Throw Down (2004) review

A trio of individuals become unlikely friends in Hong Kong: judo master Tony (Aaron Kwok) is going around challenging people to a fight, former champ Sze-To Bo (Louis Koo) is no longer involved in the sport and spends his time drinking (and feeling sad) and Mona (Cherrie Ying) aspires to be a famous singer.  As stated in the end credits, director To and his screenwriters were "inspired" by the work of Akira Kurosawa, but even Kurosawa's lesser efforts at least understood the basics of storytelling and character development which this ditzy movie does not, with most of its attention being placed on smoky, neon-lit rooms and, as the (English) title says, bodies getting flipped onto the pavement.  To me, the real "influence" is another Japanese filmmaker, Seijun Suzuki, which would explain the clear preference for style over anything else ... although it does make me nostalgic for the arcades I frequented as a kid.