Character: Mark Dacascos
Why I like it: It always seemed to me and it still seems to me that this actor (like many in this genre) is undeservedly deprived of fame, and most importantly, good films. It’s as if he lacks the ability to actively “sell” himself due to excessive modesty and intelligence. Dacascos is clearly not a show business guy. And the fact of his current cooperation with citizen Nevsky speaks, it seems to me, more about his gullibility than his legibility.
The first film I saw with Mark in the lead role was "Kickboxer 5", a continuation of the famous Sloan Brothers franchise. Later I found out that another film in this series was planned with Dacascos in the title role, but due to the commercial failure of the 5th film, it was not made. Well... it's a shame, and I'll try to tell you why.
I'll start with the fact that the character of the original «Kickboxer" Jean-Claude Van Damme by that time he was already a fairly familiar face, and from the point of view of a fighting game, he was absolutely readable and predictable. Yes, he was bright and recognizable, but we all knew roughly what to expect from him on the screen. A new character who appeared in the three subsequent parts Sasha Mitchell existed as a screen fighter, to put it mildly, worse than ever. It immediately seemed to me that his career in fighting games would be short-lived. In Kickboxer 2, Mitchell actively smiled, professionally shining his teeth (his experience in the modeling business was not in vain), and even fought in the ring with Tong Po, but he often looked like just a tattooed, hulking hulk, whose waist and shoulders became wider with each new film (I call this “Segal syndrome”).
In this situation, Mark Dacascos turned out to be a rather unexpected character. First of all, he looked “decent”. Athletic, compact, cinematic and charming, with a distinct positive energy. I even thought: how interesting and strange that a person with the appearance of a guy from a melodrama or a youth series plays a fighter. Secondly, he existed on the screen very naturally, calmly and modestly, which immediately endeared him to the viewer. There was no arrogance, no hypertrophied coolness, no super-heroic forced presentation in the face. And thirdly, the way he moved in the frame, damn, that was cool. And if formally the film was about kickboxing and was called “Kickboxer 5,” then Dacascos, as you understand, was a very “strange” kickboxer who moved stylistically in a completely different way, in the traditional Chinese style. His physics, style and manner after Van Damme and Mitchell looked like a very interesting contrast. But, apparently, the public did not like this contrast and the franchise was canceled.
Later I saw other works of Mark (including the earliest ones), and everything fell into place for me. A person's personality will inevitably extend to everything he does. The fights with Mark's participation are not replete with excessive cruelty; the films do not contain a large amount of nudity, exploitation of anything, or provocations of the viewer. He played in dramas and action films, comedies, science fiction and historical films, in episodes and as the main villains. A 90s action hero who was always surprisingly modern, but couldn't quite fit into modern times.
It's been many years, but Mark Dacascos is still in my top list.
Movies worth paying attention to:
"Only the Strongest"
Why you need to watch:
1) Mark Dacascos performs capoeira in large quantities and for a person who began to learn it only specifically for the film, he does it, if not super-authentically, then at least quite qualitatively, while trying to at least briefly reveal its essence, creative beginning and musical basics.
2) There is a concept of social cinema, and not just an “action movie with fights”. Difficult teenagers, their choice of life path and value guidelines. We see that the main character gets a job at a school and teaches children how to create, and only then enters into a confrontation with bandits when there is no turning back.
3) A wonderful and charismatic villain performed Paco Christian Prieto, whom I immediately recognized, remembering him in the episode of the film “AWOL”, where he played Van Damme’s opponent in a duel in a swimming pool.
4) In general, a very positive film, simple, with a sense of proportion, without unnecessary pathos, without unnecessary cruelty, without bulging wild banalities.
«Kickboxer 5: Retribution»
Why you need to watch:
1) A very high-quality fighting game, directed by Mark himself. Light, unobtrusive, readable, perceived smoothly and not strained, but at the same time remembered.
2) The main character is written pretty well. He has his own catchphrases and aphorisms (for example, “A movement without a soul is nothing”), characteristic facial expressions and movements (for example, before each fight, he emotionally shakes his hand, as if he were talking to himself hajime or turning on some kind of internal toggle switch) and a lot - a lot more. In general, the character is not flat, there is something to grab onto in him.
3) In the role of one of the fighters you can see Australian Gavin Hood, director of the films “Version” with Jake Gyllenhaal and “Wolverine: Origins” with Hugh Jackman.
4) Dacascos can be seen breaking an arrow with his throat and, by his own admission, doing it for real.
