Best action movie 2022
Not to say that last year was rich in hits and releases, because almost all the expected action films were postponed to 2023. But this does not mean that there were no good films in the action genre: not only the American projects were pleasantly pleased, but also the sequel "Stray Bullet" from France and military action "Best in Hell" from Russia - a film that is controversial in many ways, but with well-shot action. True, we were 100% sure of the winner.
Faster than a Bullet (dir. David Leitch) (26%, 36 votes)
Film David Leitch, based on the famous novel by a Japanese writer Kotaru Isaki It also intrigued with its trailer - it became clear that it would be a beautiful, colorful and cheerful vinaigrette of colorful characters, neon pictures, funny dialogues and inventive action.
The plot at first glance is quite simple - the mercenary Ladybug, who has taken the path of non-violence, takes an order to steal a suitcase from a high-speed train instead of a sick colleague, but meets on his way several hired killers with different missions, which, however, lead to a mysterious villain nicknamed the White Death .
"Faster than bullet" - This is an exclusively entertaining film made for the masses. There is blood and corpses on the screen, but the plot is presented easily and even somehow fun. The main character played by the ageless and cheerful Brad Pitt constantly makes jokes, and the very situations in which he and some other characters find themselves, for example, the “twin” killers played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson и Brian Tyree Henry - can be considered funny.
The film is roughly divided into two parts. In the first, we are introduced to the characters and the general plot outline, telling about the heroes through flashbacks in the style Guy Ritchie and through witty dialogues. The second part is non-stop action and a plot twist that brings each character's story to a climax.
Since "Faster than bullet" filmed by a former stuntman David Leitch, there is a lot of action in the film, it is mostly hand-to-hand and is often associated with the hero Brad Pitt, who did many of his own stunts. Due to the fact that the protagonist has learned Zen and renounced violence, he usually defends himself in fights, which leads to funny fights in the style Jackie Chan. In general, almost every character will be given a fight, which cannot but make us happy.
The film features good actors who make a simple action movie about revenge into a truly high-quality and expensive blockbuster. Fans of action films should be pleased with the participation Hiroyuki Sanada, who was again given a katana and the main villain of the film (Michael Shannon) into rivals, as well as Andrew Koji, which, however, focuses more on dramatic moments than combat ones. Hollywood stars appear on screen as cameos Sandra Bullok, Channing Tatum и Ryan Reynolds, which only adds points to the action movie.
It is impossible not to note the musical accompaniment appropriate for a comedy action film, good camera work and the setting of a shinkansen rushing across Japan.
Of course, those who were expecting an action movie “for serious reasons” did not really like the film, as evidenced by the very modest box office receipts and numerous reviews, one of which Wrote for our site. But "Faster than bullet" at the very least, an interesting project that once again confirms that stunt action films can be big-budget, include big stars and still appeal to the audience. And this fact also confirms the first place in our voting.
Day Shift (dir. JJ Perry) (15%, 21 votes)
So, second place in the nomination "Action Movie of the Year" and again a film directed by a martial artist, former stuntman and action director JJ Perryto whom the studio bosses Netflix entrusted to film an action comedy about vampires.
And the pinned one triggers again "John Wick" a scheme where the central role in an action film is played by a middle-aged Hollywood actor who takes an active part in the action scenes. Now I have joined such stars Jamie Fox, playing a vampire hunter who sells their fangs for money. The ex-wife wants to move to another city and take their daughter with her, and for this, Fox’s hero begins to work “for his uncle” - in a secret office for exterminating vampires, receiving a comical novice partner and a deadly enemy - an ancient vampirella, taking revenge on the main character for the death of his mother .
"Day shift" is an openly stunt film that is not shy about its origins. The film has little plot and a lot of action: there are shootouts, there is a well-choreographed and filmed chase, scenes of fights both hand-to-hand and with the use of bladed weapons.
The episode of clearing out the vampire hive deserves special attention; the main participants are the Nazaryan brothers, charismatic vampire hunters played by Steve Howey and our everything is from combat cinema Scott Adkins. Despite the fact that the scene contains Jamie Fox, destroying evil spirits and Dave Franco, on which all the humor of the film is focused, all attention is focused on the brothers who mow down vampires in batches, using not only firearms, but also stakes, swords, axes, knives and even “sharp” nunchaku. For some reason, Adkins, who can swing his arms and legs beautifully, was credited with strange somersaults for him, which were performed by an understudy, but the cleanup scene is still the most striking in the film. There is also Natasha Liu Bordizzo, who has a black belt in taekwondo, was also given a fight, including the final action scene.
The action movie itself could be more interesting, the main character could be deeper, and his partner would not be so stupid, and the main villain is absolutely nothing of herself as a character. But here there is Snup Dogg, making fun (hussars, keep quiet!) with a minigun at vampires and bearded Scott Adkins in a great action scene. Apparently, this was enough for “silver” in this category.
