''Animal World'' (), also known as ''Animal World: Mr. Nobody'', is a 2018 Chinese

action-adventure film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

written and directed by Han Yan, and starring

Li Yifeng Li Yifeng (born Li He, 4 May 1987) also known as Evan Li, is a Chinese actor and singer, who rose to fame after participating in the 2007 ''My Hero'' contest. He debuted as a singer in the same year, with the album ''Four Leaf Clover''. Since 20 ...

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AF ...

and

Zhou Dongyu Zhou Dongyu () is a Chinese actress, who gained recognition after appearing in Zhang Yimou's film '' Under the Hawthorn Tree''. She was also chosen by '' Southern Metropolis Daily'' as one of the " Four Dan actresses of the post-90s Generation" ...

. It is based on the manga '' Kaiji'' by

Nobuyuki Fukumoto is a Japanese manga artist well known for his work including unique and original gambling ideas, deep psychological analyses of characters, and distinct artstyle. Yakuza and gambling are recurring themes in his manga. In English-speaking countri ...

. ''Animal World'' is produced jointly by Shanghai Ruyi Film Production Co., Ltd., Shanghai Pitaya Film Production Co., Ltd.,

Tencent Pictures Tencent Pictures () is a Chinese film distributor and production company owned by Tencent. It has created films based on books, manhua, donghua and video games. In 2015, Tencent set up Tencent Penguin Pictures (Shanghai), a new movie production u ...

, Jixiang Films, Fire Dragon Guo Pictures, Youth Enlight and

Enlight Pictures Beijing Enlight Pictures Co., Ltd. is a Chinese film production company. In 2014, the company was the third largest film distributor in China, with 7.75% of the market. Beijing Enlight Pictures is a subsidiary of Beijing Enlight Media. History In 2 ...

. The film premiered in China on June 29, 2018.

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

has acquired the global digital rights to the film.

Plot

Zheng Kaisi works a low-paying job and struggles to pay his mother's medical bills, relying on help from his nurse girlfriend, Liu Qing. At his friend Li Jun's behest, Kaisi mortgages his mother's apartment for a property scheme, but this backfires and leaves Kaisi with even greater debt. Anderson, the owner of Kaisi's debt, invites Kaisi onto the ship Destiny, where passengers from all over the world play

rock paper scissors Rock paper scissors (also known by other orderings of the three items, with "rock" sometimes being called "stone," or as Rochambeau, roshambo, or ro-sham-bo) is a hand game originating in China, usually played between two people, in which each p ...

for money. On the ship, players are given cards that correspond to rock, paper or scissors, and three stars, which are lost or gained when they lose or win matches. Players need to finish all their cards and have at least three stars in order to win and get off the ship. Kaisi is approached by fellow player Zhang Jingkun, who suggests they team up to tie all their matches so they can use all their cards and keep their stars, but Jingkun betrays him and leaves him with one star. Kaisi teams up with Li Jun, who is also on the ship, and Fatty Meng, a fellow one-star player. Kaisi's talent with math and probability enables him to pick the right matches to play and help his teammates. Jingkun tempts Kaisi into abandoning his teammates but Kaisi refuses and reveals to all that Jingkun has marked the cards. Jingkun is left with one card, and no one but Kaisi is willing to play with him. Kaisi, wanting revenge by forcing Jingkun to slap himself, agrees to the match despite it allowing Jingkun to finish his cards. Kaisi loses all his stars and is taken to the "black room", where he waits for his teammates save him. Li Jun and Fatty Meng follow Kaisi's strategy and win the stars they need. However, Fatty Meng convinces Li Jun to sell the stars instead so they can wipe out their personal debt. Kaisi manages to trick his way out of the black room, and takes the money earned by his former teammates to pay for the freedom of another player who was also betrayed. Kaisi returns to Liu Qing a changed man. In an epilogue, Kaisi realizes that Anderson is the man who killed his father.

Cast

as Zheng Kaisi *

as Anderson *

as Liu Qing *

Cao Bingkun Cao Bingkun () is a Chinese actor. He graduated from the acting department of Beijing Film Academy in 2005. Early life and education Before deciding to become an actor, Cao wanted to become a chef. He went to a vocational high school to study c ...

as Li Jun * Wang Ge as Meng Xiaopang * Su Ke as Zhang Jingkun * Chi Jia as Andō * Zhang Junyi * Li Yijuan as Zheng's mother.

Production

Shooting began on February 24, 2017 and ended on August 15 of that same year. The film was shot on locations in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

, and

Haikou Haikou (; ), also spelled as Hoikow is the capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is on the Ha ...

Soundtrack

Release

''Animal World'' premiered at the 21st Shanghai International Film Festival, and opened in China on June 29, 2018.

Box office

The film topped the Chinese box office charts, dethroning '' Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom''. ''Animal World'' grossed () in China, $5,392 in New Zealand, and $358,225 in other territories, for a worldwide total gross of .

Critical reception

The film received mainly positive reviews.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Animal World Kaiji (manga) 2010s action adventure films 2018 films Chinese action adventure films Films directed by Han Yan Films shot in Beijing Films shot in Hainan Films shot in Tianjin Films about gambling 2010s Mandarin-language films Films about death games Tencent Pictures films