Blockbuster 2022
Faster than a Bullet (dir. David Leitch) (26%, 33 votes)
It’s always difficult for us when the same film wins in several categories, especially in the main ones. "Faster than bullet" became both the best action movie of the year and the best blockbuster at the same time, and if we have already taken the film apart, trying to understand why the voters liked it, now we just have to look at the picture from a different angle.
First, the "Faster than bullet" - this is a natural career development David Leitch, despite the modest box office receipts of the 90 million project. You could even say that this is Leitch’s first “box office failure” in five projects. But here's the trick: David is more successful than any of the former stuntmen (let's leave examples Jackie Chan и Sammo Hunga outside brackets) is building a film career - they trust him with large budgets, allow him to work with A-list stars, let him into serious franchises... Leitch's friend and colleague in John Wicks Chad Stahelski not even close to David in this regard. Another interesting fact may be that Leitch was a stunt double. Brad Pitt в "Fight Club" (1999) "Mexican" (2001) "Three" (2004) and "Mr and Mrs Smith" (2005), so when the Hollywood star was offered to participate in the project led by David, he agreed without a moment’s hesitation.
Secondly, you can treat our winner as you like, but it is impossible not to note the high professionalism and precision of the team that worked on the film. What we have before us is a truly high-quality entertaining action game that looks and sounds at a sky-high level for the genre.
Thirdly, the cast is filled with famous names - actors who are not used to hacking whatever you ask of them - comedy, drama or action scenes. Yes, action fans probably wanted it Hiroyuki Sanada, finally, did not try on the image of an ordinary Japanese with a katana at the ready or that of a very talented on-screen fighter Andrew Koji there were more scenes in the film where he could have shown himself, but in general, each actor was in his place - no miscasting!
What else? There would be fewer cuts in the action and a little more seriousness... There is something to blame for the action movie, but this does not change the fact that "Faster than bullet" became a bright flash of last year and cemented the director’s status as a person who can work with any material.
Avatar: The Way of Water (dir. James Cameron) (13%, 17 votes)
We've been waiting 14 years for the sequel "Avatar", which divided the fantasy genre into BEFORE and AFTER. He divided it not with some unique idea or visual style, as he did "Matrix" in 1999, but with advanced technologies that were first used in cinema.
James Cameron After the stunning success of the original, he immediately announced an entire franchise of five films. But the director’s ideas were limited by technical limitations, so he had to not only wait, but also take an active part in the development of specialized technologies, without which the sequel could not be made.
A budget of 350 million dollars, several years of production hell due to the covid pandemic, and now the film was released. For now "Way of Water" earned more than two billion, but the distribution has not yet taken place in all countries...
Why did the audience bring their hard-earned money to the cinemas? Well... Kamon, guys - this is "Avatar"! A film that was filmed specifically so that the viewer, for almost three hours, would be next to the heroes of the first part, their children and the new clan of the Na'vi people, who confront the evil earthlings on the beautiful and dangerous planet Pandora. Stunning visual effects, competent direction and editing make the viewer immersed in the film one hundred percent, especially when watching a blockbuster in a cinema.
It's no secret that Cameron is literally obsessed with the mysteries of the ocean and the water world in general, so the main feature of the sequel "Avatar" has become a body of water in which islanders live like fish in water (pardon the pun), where the main characters are trying to start a new life. The local underwater world is incredibly beautiful and teeming with all kinds of living creatures - at some point it seems that James was so enchanted by it that he forgot about the plot.
And in the first film the script was quite mediocre, but in the second, old Cameron writes out the story and characters extremely lazily, adapting the plot to the scenes, and not vice versa. But in the new "Avatar" There are some tense and well-shot action sequences, including the final showdown of everyone with everyone.
"Avatar: The Way of Water" - this is still not about a strong script, well-written characters and an interesting idea, but about how far cinema in general and Cameron and his team in particular have come. This is an entertaining attraction designed not only to captivate the viewer with a stunning picture, but also to gradually make James’ dreams come true and the “silver” from us at the same time.
