Despite the busyness of the authors of the FFI editorial team and the “pushing back” of the deadline for publishing analytics, according to our the projectWhile we're identifying the best action movies of 2020, we're not backing down. Therefore, it’s time to find out who won the best in the “historical, fantasy or wuxia film” and “short film” categories. Let's go!
Historical, fantasy or wuxia film 2020
For these genres, last year became very gray, since such films are very expensive to produce. Many potential hits have moved to 2021, and such a long-awaited Hollywood blockbuster as Mulan with the stars of the hand-to-hand genre Donnie Yen и Jet Li disappointed viewers around the world, gaining only five votes in our poll. The unfinished construction project from South Korea took first place.
Swordsman (dir. Choi Je-hoon) (27%, 17 votes)
This film was anticipated primarily because of the participation in it Joe Taslima (“Raid”, “The Night Follows Us”, “Hit and Run”), who embodied the main antagonist on the screen. But the film, in addition to the “guest star” Taslim, has a number of advantages, thanks to which, it seems to us, it won the vote.
Firstly, a story that everyone can understand. If we remove all historical and political agendas from "Swordsman", it will turn out to be the best thing that is not there "Hostage" (2007) with Liam Neeson, only the role of the going blind father was played by the charismatic Chan Hyuk. Secondly, the viewer is gradually immersed in events that are seen through the eyes of different characters with their own motivations. Thirdly, which is especially important for visitors to our site, fencing fights one on one and one against the crowd look tough, biting and interesting, obviously making a nod to the classic samurai movie. Who said "Zatoichi"? Sit down - five!
However, while there is a desire to praise the film, this material would not be an analysis without the desire to criticize it. Despite the fact that Joe Taslim looks as organic as possible in the historical setting; the role itself could have been more vivid. His character turned out to be too cardboard and even caricatured. For people far from the history of Korea, local political intrigues and experiences will be difficult to understand, and the choppy editing doesn’t really add color to the story.
But, one way or another, "Swordsman" captivates and at least deserves to be in the top three.
Tomiris (dir. Akan Sataev) (17%, 11 votes)
Historical drama from Kazakhstan has become an unexpected hit "Tomiris", also earning second place among our winners. In fact, this film is a real blockbuster with a budget of 6,5 million dollars. In its homeland, the film was released back in 2019, but the rest of the world saw the tragic life story of the queen of the nomadic Massaget people last year.
The cinematic film turned out to be truly large-scale. You can see where the budget money was spent. The film contains two large-scale battle scenes, which clearly show that a huge amount of work was done with live extras and a minimum of computer graphics. Caught in "Tomiris" action scenes and smaller ones so that the viewer does not have time to get bored during the 2,5 hours of running time.
The scenes of battles and more local skirmishes themselves are staged and performed at a decent level, and the extras in the background are not bored, but “mix” according to the task set by the director. Tomiris herself, performed by the debutante actress Almira Tursyn not only plays drama very sensitively, but also looks great with a sword in his hand. We would really like to see Almira in films more often, perhaps even in major Western films.
The film has everything we love about such historical blockbusters: a cinematic story of a real person, large-scale battle scenes, an atmosphere of immersion in the culture of an ancient people, bright background characters, epic music...
It is interesting that the film was subjected to merciless criticism by the Kazakh and Iranian public, since it is generally accepted that the Massagetae are an Iranian-speaking, not a Turkic people. But that didn't stop "Tomiris" win prestigious awards at film festivals and, as we see, the love of the audience.
Mad Samurai Musashi (dir. Yuji Shimomura) (13%, 8 votes)
What we didn't expect was the victory of the samurai action movie from Taka Sakaguchi и Yuji Shimomura. Usually this couple makes very high-quality action-packed films, but with Musashi a completely different story.
Initially the project was called "Blood of Wolves" and starred in the wake of Sakaguchi’s popularity back in 2006. Then the famous film maker Sionu Sono came up with the idea of filming a non-stop 40-minute scene in which Tak faces off against samurai extras. Then it seemed cool and new, because in the same year the Hollywood blockbuster "Child of Man" amazed the whole world with the effect of single-frame shooting. But the Japanese had a meager budget, and Sono, no matter how good a director he was, was very far from Alfonso Cuarona. As a result, the footage did not find its application and went into storage until a stuntman, director and action director took it out Yuji Shimomura. It’s hard to guess whose idea it was to “resurrect” the project, but after watching the film, we recognized it as extremely unsuccessful.
