"Blind War" - one of the few films where in some century Andy Onu got the main role. But it had been asking for a long time given such and such data! Moreover, this role is positive, which is also very unusual for him. This guy is charismatic and good in battle and fought on screen with all the stars of the old Hong Kong school: Jackie Chan in "New Police Story" (2004), with Donnie Yen in "Special Person" (2013), with Sammo Hung in "The Naked Soldier" (2012), as well as with the younger generation: Scott Adkins in "Black Mask 2" (2002), with Vincent Zhao in "A true legend" (2010), by Philip Ng in "Once Upon a Time in Shanghai" (2014) and many others. It’s even strange that there weren’t previously full-fledged leading roles for such a bright fighting actor. Did it work out? "Blind War"?
PLOT OF THE MOVIE "Blind War"
Former special forces soldier Dong Gu lost his sight during a mission, and moreover, he had to take responsibility for the failure of the mission. With the help of his daughter, he adapts to blindness, but when an old enemy puts her in danger, Dong Gu has to save her alone.
REVIEW
The film is an action movie with an element of drama. The combination is quite complicated in terms of implementation and rarely can anyone cope with it. It worked out perfectly for John Woo, but this, for a second, is a classic of Hong Kong cinema and they don’t even produce them these days. In the case of "Blind War" The drama is shown too primitively, predictably and not at all touching. Watching the hero suffer for a good part of the film from feelings of guilt from a failed operation that resulted in the death of people is quite boring: all these flashbacks, emotional hysterics, relationships with his daughter, etc. And what’s more, the drama here looks too artificial. Especially when compared with those action films where the dramatic component is at its best, for example in "The Man from Nowhere" (2010) "Denny the Chain Dog" (2005) or "Drunken Master 2" (1992). But in "Blind War" There is also a character traditional for Chinese cinema, responsible for humor (as well as antics) and this does not look particularly appropriate here, although I always advocate a harmonious balance between action, drama and comedy. Here, there was no drama or comedy.
The opposition to the main character is a psychopathic villainess (Jane Wu), whose friend died in that same failed operation at the hands of the GG. Not the most interesting option for the plot. But in the course of the story it turns out that her character is not so clear-cut and between the conflict between the anti-heroine and the hero Andy She There is a third party to the conflict that they will have to fight. But at the same time, the feeling of revenge for her dead friend does not let her go.
Sounds interesting. But not everything that reads well on paper looks good in the movies. Unfortunately, the entire dramatic component of the film is a failure, and the obvious nonsense, the conventions of the plot, the artificiality of the scenes and acting (there are no questions about On, although his character is not particularly interesting) - all this looks so-so... Koreans work out dramatic lines in a much more interesting and touching way than the Chinese.
As for the female character, she does not arouse any interest or sympathy, she overacts a lot. Typically, female characters should somehow complement male characters, creating a harmonious balance of opposites. Here it’s hard to make out who the guy is: the hero Andy She or Jane W. And this creates disharmony on the screen, besides, she is a psychopath and kills everyone left and right, and the character She, being a police officer, does not particularly react to this. Well, at least I would scold him for the sake of decency. And there are many such unnatural and contrived moments in the film and they outweigh.
Another thing that caught my eye from the beginning of watching the film was the typical clip style of narration with a large number of editing cuts, which does not allow you to get used to any of the scenes. But this was expected, since this is a standard problem of modern cinema. The second thing that caught my eye was the overly far-fetched and clichéd psychopathic villains “because they’re villains,” which evoke a feeling of deja vu. The third is a large number of conventions and artistic assumptions, for example: from a grenade that exploded near the main character’s face, his eye only turned red and went blind, without even leaving a burn.
ACTION
Well, a few words about the main and only advantage of the film. In a good action film, the viewer must be properly led to the action - it must be expected. There is no such thing here. The action just happens and it doesn’t matter. However, the action scenes are more or less good if judged purely visually. But from an emotional point of view, the action doesn’t really cause anything because of the completely failed dramaturgy. If you evaluate it only as a production, then you can find some good individual scenes, but overall everything looks quite staged and visually presented not in the best way: somehow bland, unprincipled, a lot of editing. There are also two scenes shot with relatively long takes with hidden cuts. And that's always good. There are also some good ideas in the action scenes that play up the main character’s blindness. But the music is stupid: some pretentious orchestrations in the style of American films, depriving the action of the proper drive and adrenaline. In general, I have mixed feelings. But the action hit the spot more than it didn't. Unfortunately, this is the only merit of the film, and even then it is not a masterpiece.
SUMMARY
Hong Kong cinema is no longer cake and has lost its former charm that it had in the 80-90s, and this film is another confirmation of this. Still, you can watch it once. Andy Onu I would have wished for a more interesting leading role.
3/5
Yuri Dudin
Especially for fight-films.info
I am waiting. I hope there will be something exciting.
I would like to mention Pasha as a person who has been an active participant in this project since…
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Added a video from the filming of "Twilight of the Warriors".