Summing up the results of action cinema 2016: Asian cinema and wuxia films

25.01.2017Danil Chupakhin

Letting down with you results of action films 2016, I would like to figure out why the majority of those who took part in the voting liked this or that film. Well, or at least try to do it. Today we’ll look at historical/wuxia films and Asian cinema in general.

Historical or wuxia film 2016

1st place: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (dir. Yuen Wu Ping) 2016

2nd place: Call of Heroes (dir. Benny Chan) 2016

3rd place: And the monk came down from the mountain (dir. Chen Kaige) 2015

Despite the fact that there were 5 nominees in this category, the main battle broke out between two mastodons of modern Chinese cinema - Yuen Woo Ping и Benny Chan. And the sequel to Ang Lee's cult wuxia film won by a margin of one vote.""Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", which has a subtitle "Sword of Destiny".

Frankly, the victory of this film was very controversial and we doubted that this would happen, because... the sequel to the first "Tiger" was filmed 15 years later with an eye on Western viewers, which is why, as a result, "Sword of Destiny" did not gain popularity among either critics or viewers. The story openly copies the original film without introducing anything new, and Wu Ping, with all due respect to the honored master of Chinese cinema, never Ang Lee in terms of staging and working with serious material. As a result, the new “Tiger” is neither a melodrama, nor a wuxia epic, nor a film about martial arts, but something in between.

However, the reason that “Sword of Destiny” became the wuxia film of 2016 according to our site lies, it seems to us, in the actors selected for this project. See the duet on the screen again Donnie Yen и Michelle Yeoh it was extremely pleasant, the young talents delighted: Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Harry Shum Jr., Juju Chan, Veronica Ngo and others. In addition, specially for this film, they dug out from the ashes Jason Scott Lee, who played the role of the main villain of the film.

Opposed Wu Ping's film as best I could "Call of Heroes" another classic of Chinese cinema, Benny Chan. One can only guess why “The Call” did not break away from “Tiger” reliably enough to win the vote, because the film has everything necessary for this: an interesting story, colorful characters, well-staged (albeit ropey) action from Sammo Hunga, humor, drama. Eddie Pan, Lau Chin-Wan, Louis Koo и Jackie Wu rather, they were pleasing, and the final battle between the characters Peng and Wu generally left a completely pleasant impression. Perhaps Benny Chan went too far with propaganda and pathos (he can do that), for which he only took silver.

By a large margin from its peers, the film took third place. "And the monk came down from the mountains" master visionary Chen Kaige, who closes the top three classic directors from China in our voting. More of a cautionary tale than a historical fantasy, The Monk nevertheless features plenty of hand-to-hand combat in a modern wuxia style, as well as excellent performances from good actors. The main character performed Wang Baoqian perfectly weaves into the plot the remaining characters played by representatives of both the old school (Yuen Wa, Aaron Kwok, Fan Wei), and new (Chang Chen, Jaycee Chan, Danny Chan, Vaness Wu). We don’t know whether “The Monk” should have won in this category, but the film simply had to be in the top three.

It remains to mention two other participants in the “competition” who were left behind the ship of prize-winners, where there are entirely venerable directors. By a funny coincidence, "The Monkey King 2" с Aaron Kwok и Gong Li, As well as "League of Gods" с Jet Li and a whole galaxy of Chinese stars in the leading roles - these are the most "usy" films that are more like fairy tales. And if “The Monkey King” collected as many as 8 votes (one less than Kaige’s “Monk”), then “League of Gods” received only two. Let's hope that Jet Li will choose a more interesting project for his return to the big screen.

Asian Action 2016

1st place - Ip Man 3 (dir. Wilson Yip) 2015

2nd place - Rebel (Sabir Khan) 2016

3rd place - Inveterate Partners (Renny Harlin) 2016

Could there be any doubt that the third film in the franchise "Ip Man" will become a leader in several categories at once? Probably, not. In 2016, this film is perhaps the most notable among films about martial arts. No wonder that "Ip Man 3" defeated all rivals in this category, taking 67% of the votes and leaving five very good films far behind. Yes, the third "Ip Man" was not as good as the first, but it was an order of magnitude better than the second. Well, the film probably received its “gold”, including for several excellent action scenes, where Donnie Yen dating a Thai guy Saruth Kanvilai, with the legendary Mike Tyson and, ultimately, with promising Max Zhang.

In second place, with only seven votes, was Indian "Rebel" with a rising star Tiger Shroff. Despite the small number of votes cast, we are still glad that the film was among the top three winners, because he deserves it. "Rebel" turned out to be that pleasant surprise that you never expect from the Indian film industry. However, the film pleased not only fans of Indian cinema, but also fans of martial arts on screen. Tiger is textured and looks great in action scenes, in addition, he has three very well choreographed fights: two with Sudhir Babu Posani and one with a Chinese Patrick Tang. These fights, by the way, were included in the list of nominees in the category "Best Screen Fight 2016", and Tiger Shroff himself was among the nominees in the category "Best Action Film Actor 2016". And this already says a lot.

The film received exactly one vote less than "Rebel" Renny Harlina, which in the domestic box office was called "Inveterate Partners" (in original - "On the trail") with no longer young Jackie Chan in a central role. Well, everything is natural - Chan is giving way to the younger generation, but still remains afloat. Apparently, this is due to the fact that Grandpa Jackie follows the long-tested pattern of his action comedies. Of course, new "Peak hour" or "Shanghai Noon" didn't work out, but third on the list of best Asian action films "On the trail" still became. Although….can the attention of the six people who voted for this film be considered a victory?

It’s a pity that of the other films proposed for this category, the excellent South Korean action film was a complete loser "Veteran", a must-see for any action fan. Two Chinese films find themselves in approximately the same niche: "Brothers", which is more like a typical war film, and an excellent wuxia action film by Benny Chan "Call of Heroes", who seems to have been satisfied with “silver” in the corresponding category.

Do you agree with the victories and defeats of the films presented?

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Tags: Baaghi, Call Of Heroes, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon 2: SWORD OF DESTINY, Ip Man 3D, League of Gods, Monk Comes Down the Mountain, Skiptrace, Aaron Kwok, Benny Chan, Wang Baoqiang, Jason Scott Lee, Jackie Wu, Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen, Juju Chan, Yip Man, results of action cinema 2016, Lau Chin Wan, Louis Koo, Mike Tyson, Max Zhang, Michelle Yeoh, Patrick Tang, Renny Harlin, Sadhir Babu Posani, Sammo Hungg, Sarut Kanwilay, Tiger Shroff, Wilson Yip , Fan Wei, Chang Chen, Chen Kaige, Eddie Pan, Yuen Wa, Yuen Wu-Ping

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