Here’s an odd one – The Calamari Wrestler! The film begins just as up and coming Japanese superstar pro-wrestler Taguchi is taking down his opponent to win the championship match and earn himself the belt. Once he pins his foe to the mat for the 1-2-3 count, you’d think it would be time for him to savor the sweet taste of victory but no, to his surprise, a giant squid shows up and kicks his ass. Taguchi tries to nail him with his patented full nelson but he can’t, the squid is too slippery. 

The wrestling world isn’t sure what to make of this event. Taguchi is pretty upset over it all and says that he won’t feel like a true champion unless he can defeat the squid in an authorized match and make it official but the suits who run the show want the squid, now known as The Calamari Wrestler, kicked out of the ring once and for all. 

To make matters worse for Taguchi, his girlfriend, Miyaki, feels strange stirrings every time that she sees or hears from the squid. It turns out that he just might be the reincarnated from of her ex-boyfriend and Taguchi’s old sparring partner, Kan-Ichi Iwata, who had his career cut far too short when he succumbed to a terminal illness a couple of years ago, leaving a void in the wrestling industry that Taguchi rose to fill. 

Seeing Taguchi and Miyaki are soon to be wed, you can see why the guy isn’t too happy about his fiancé's recent change in behavior. 

Eventually the suits decide that because the squid represents the Japanese populations fear of terrorism, pollution, and war that they’ll authorize a rematch in hopes that Taguchi will beat him and once again bring wrestling to the forefront of the sports entertainment industry like it was after the second world war. When the time for the rematch comes, however, Taguchi surprises everyone by having morphed into a giant octopus. 

Kind of like a Kaiju film by way of a lucha libre movie, The Calamari Wrestler is a lot of fun. It’s fast paced, it’s got a few really funny moments in it, and most importantly, it’s actually a pretty interesting movie. 

The acting is nothing to write home about the special effects are, shall we say, charmingly low-tech, but somehow the movie works even if it really does all sound like a recipe for disaster. The film is played completely straight and that does make a big difference – there aren’t any knowing winks to the camera or any tongue in cheek self referential lines – as it makes the movie feel a little more professional than it really is. 

The wrestling scenes are another big part of why the movie works. Seeing what are obviously two grown men battling it out in plush-Styrofoam sea creature costumes in a ring in front of an audience while the commentators go on about how good their moves are is funny. 

It’s also really weird – weird enough to keep your attention and ensure you want to know how it all ends up at the big finish. Without spoiling it, the movie makes an interesting point about relationships and while it’s hardly deep, there are a couple of sappy moments in the movie that are a little bit touching (I’m man enough to admit it).