Top Gun: Maverick (dir. Joseph Kosinski) (12%, 15 votes)
And here is the sequel to the doll film "Best shooter" We've been waiting for 36 years. More precisely, few people thought that a continuation of the story of piloting ace Pete “Maverick” Mitchell was even planned. However, the studio bosses and himself Tom Cruise For a long time we had plans to film the second part, but for various reasons the film never came out, eventually facing a global pandemic. New "Top Gun" was supposed to be released in 2020, but ended up there only two years later.
"Maverick" again demonstrates the beauty of flight and coolness Tom Cruise, who spent two months learning to pilot a military fighter and does it on camera so professionally that the viewer will not have even a shred of doubt about his skills. Although... This Hollywood favorite always pleases us with his own dashing stunts, especially since he has already piloted aircraft: a helicopter in "Mission Impossible: Fallout" (2018) and the plane in "Made in America" (2017)
Unlike the two blockbusters already mentioned, the second "Top Gun" It has a simple, but quite strong plot. The drama of Cruise's character is clear and understandable, because he faces the son (Miles Teller) of his late friend, whom he played in the first film Anthony Edwards: Maverick becomes an instructor for young pilots before a deadly mission. Tension grows between them, but only mutual trust can help them complete the difficult task.
The sequel looks brighter and richer than the original, but this is understandable - more than 30 years have passed. However, the local action scenes have more drama, and the film as a whole has a greater sense of freedom from flying, not only due to real filming and modern special effects, but also due to nostalgic music. The final scene of the mission is tense and interesting, although it is based on the classic scheme of such a movie.
Director Joseph Kosinski, who has already worked with Cruise on science fiction "Oblivion" (2013) is a good visionary who likes to shoot in wide frames and long shots. For a film about military aviation, this is the best option. As a result, the 140-million-dollar movie, which, it would seem, was intended for nostalgic fans of the first part, collected one and a half billion during the rental season. As a bonus, after watching there is a pleasant aftertaste of a good movie that hasn’t been made for a long time.
Action or martial arts series 2022
Gangs of London (Season 2) (18%, 24 votes)
In 2020, a production project well known among fans of combat cinema Gareth Eans (“Merantau”, the “Raid” duology) about the brutal showdowns between criminal organizations in London immediately became noticeable to the eye of the viewer who watched it, which allowed the series to become second among the top three winners in this nomination, and also be included in the short list of winners in the Fight of the Year nomination.
The second season relentlessly follows the first in everything from direct continuation of the plot to brutal and brutal action scenes. The script here also revolves around the characters. Joe Cole (who, suddenly, did not die, sorry for the spoiler!) and Sope Dirisu – the story begins to acquire a web of all sorts of intrigues, introducing both old and new characters into the game, among which Luan, performed by Orli Shuka and Koba, whom he embodied on the screen Walid Zuaiter. Bright and well-acted personalities!
The creators of the series managed to keep the viewer in suspense in the second season, working competently with the script, characters and, of course, with action scenes. There are traditionally few of them, but each one not only looks great, but also advances the plot. Despite the fact that the action director of the first season Jude Poyer gave way Vlad Rimburg и Clayton J. Barber, the action scenes in the second are just as intense and creative in their design. Interestingly, in the new series the emphasis in action is on hand-to-hand combat with the frequent use of melee weapons and a rare inclusion of gun fu. Some scenes look so unreal (and cool) that you inadvertently think that someone from Bollywood had a hand in creating them. For example, this can be considered a fragment of an action scene in which the hero Sope Dirisu uses an opponent's mouth as a silencer to fire a pistol shot at another.
In general and in general, "Gangs of London" maintains both the brand and position. Hence the “gold” in the nomination.
