2019]

Animal World got some great publicity because of the train scene that went viral across social media, a martial arts clown battling monsters through train carriages! Memorable stuff. For this reason that's what I assumed Animal World would basically be, I was mistaken and in a good way.

It tells the story of a young man who finds himself in tremendous debt and forced to play an elaborate game of rock paper scissors hosted by Michael Douglas to save himself.

Okay fine the premise sounds a bit ropey but in fact it's the concept that makes this such a remarkable film. It looks like a AAA Hollywood film not the Chinese movie it is, it's well cast, very cleverly written and I was gripped more than I have been by a film in quite sometime.

So the clown? the cgi monsters? the incredible over the top fight scenes? Well they're the weakest part of the film! Not because they're bad, in fact quite the opposite they're incredible stuff. No the problem with them is that they're entirely unnecessary, they detract from the movie rather than contribute to it. Instead of seeing more (Because there isn't much) I'd rather they had not included that at all, maybe make a separate movie altogether for that stuff.

Such a clever well constructed film with entirely forgivable flaws.

The Good:

Some incredible visuals

Solid soundtrack

Michael Douglas

Fantastic concept

The Bad:

Side concept is unnecessary

Unfinished story with no assurance of a sequel

great photography

[mail-04210 · 6/10 · 18 July 2020]

Well acted, interesting but a bit confusing story.If you aren't into gambling and if you aren't that great in math it gets rather boring after a while.

'Surviving the Game' style roshambo (and so much more)

[ernestsavesxmas · 8/10 · 17 December 2019]

Truly one of the most insane things I've ever seen. If you love rock paper scissors, Michael Douglas phoning it in, and random CGI monster violence that serves nearly no purpose to the plot, this is the movie for you! In all seriousness, this does feel like a movie attempting to cater to perhaps the widest swath of film watcher demos I've ever seen: action junkies, weirdo gore heads, car chase aficionados, romcom fans, mathy puzzle junkies, anime kids, CGI freaks; certainly there's some Venn diagram crossover but to stuff it all in? INSANE. That the movie is pretty damn enjoyable on the whole feels like a minor miracle, but here we are. I liked it! When the pretty clever ending setup a direct sequel? I was excited! Look, life is kinda crazy. Sometimes you don't want a deep, contemplative work of art. Sometimes you just wanna watch a little 'Surviving the Game' style roshambo and enjoy the ride.

Not what I expected

[shaqmbile · 6/10 · 25 March 2020]

Extremely misleading trailers Fun but forced story Cool concept Great CG moments Some fun twists

Unique but not very cohesive

Just meh... And that's about it

[darapjohnson · 5/10 · 23 October 2022]

Well that's one way to make rock, papers, scissors fun... This movie was a bit silly with the whole premise of deadly child's game but it was fairly enjoyable. Nothing that excited me to my core but it was just below 2.5 stars. Not too bad but not too good either. Only reason i'm giving it 5 stars and not more is that it could've done much more with the plot and premise, but oh well...

We have seen deadly childgames actually be exciting with an example such as "Squid Games" but this was just... bland. It hurts me to say because I usually am a sucker for asian movies like this, but this just didn't hit that very well with me.

Pretentious and groundless

[TheBigSick · 10 July 2018]

The plot of this film is disposable, and most of the illusory scenes are merely disturbing. There are too many voice-overs. The setting and tone are kind of weird and inconsistent throughout the film. A supposedly interesting thriller just turns out to pretentious and groundless.

Good Story

[dennis_mcdougal · 7/10 · 2 August 2018]

The movie had a good plot, kept me interested the whole time.

Eye Candy without the flavour

[xtruefinale · 7/10 · 14 November 2018]

The film can be described as one of those fantasy/mystery/thriller genres that a mass entertainment consumer such as myself will recognize, games/shows like Steins Gate (visual novel, anime), No Game No Life (anime), 999 (video game).

The film delivers enough tension for most audiences to be hooked on/watch to the end. Really high end visual graphics (CGI) and attempt along the way to show some character development and smart writing/or explained thinking of our protagonist.

Sadly as an entertaining film as it is, it feels like sometimes the use of high quality CGI was more an excuse rather than an enhancement. The story seems to come across as pretentiously wanting to create some depth/mystery but fails to deliver on these so in example to previously works of the same genre.

The protagonist is seeming meant to be portrayed to be a cunning, playful and at times cool in anime tropes, but I fail to identify/admire him when the film comes to a conclusion.

A good entertainment cheese to watch with a mixed audience when you can't agree on a really good film to watch instead.

Not worth to pay for movie

[mailtaskservice · 6/10 · 9 October 2021]

It has nothing to do with animals or monsters. It is a gambling movie.

Its wasting time to keep repeating the scenes of unrelated monsters fighting in a train that is is daydreaming.

It also not that interesting of the gamblings technics ideas. Too bad it just slight above average nice movie but I will not pay to watch it, just not worth.

