This film is like Japanese baseball manga - all plot, no character. And that's a shame because the film could have been so much more. There is almost no investigation of the backgrounds of any of the players, no exploration of the political, economic and social disjunctures of a Japanese-speaking baseball team in occupied Taiwan. Instead, it's all about discipline, team work, loyalty, and determination. These are not unworthy themes, but they've been done before in other sports films. This one tries far too hard, with an intrusive, cloying score and heavily saturated images. For a lengthier treatment of these issues, see Tsui's review in the Hollywood Reporter.
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