What seemed cool and innovative in the mid-45s now looks like a bad joke with a beard that the narrator dragged too far. Let's start with the fact that the basis of the film remained a long shot without cuts, in which the still young and thin Sakaguchi deftly, but very monotonously, beats the non-name extras with a samurai sword, sometimes interrupting to “sub-bosses”. Literally ten minutes after the start of this bloodless meat grinder, you become truly bored and you find yourself having fun watching the “corpses” on the battlefield, which very quickly again form into the ranks of Tak’s “endless” opponents. The footage Shimomura filmed stands in stark contrast to what Sono filmed. Not only with a modern digital camera and fashionable fight scenes, but also with Sakaguchi, who is already 26 years old and has grown very rich on Japanese grub. The plot tied with the left heel is so conventional that there is absolutely nothing to say about it. What did a XNUMX year old forget here? Kento Yamazaki with his successful film career, one can only guess. Possibly on set "Kingdoms" the young man lost at cards to Sakaguchi-san for a completely faceless appearance in his “new” film.
Those who voted for this - please write in the comments: what and why you liked it "The Mad Samurai Musashi". Honestly, we are incredibly interested!
Martial Arts Short Film 2020
We officially declare: the FFI editors believe that 2020 turned out to be a very successful year for independent and commercial short films. There hasn’t been such diversity among combat short films for a long time. But the three (four!) winners still look somewhat “one-sided”. Don’t visitors to our site watch the collections of short films that we post? We are waiting for answers in the comments. Although, almost all the winners deserve their places. Almost…
Cyberpunk 2077: The Phoenix Program (dir. V-Dan Tran) (22%, 13 votes)
40-minute film by a German director V-Dan Trana became an event among fan cinema, so in victory "Cyberpunk" we had no doubt. Moreover, the computer game of the same name from the Polish studio CD Project Red is also a hit, even despite problems with the console versions.
What awaits our brother in this short film? Hurricane action in a cyberpunk setting with all the attributes necessary for the game and the genre as a whole. It is clear that the financial investment in the film was not bad, and every dollar will be visible on your screen: dozens of extras, appropriate costumes and images, decent computer effects...
But the main advantage of the film is, of course, the action scenes, staged by talented Andy Long (“Luke Van Tien”, “Commando 3”) and Lorenz Hideyoshi ("Commando 3", "Darth Maul: The Apprentice"). The guys implemented an interesting concept, in which the cosplayer Ben Bergman in the image of John Silverhand, who in turn was played in the game Keanu Reeves, wets extras, sub-bosses and the boss performed by Long himself in the style John Wick.
It is curious that Bergman, having no experience, looks great in action scenes, performing throws and grabs. It's not for nothing that this cosplayer looks like his prototype.
For the rest, "Phoenix Program" - this is not only a beautiful and cruel mess, but also an action movie that is not alien to humor, satire and even parody, making you remember not only the trilogy "John Wick"but "The Matrix". A worthy gold medal!
Fist of Fury (dir. Brian Le) (15%, 9 votes)
The stunt team, which is also a creative association called MartialClub She has won prizes more than once with her short films. "The Highest Art of War" took the third step of the podium in 2017 year, "Ip Man: Interception of the Fist" took gold for 2019 year.
Tireless Andy Le and the team this time did not settle for just one prize position, but took two places in our voting at once. We are still a little sad about the other good short films of the past year, but the level of these guys is very high.
"Fist of fury" - this is a reference to iconic roles Bruce Lee и Donnie Yen, who played at different times the Chinese national hero Chen Zhen. The short film again plays out Zhen's opposition to the Japanese occupiers. The hero first fights against a crowd of karatekas, performing in the final against a Japanese general performed by Brian Le.
To what team members do MartialClub, despite the peculiar “handicraft” of production, it is difficult to make claims. The choreography is precise, precise, fast, filled with tricking and all kinds of kicks in the air. These guys love the old Hong Kong style of hand-to-hand combat and preserve it, giving us, the viewers, sincere emotions of nostalgia for a time that has passed forever. Don't give, don't take - silver!
