Ravenside Action Classic: Lauren Avedon

15.03.2015Ravenside

Greetings, friends. Today I am opening a series of articles, conventionally called "Fight-films from Ravenside."

At one time, we actively discussed the idea of ​​publishing lists, ratings and tops of the best films in the fighting game genre from site users fight-films.info. This idea gradually transformed into the concept of articles in which I decided to share my impressions of a specific on-screen fighter (from the old school to the modern) and make a small selection of his best, again, in my opinion, films with their brief annotation and description interesting points and features. I warn you in advance about the tastefulness and concentrated subjectivity of the texts.

In general, we shuddered.

The character: Lauren Avedon

Why I like it: Once I saw on the screen a fighting actor who did not have the usual external signs of a movie fighter from the era of the late 80s - 90s. There were no sculpted muscles, no brutal appearance, the sight of which would incinerate enemies and adversaries of various stripes, no mustache, no beard. Before me appeared a very lean, long-nosed and long-legged actor with the aristocratic face of a violinist, ballet dancer or geometry teacher. At the same time, the character had excellent striking technique and noticeable acting abilities (though, since he had acting abilities, but clearly did not have acting school, he often overacted like hell). It further turned out that, within the framework of his existing acting abilities, he could play both positive and negative roles, and the latter sometimes with great success. This fighter's name was Lauren Avedon.

Unlike, for example, Van Damme, who shone with his splits, and, of course, a very worthy and legendary action actor, Lauren Avedon also stood out to me because he could always professionally perform a combination or combination of several spectacular kicks (less often with hands). At the same time, the executed combination was very clear, without editing, often in one long take, which Jean Claude could not afford, since, with the exception of a few rare moments, Van Damme is a one-hit wonder actor, which John Woo felt very well in his time. Avedon’s technique was completely “classical”, behind which a strong sports foundation and competitive practice were clearly visible, very easy and relaxed, so in purely striking moments he did not need understudies, since he could control himself 100%. Doubles were used only in acrobatic fragments or in mass synchronized sequences with several doubles (“No Retreat, No Surrender II”, “No Retreat, No Surrender III. Blood Brothers", "King of Kickboxers"). Another plus, or rather luck, of Avedon was that the fights in his main films were often staged not by Europeans or Americans, but by Asians, for example, Corey Yuen. As a rule, the combination of Asian style and European actors with their physics and cinematic ability often gives interesting colors.

Films that you should pay attention to first:

"No Retreat, No Surrender II"

Why you need to watch:

1. You can check it out Cynthia Rothrock, Hwanga Janga-Lee in the role of a malicious Viet Cong and Matthias Hughes, who looks just as good (if not better) as the Russian villain than Dolph Lundgren as Ivan Drago.
2. Matthias Hughes can be seen being hit over the head with a portrait of Lenin, wrapped in a Soviet flag, and then fed to crocodiles. Epic wine.
3. You can observe the classic “big - small” scheme, namely: Lauren Avedon as the complete external opposite of her antagonist Hughes. I repeat, if the movie fighters who started in the late 80s and early 90s had at least some noticeable biceps, powerful knives and, of course, a pathetic heroic face (even if bearded), then Lauren, it seems, simply decided to fight during the intermission of his symphony concert, leaving a glass of wine and a conductor's baton in the buffet. Note that there will be a moment in the film where the director compares the forearm sizes of Avedon and Hughes. Avedon looks, to say the least, miniature - he just looks like David next to Goliath.
4. In general, a film with dynamics, good humor, an excellent soundtrack, and the subject of discussion, that is, a fighting game, which was directed by the film’s director Corey Yuen, I consider excellent even today. The fights combine European technique and Asian style of staging, with doubles being used very competently and skillfully.

 Why and who should not watch:

1. There is a Russophobic idiotic plot and other ideological trash, Russian soldiers roasting some kind of animal on a spit and singing “Kalinka-Malinka”, while performing body movements vaguely reminiscent of dancing. If such things cause you to have attacks of nervous tremors and allergic rashes, it is not recommended to watch it, or to rewind these moments mercilessly (that’s what I do).
2. For those who don’t like films that, over time, are called “class B” films.
3. For those who hate the Rambaud films, especially 2 and 3.

“No retreat and no surrender III. Blood Brothers".

Why you need to watch:

1. In addition to Avedon, you can check out the constantly smiling and well-moving Kita Vitali (an order of magnitude better quality than it was used in the “Snack on Wheels”), another titled master Mark Russo, and see the unexpectedly bright villain Franco performed by Ryan Hungter, who could look good even in the role of some villain in a Bond film.
2. Watch how Vitali spends the entire film fighting with a cast on his arm, and how its presence is then logically played out at the end.
3. See an example of how the director quite competently builds two simultaneous, but separate fights, and mounts them with each other, without losing the dynamics of each of them and the coherence of what is happening.

 Why and who should not watch:

1. The voice acting of the blows let us down, by the way, stolen from many Hong Kong action films, including Jackie Chan.
2. The skillful use of doubles, who are very conspicuous and move in a completely different manner, is not always stylistically justified.
3. There are plot blunders and miracles of regeneration: for example, Avedon’s hero fights for 20 minutes with a bullet wound in his shoulder, which, just like Wolverine’s, does not bleed at all, and from a shot in the arm from a Kalashnikov, Vitali’s hero only got a small hole, which later put on a plaster cast.

PS: "King of Kickboxers" I do not recommend viewing. It is both costumed and has locations, is very diligent and may even be considered Loren’s calling card, however, it is almost a carbon copy of “Kickboxer,” in which the acting efforts of Avedon and Blanks during fights both resemble attacks of appendicitis. As a result, the final battle of the film came out torn, piled up and incoherent, and the number of doubles there is simply off the charts, so the cameo Keith Cook looks like a breath of fresh air in the film and looks cooler than everyone else, if not to say that he is the only one who is pleasing to the eye in the film.

To be continued…

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