Jack Reacher (15%, 20 votes)
We've already seen the film adaptation of a series of novels "Jack Reacher" by authorship Lee Child. In feature films of 2012 and 2016, he played the role of a retired military investigator Tom Cruise, and, despite the good quality of the paintings themselves, there were questions directly to the character. Old Cruz, although cool, barely resembled the hero described in the books.
Series from Amazon introduced us to the new Jack Reacher performed by Alan Ritchson, and here all sorts of questions disappear. Ritchson is tall, stately, broad-shouldered, beautifully pumped, but at the same time he is not deprived of acting talent and feels good in action scenes.
The plot and script do not pretend to be genius, but at the same time they represent a strong detective story, branched and tragic. Well-written supporting characters, like the town sheriff played by Malcolm Goodwin and his subordinate, played by the beauty Willa Fitzgerald.
It is important for our brother that almost every episode of this eight-part project has an action scene: a shootout or hand-to-hand combat. Basically, they are all tied to Reacher himself, who scatters the extras with a flourish and with fire. One of these scenes, namely a fight in a prison, was even included in the list of candidates for the best screen fight of 2022.
It is already known that "Jack Reacher" extended for a second season, and those who have read or watched films with Cruise know that Reacher never stops in one place, but travels around the States, sowing goodness and justice with the help of ingenuity, experience and fists where it is required. This means that we are waiting for new adventures, new characters and new action scenes with Alan Ritchson.
Cobra Kai (Season 4) (12%, 16 votes)
Nostalgic series that continues the story "The Karate Kid" 1984, at first, he was hesitantly among the leaders of the voting for summing up the results of action films: the first two seasons took third place, but the third took first place. It turns out that the series became one of the best action series every year of its release, and the fourth season did not escape this.
When a show drags on, there's always the fear that showrunners will run out of steam, storylines will drag on, and characters will stop developing. But "Cobra Kai" in this regard it is pleasantly surprising. Although perhaps this is because over the course of the four original films, the series has given us several vibrant, charismatic characters who can be gradually introduced into the series.
This is what Terry Silver became - the main villain of the third film, performed by a martial arts master. Thomas Ian Griffith. The last time Thomas appeared in a movie was in 2007, which, by the way, deservedly allowed him to become the first in the nomination "Comeback of the Year". Silver in his performance is miraculously good: at first he appears before the viewer as a moneybag enjoying his advanced years, who, however, deep down in his soul suffers from the futility of his existence. John Kreese suggests bringing back cruelty, karate and victories into his life. Martina Kouva and Terry agrees, eventually becoming a dangerous rival for the main characters.
Griffith is the absolute highlight of the season, but everything is fine with already beloved characters. Characters Ralph Macchio и William Zabka they begin to work together, training young people through joint efforts - it looks both funny and interesting at the same time, because each coach has his own methods.
The grand finale of the season is the karate championship, where opposing schools meet. And the creators of the series manage to make you care about each of the central teenage characters who face each other on the tatami. The drama works, the characters go through yet another development arc, and the fight scenes, although they look archaic, serve the purpose set by the plot. Bronze!
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Tags: Bullet train, Cobra Kai, gangs of london, Jack Reacher, Alan Ritchson, Bred Pitt, Gareth Evans, James Cameron, Joe Cole, David Leitch, results of action cinema 2022, Martin Cove, Ralph Macchio, soap opera, Sope Dirisu, Tom Cruise, Thomas Ian Griffith, William Zabka
Tags: Bullet train, Cobra Kai, gangs of london, Jack Reacher, Alan Ritchson, Bred Pitt, Gareth Evans, James Cameron, Joe Cole, David Leitch, results of action cinema 2022, Martin Cove, Ralph Macchio, soap opera, Sope Dirisu, Tom Cruise, Thomas Ian Griffith, William Zabka
Is the piloting ace intentional or accidental?
I haven't even watched the trailer for Avatar and I probably won't.
This is autocorrect. But I agree - it turned out well :)))