Kung Fu Vampire Story (dir. Brian Le) (14%, 8 votes)
Literally one vote away "Fist of Fury" left behind another movie from MartialClub, which, this time, is dedicated to Hong Kong vampire comedies, like the cult "Mr. Vampire" (1985) starring Lam Chin-Ying.
Again the trinity that is well known to us: Andy Le, Brian Le и Daniel Ma are playing a tribute to classic films about jiangshi - Chinese vampires. Two hunters of evil spirits accidentally resurrect a vampire whom they themselves had captured long ago.
The witty and funny film was shot in the garage of one of the team members, but that doesn’t make it any less good. The guys still don't have enough budget, but they give themselves to the fight scenes. This can be understood by the “Dzhekichan” credits for each of their works.
Again, this is an explosive mixture from Hong Kong cinema of the 70s and 80s, a hodgepodge of the best elements Jackie Chan, Sammo Hunga и Yuen Biao, spiced up with modern tricking moves.
True, over the years the guys begin to openly repeat themselves. They are still very cool, but without more serious projects they risk being “written out” in terms of choreography and production. In the meantime - bronze in our voting!
Fury (dir. Khalid Bosakhar) (14%, 8 votes)
Hurry up to see! A commercial for sports nutrition took the prize in the “Best Short Film” category! Nonsense! Inadequate! Save-help! Seriously? And... He starred in it Scott Adkins...
Stop! No! The magic of the British does not work on us. Do we really want to figure out where these seven voices come from? And this despite the fact that there are more than enough good short films this time.
What are they voting for? For Adkins, who is working out his number with a bored look? For choreography Tim Man, from which only one guyver kick remains? Unclear. Like a cable TV commercial "Rage" (that’s what fans called the video; it’s not called anything in the original) – it will work, but as a prize-winner among the best short films, it doesn’t stand up to any criticism.
Let us remind you again: the name Scott Adkins not equal to quality and success. Yes, Yuri Boyko will still “see through” the Briton’s cheekbones for a long time, but it’s worth giving some air to other talented actors. At least here – in the field of fan and independent creativity.
We protest against this bronze winner, which received the same number of votes as the film from MartialClub! But we cannot help but evaluate the voting results.
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Tags: A Kung-Fu Vampire Story, Crazy Samurai Musashi, Cyberpunk 2077, Fist of fury, MartialClub, Swordsman, Almira Tursyn, Brian Le, Joe Taslim, Daniel Ma, results of action cinema 2020, Kento Yamazaki, Lorenz Hideyoshi, Sion Sono, Scott Adkins, So Sakaguchi, Tim Man, Tomiris, Chan Hyuk, Andy Le, Andy Long, Yuji Shimomura
Tags: A Kung-Fu Vampire Story, Crazy Samurai Musashi, Cyberpunk 2077, Fist of fury, MartialClub, Swordsman, Almira Tursyn, Brian Le, Joe Taslim, Daniel Ma, results of action cinema 2020, Kento Yamazaki, Lorenz Hideyoshi, Sion Sono, Scott Adkins, So Sakaguchi, Tim Man, Tomiris, Chan Hyuk, Andy Le, Andy Long, Yuji Shimomura
Is Musashi really worth watching??
Are you saying that in recent years, short films have turned out better than full-length films in the context of hand-to-hand action films? Am I wasting my time ignoring them?
VKontakteUser34,
Judging by this material, no. But someone voted for this film...
And the fact that you skip short films is, frankly speaking, very in vain!
Yes, I would be happy and there is interest, but I don’t have enough time for a full feature, and it’s my priority. But since they really turn out cool, I’ll devote a little time.
VKontakteUser34,
We can start with the winners...
And you still won’t find them right away. Yesterday I tried, found one, and even that one without translation.
VKontakteUser34,
In terms of? All four winning short films are in this article. In addition, you can go to the "Short Films" section and wander around there. Or by the "short films" tag.
You seem to have a “no posting of films” rule, only trailers and other kinds of videos. So it doesn't apply to short films? Cool, it's so much easier!
VKontakteUser34,
That's right. We post short films in full. So our section is at your service. We welcome comments.