"The Crying Killer"
Why you need to watch:
1) Beautifully constructed visuals and directorial work by Christophe Gans. A stylish film that looks very expensive and very European. You can look at it purely from the point of view of pictures, music and aesthetics. In short, just a beautiful film.
2) Very savory rapid action scenes staged by Mark himself. Not a fighting game, but straight contemporary dance. A celebration of the aesthetics of movement and fullness.
3) The film is based on a famous manga, so there is a fairly coherent drama and storyline.
"Drive"
Why you need to watch:
1) The coolest Mark Dacascos, who performs fighting games at the highest level, and is much more graceful and brighter than his understudies, who appeared in the most unexpected places and only spoiled the whole thing, since they are always noticeable to an attentive eye.
2) I think that the film is a turning point for the 90s. He actually created a new modern fighting game direction (or, at least, the prerequisites for it) and built a bridge from the 90s to the 2000s. I consider the type of choreography, dynamics, camera work, and framed shots for 1997 to be revolutionary in many ways.
3) Combination of Asian shooting style and action staging (choreographer Koichi Sakamoto - “Savat”, “Broken Path”) and the European texture of the actors.
4) A very good script, a decent budget, excellent actors, plus the acting of the entire cast at a decent level.
5) Colorful villains with well-defined characters and details in their execution John Piper-Fergusson, Tracy Walter, Masaya Kato and James Shigeta.
6) An excellent positive character played by the now deceased, Brittany Murphy.
7) Mark Dacascos singing karaoke.
PS: Plus I recommend watching the movie "Brotherhood of the Wolf". I did not write about it in the main article, only because it is less relevant to the topic of our resource.
He is another one of the main villains in the series "Hawaii Five.5.0."))) He plays well, by the way).
Thanks for the review! I'm not exactly a fan of Mark, but I respect him very much. "Drive" was actually the film that raised it to almost the top place in my ranking! ) "Spinner" with your hands became a favorite technique for some time after watching this film. :)
I am attaching a small “video tribute”, almost all the fights are there. And the fight with Sammo Hung from "Chinese Policeman" and the fight with "Bruce Lee" (played by Danny Chan), where he played a Thai fighter in the series "The Legend of Bruce Lee".
PS Couldn't help but boast - Mark and me. :)
JVR™,
I watched the tribute. Once again I am convinced that 20+ years ago they did not know how to stage fights on camera and film them correctly. All these turntables are terrible. No, they are beautiful as tricking elements, they perfectly show the actor’s form. But they are absolutely not suitable for combat.
Wave,
Agree. But as there was already a discussion once, a movie is a movie, a fight is a fight. We don't confuse them. )
In fights with Mark, I don’t always like his kicks like the reverse “mavashi” (I don’t know what to call it correctly, I’m too lazy to Google), where he is clearly trying to raise his leg very high. It looks completely unnatural.
JVR™,
I assume that you mean a kick, which in taekwondo is called Yop Kurigi - a reverse circular kick (from a place, without a 360 turn).
And why is he “trying to lift his leg high”? He successfully lifts it high))
Ravenside,
Yes, that's exactly him. He raises it, yes, but in my opinion - too high, higher than the opponent’s head. That's why it looks unnatural in my opinion. I myself used this blow, but I made the main effort in the horizontal plane, at the level of the head, I did not try to raise my leg higher than the opponent’s head. :)
I don’t want to say anything against Dacascos, but I just noticed one point for myself. ;)
JVR™,
Maybe in this way he minimizes work-related injury - an accidental hit on an enemy/stuntman. There are many ways, but he found this way for himself. Although, most likely, it’s just his manner.
Ravenside,
Maybe. )
I also have something to say.
1) I respect Kickboxer 5 and will give a prize in the category “The most relaxed action movie” - it was filmed for three kopecks, it is very awesome and well staged. If only there were more fights paired with his on-screen partner. Niigal is generally great, and perhaps the image was partially stolen from Rugal from the game King of Fighters (similar name, also killed champions and collected their awards and loved exotic animals).
2) Dacascos is good in a film about the Japanese with David Bradley, where Mark is the villain, there are good fights, but a shitty plot.
3) I watch only the strongest right now with a stretch - the film is an advertisement for capoeira (I have nothing against it, but the problem is in the presentation) and is a little boring.
4) Drive for an A movie. Masaya Kato is great.
There is also “I Am Omega,” where Dacascos killed zombies with nunchucks - you can watch it. but only once. I expected more fights. Thanks to the author, and I look forward to more articles from him.
