China O'Brien (1988) dir. Robert Clouse
Before "China O'Brien" film company Golden Harvest was for me, somehow, but a guarantor of quality. All the pictures that I watched, so to speak, from their pen range from masterpieces, no matter how loud it may sound, to quite good. Until I came across this tape. And I don’t want to call it bad, but it disappointed me quite a lot. I know that the presence of several high-class film fighters or actors in the cast at once cannot guarantee that the film will be of high quality in all aspects. This is exactly the case here.
The script is weak and very naive in places. The action films of those times may have been guilty of this same naivety to some extent, but in some places you hardly notice it, or you forgive it because the other elements were done well. But in “China” there is a clear overdose of this aspect and it is impossible to cover it with advantages due to the lack of them. If a film like this came out now, it would be pelted with rotten tomatoes. In a good movie, the villains are smarter in pursuing their goals and removing obstacles.
The most important element of a fighting game is the combat scenes, which in most cases are staged well, but... There is always some “but”. Never before have I seen fight scenes in a movie sped up so much that it feels like you're watching a movie in fast forward. And it’s hard not to smile at such a sight. And if you consider that the picture is very serious in tone, the feeling of disappointment intensifies. I know that fights in films are slightly sped up, this is normal practice, but they deliberately do it so that it is invisible to the eye. Here it’s just out of the ordinary. I don’t understand how, after viewing the footage, the creators were satisfied with what they saw.
Knowing the cast, I thought that Cynthia Rothrock и Richard Norton being the main characters, they will confront the main villain, or a combat rival in the person of Keith Cook. But I didn't guess. I didn’t even mind if all three were on the side of good, but then there had to be some dangerous and terrible villain who could easily attack any of the three, but not all of them together. But there is no such character in the film and this is very bad. There are no worthy opponents for the main characters. This is a mistake of both the scriptwriters and the director.
So, you expect to see a strong action movie with fights as the decoration of the film, but you get what you get. And in the fan community, as far as I know, this film is loved, remembered and highlighted. It's a pity, but I can't share their feelings with them.
China O'Brien 2 (1989) dir. Robert Clouse
The first film, apparently, was so successful that the creators, without hesitation, released the second. The same film company, the same director, the same actors in the main roles, in general, a team that works well and knows each other. It is clear to the naked eye that the film was shot by the same people: directing, staging hand-to-hand scenes, editing and much more - everything is the same as in the first part. And thanks to this, it was possible to work on the mistakes. In fairness, it should be noted that the authors did try to correct some things, and they even succeeded. However, many shortcomings and some nuances migrated from the original without undergoing any changes at all.
The plot continues to remain the same naive. “One and a half diggers” try to maintain order in the town, and even when they are in danger of colliding head-on with an enemy who has numerical superiority, they cannot, for various reasons, call for reinforcements from the nearest big city. Although it would seem that if you tell anyone that you are being terrorized by an escaped prisoner with a gang of thugs and that’s it, immediately all the police, detectives, the capture team, sniffer dogs, the FBI, whoever will be there, will be on the spot. Moreover, during his escape he killed three cops. Yes, the entire staff should be actively looking for it under every tree stump, and there is no need to tell anyone. Even if the fugitive managed to buy someone from the FBI. I'm sure there is more than one way to capture the villains without civilian casualties.
It is unclear how and where the main villain manages to hire a whole gang of sixes. Some nonsense with firearms: some have them, some don’t, and often they are completely neglected (Rothrock’s heroine doesn’t count, it’s understandable with her), using iron pipes instead. Sometimes the creators forget to depict bullet wounds on people's bodies.
Among the ordinary opponents of the main characters, there are quite comical ones a la Indiana Jones in a hat with a whip or Freddy Krueger with a clawed glove. The main villain is just as weak in terms of character as in the first film. He can’t be remembered for anything other than his mustache. They also leaked it rather mediocrely and lazily. And again, there are no worthy opponents for the trio of main characters. Why was it necessary to invite such a master as Billy Blanks, if he was processed almost as quickly as the others?
As for the hand-to-hand scenes, the main mistake of the first part was corrected - the fights were not speeded up too much, which is why, of course, they began to be perceived completely differently. Sometimes it’s even the opposite, slow-mo is used here and there. But the production cannot be said to be good. There is a sense of contactlessness, and in some places it is even noticeable to the eye. There are action moments that are filmed very poorly. But the musical accompaniment of such scenes is chosen as well as possible.
К Richard Norton и Cynthia Rothrock no complaints - they know their job and do what they do best. It seems that Keith Cook in the sequel there was no need to act at all, just being yourself was enough. What I couldn’t admire was his sharp and technical footwork, which was so lacking in the first part. This was beautiful.
Both films are made at approximately the same level, their shortcomings and advantages are almost the same. But if I had to choose, I would stop at the second part because of the corrected speed in fights.
Sergey Volkolak
Especially for Fight-Films.info
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Tags: China O'Brien, China O'Brien 2, Billy Blanks, Keith Cook, Richard Norton, Robert Clouse, Cynthia Rothrock
Tags: China O'Brien, China O'Brien 2, Billy Blanks, Keith Cook, Richard Norton, Robert Clouse, Cynthia Rothrock
In my opinion, it's too harsh. With this approach, 90% of genre films can be thrown into the firebox. Since its inception, Martial arts has assumed a simple plot, conventional acting and a focus on fights. That's why it was so popular on VHS in the 1990s. Take any genre star and 2/3 of the films will be of the same level.
Interestingly, both parts were filmed simultaneously. And the films were quite successful commercially, making Rothrock a star outside of Asian audiences.