Is it kaiji

[Im-SoRRy-ITS-TakEN · 6/10 · 18 January 2022]

This is a Chinese live action knock off of the anime Kaiju. The film has some merit on its own but isn't as developed as it's predecessor, making it a random thriller instead of an actual story. Although with a sequel I can see this going somewhere. I like some of the changes made or the way it was shown and the film was a good watch. However adding in the visions of the clown felt unecessary and could have been executed better, yet not the worst.

Wasted potential

[ramonster_uk · 5/10 · 3 July 2018]

I really wanted to love this movie, first Chinese movie I have seen in the cinema for years, but ultimately I was let down.

So yeah, the visuals are good, great even! Sadly this is style over substance. It was like mathematics, matrix style in parts (watch it and you will see what I mean). Sadly, I do not speak Chinese, so reading the subs and trying to make sense of the math proved just too confusing in parts. Either way though, wasn't really missing much in terms of a good story.

Could have been so much better, or just completely different and better in all fairness.

Won't be watching it again, but I am interested in watching a sequel, just to see if it gets any better. 5 at best here from me

Rock, paper, scissors in an exciting poker style :D

[Aktham_Tashtush · 8/10 · 30 September 2018]

Well first I gotta give it to the visual effects guys .. WOW ,.. even though it had little to do with the real story of the plot .. it added an amazing colorful style that transfer you into a Chinese Deadpool effect... and the set itself was all classic musty dirty cage fight style .. loved it.

The story might sound ridiculous at first ,,well it might be .. but still they presented with such thrill and edginess it actually looked like one of these famous poker movies like "21" or "Casino Royale" i really didn't htink i'd enjoy it that much .. i mean it might have been a bit long .. but that's how the chinese production usually works .. anyway .. the surprise is .. there will be a second part of the movie ..

The cast were phenomenal ,, Yi Feng Li was so convincing and did really well .. Michael Douglas did good too .. being the old evil guy .. the movie had a lot of nationalities in the cast .. and they all did wel-.

Final thought ,, you might think it's silly , but it is not .. it is recommended.

Better than the Japanese version in my opion

[crovax188 · 7/10 · 15 November 2018]

As a fan who read the manga and saw the Japanese version of the movie. I feel this is better and interesting to watch as it builds the character before the showdown.

Even though I knew what was coming, they did a few things extra that the Japanese and manga doesn't have.

I hope there is a chinese version with such quality for "Liar Game"

Well made but ultimately boring.

[paulclaassen · 5/10 · 7 August 2019]

'Animal World' starts off looking like 'Men in Black' and develops into 'Casino Royale'. This is undoubtedly for an acquired taste, and I haven't quite acquired the taste for gambling movies. ('21' being the exception).

The film is visually stunning with incredible photography. It starts off very promising, but then becomes a gambling movie, with almost 100 minutes of the movie spent on playing a game. Although I found it interesting at first, it became tedious as I simply did not understand the game, and had no interest understanding it either. It became repetitive with very little excitement. If it wasn't for the incredible visuals and the great score, I probably would have stopped watching.

'Animal World' is incredibly well made and well acted, but this is simply not my type of film and not one I'll watch again.

it is not an original script

[yoggwork · 6/10 · 18 February 2019]

Sure enough, it is not an original script, so dramatic and contrastive interpretation of human nature. The style of the whole film, the colour of the clown stage and the reasoning of the human figure stage are very interesting. Disadvantages, clown stage content repetition and repeated too many times, the stage of human nature involves too few roles, the game is not enough.

Most competitive game of stone paper scissors ever

[kushalford · 7/10 · 18 May 2021]

What a ming boggling experience . I needed to take rest for few hours just to decipher what exactly happened here . It is so bizarre that there are no words for it . Started off strong but then went into the different direction altogether . The joker sequences are easily the best parts . The game was so intense that it hurt my brain . A rollercoaster ride nevertheless.

Game strategy and story

[nobelmansour · 9/10 · 14 July 2018]

Most of everything is related to each other, how everything that happens is not a random plot twist that is just a time-filler with no relation to the story. I also enjoyed looking at him doing the game strategies, it's really entertaining to have them strategizing right in front of you. Plus, the effects are great!

The story is pretty well made, and, the sequel isn't out yet. Even though most of the characters are not very developed, the movie still gets you excited for what happens next.

Great misleading trailer.

[thefewtheproudanilo · 3/10 · 29 September 2018]

The movie is visually stoning, but it lacks in story. The trailer forgot to show that 80% of the movie is about a rock, paper, scissor tournament. No fighting, no ninja clown, no car chase, even i can make a better movie than this come on.

Very entertaining.

[Lujuriaa · 8/10 · 4 April 2021]

The movie surprised me, I had no idea that the Chinese could be directing something like this. The movie was absolutely amazing, the actors fit perfectly with their roles, also I liked that they used a variety of languages.

Totally garbage!

[stefanhus · 1/10 · 9 May 2020]

Simply too much unnecessary CG effects and scenes. It lacks in story as compared to the original Kaiji. Basically, the entirely movie is all about paper, scissor and stone gambling and showing off of CG effects.