"American Samurai". The fights there are terrible (more or less the fight between Bradley VS mercenaries in the apartment), Dacascos appears there more as an actor than as a fighter, but.. the taste and color, as they say, I don’t pretend to be true.
This is an Asilim mockbuster based on "I Am Legend" by Mathesson. Filmed specifically to celebrate the film of the same name with Will Smith. And by definition, nothing good can come from Asilim’s mockbusters.
There was also a Hong Kong film "Shanghai Messenger" in 2000, or in the original "Chinese Strike Force", where Mark also played a bad guy, and there are a couple of fights with him - a short sparring with Ken Lo in the ring and a final fight with the main characters - Aaron Kwok and Van Lihom seems to be their name, and also a hacky, hastily staged one!
Not to mention the fact that Dacascos's character dies unspectacularly, hitting the dome of the tower :-(
It seems to be a Hong Kong production, and the director of the film is the well-known Stanley Tong, and a decent budget, but the result is depressing! Apparently the lack of sports training among the actors who played positive roles had an effect!
PS But in "Sabotage" 1996 there is a clear jumping kick, where Mark throws some scoundrel out the window :-) I ordered this VHS tape by mail when I was in the 10th grade.
Vladimir,
Yes, I remember in “Svyaznoy” the large amount of protective equipment and vests under Mark’s clothes was very noticeable, making him look fat in some shots.
From cradle to grave in terms of Jet Li... My opinion is that he continued to use the style of fights from “Kiss of the Dragon”, but with the same MMA nicknames in the cage - the “matrix” is somehow far-fetched and that’s it. Their fight with Mark is unimpressive, again due to Lee's fault
And there was also “American Samurai” with David Bradley, where Mark played the villain! I watched “Only the Strongest” in a video salon, a truly cult film, thanks to which I learned about Dacascos!
Vadya,
Yes, there are many films with him. But I didn’t set out to describe all his films, but described the most iconic, central and top ones for our site.
Otherwise, one could write about “Dim Sum” and about some stupid “Genosaur” and even about an episodic negative role in “City of Angels” with the young Oliver Gruner in the title role, in which Mark’s last name was written in the credits as Dacuscos.
Mark is my idol since childhood. Nice to read about him here. In addition to the films mentioned, I recommend Mark’s movie fights with Sammo Hung, James Liu, David Bradley and an episode from Tales from the Crypt
And in which season and in which episode of Tales from the Crypt did Mark play, please tell me.
Dave,
Season 6, Episode 7, episode title - "The Pit".
But it’s interesting whether James Ryan from “Kyboxer 5” is a real athlete or just pretends to be a fighter in films; I couldn’t find information about his sports past.
Dave,
It’s hard to say, Ryan is an actor from South Africa and mostly starred in films there. That's why he didn't become famous... here's a scan of the magazine cover with him.
The trailer for one of his early films says: 4-time world martial arts champion. What, where and how... is unclear.
[img]http://ma-mags.com/Mags/FS/FS%201981-06%20Cov.jpg[/img]
Respect to the author, very intelligently written about the work of Dacascos!
I once waited a long time for the release of the 2003 film “From Cradle to Grave”, and after watching it I got the impression that Jet Li botched the final battle; If Mark showed high kicks, then Jet showed meager movements with his hands... There was nothing for the eye to catch on, but for some reason I was hoping for a long fight in the style of "Drive"...
Vladimir,
Thanks for good words.
And Jet Li sucks in most films, IMHO. And I’m generally silent about the later ones.
For those who are curious:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bihv_WHj4jU
At 2:08, young James Ryan appears, playing the main villain Nigal in Cyboxer 5.
Thanks for the article, very interesting!
"Only the Strongest" is an immortal masterpiece! I watched it a hundred times.
barsug,
Please) The rest are being written slowly.
Good article, they touched fully on “Drive”, about which I had previously entered into discussions on the pages of the site. A hurricane fighting game, truly a revolution for the 90s. It’s a shame that nothing came of it with the “Song of the Knife”; it was mentioned for a long time on various sites, but it didn’t work out..(they promised kali and escrima in the plot, I think Mark can do that too) At the “Base” there’s a fight on the sports ground is worthy of respect, a more brutal and applied style. In general, I agree - the actor is good, but not spoiled by high-profile projects
Dmitriy,
Yes, it was possible to mention “Base” and “Sabotage” and “Shelter” and so on... but these films themselves are far from Mark’s top ones, if not passable, although the cast in them is very good. In addition, they don’t really fit into the theme of the site.