The Gray Man (dir. Anthony Russo, Joe Russo) (14%, 19 votes)
Again Netflix, again starring Hollywood stars, again an action-packed film. But it stands out noticeably among the top three because it is a pure action movie without any admixtures of comedy or mysticism. "The Gray Man" - a 100% spy action movie, where the action scenes are fundamental, then the actual plot and characters come.
At the center of the story is a former prisoner recruited by the CIA project codenamed “Sierra” to carry out complex operations. 18 years later, the main character played by Ryan Gosling himself becomes a target for his former colleagues under the leadership of a cruel ex-agent played by Chris Evans.
About films like "The Gray Man" They usually say that the script is secondary here, the characters could be played by anyone, and the main thing in the film is the action. And with this the film is in perfect order: well-filmed shootouts follow one after another, cars and buildings explode, trams go off the rails, a crashed plane falls apart in the air, characters with serious faces immediately engage in hand-to-hand combat... Such a refined action movie can be found today infrequently.
Of Ryan Gosling suddenly he turned out to be a suitable action hero, who, however, went through the entire film with a straight face, without giving even a shred of emotion. But the actor fulfills his task, which noticeably sets off the character Chris Evans – he is overly energetic, cruel, a little stupid and constantly smiles, showing white teeth and a funny mustache. A fight breaks out between the heroes at the end, which our readers suggested in the nomination "Best Screen Fight". The fight is staged in a low-key manner, but the two movie stars, who are mostly on their own in the frame, are a joy to watch.
Decorates the film and Ana de Armaswho also performs in action scenes and is an Indian actor Dhanush, who showed himself excellently in the hand-to-hand combat scene, and in general - his character is the only one here who was given an interesting story. Well, a nice bonus in the film was Billy Bob Thornton, who has always been an extremely good actor. And here Jessica Henwick, who knows how to fight beautifully on screen, was given a completely non-combat role.
Summarizing, "The Gray Man" - the movie is not about an interesting story and plot, but about bright, memorable action. For which, in fact, it gets third place in our voting.
Best Asian Action Movie 2022
Despite the fact that in the past year there were plenty of high-quality and even cool action films from China, Japan and Bollywood (Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia were also noted), we are forced to admit that we are a kind of champion in terms of quantity and quality of action films in 2022 South Korea became the year. The top three also speak about this.
Crime City 2 (dir. Lee Sang-yeon) (23%, 26 votes)
Conspicuous figure Ma Dong-seok has already appeared in our results - "Gangster, Cop and Devil" became the best Asian action film in 2019, and Champion took second place among sports dramas of 2018.
Now the sequel to the successful urban action movie "Crime City" once again allows us to enjoy the acting charisma of Dong-seok in the role of the head of the Seoul task force, who again faces another scumbag - a brutal criminal named Kang.
The second part has everything that makes us love Korean crime action films and films with Ma Dong-seok in particular: vibrant characters, aggressive action scenes and a broad-shouldered protagonist with a stern look who leaves no chance for his rivals.
This time they decided to complicate the plot in relation to the first part - now the task force is investigating the case of the kidnapping of Korean tourists in Vietnam, which means that the sequel has more locations, even if it all ends on the streets of Seoul. For some reason, the authors also added noticeably more humor to the second part, which doesn’t seem to interfere much, but still, it seems to us, is not really needed in such a serious crime story.
And if Ma Dong-seok everyone understands everything, we can’t say anything about the main villain of the film performed by Sona Seong-ku we can’t - the bandit he portrayed turned out to be a real scoundrel, calculating, but prone to emotional actions, which is what makes him so dangerous.
Despite the fact that the film does not have as many action scenes as we would like, each of them hits the mark: be it a fight in the narrow openings of an apartment, a car chase or a skirmish in a shopping center. As always with the Koreans, a lot of knives and axes flash in the frame, although the final showdown takes place, as they say, with fists. No, the villain ends up with a machete and a knife in his hands, but the brave police inspector inexorably deprives the enemy of bladed weapons. By the way, this fight, which took place on the bus, became second in the category for best on-screen fight. And that means something.
Carter (dir. Jung Byung-gil) (18%, 20 votes)
A film from a former stuntman and now director Jung Byung-gil we waited, because his previous action movie "Villain" took third position as "Martial Arts Movie" and the second one as "Best Asian Action" for 2017 year.
The film jumps right off the bat, presenting us with a certain man who wakes up in a hotel room without memory, but a voice on the telephone calls him Agent Carter and orders him to save a 10-year-old girl, otherwise the explosive planted in the man’s tooth will be detonated.
Not even ten minutes have passed from the timing, and on the screen a fight begins, crazy stunts, a cavalcade of pistols sounds, knives flash and blood gushes. The viewer does not have time to understand anything, and he is already thrown into a hurricane of action storytelling, because yes, "Carter" - this is again a stunt film, which is designed not so much to tell a story as to show what directors and action designers, stuntmen and extras, local effects specialists, editors and cameramen are capable of.
And the latter are extremely important, since this film simulates continuous shooting from beginning to end, giving action greetings to such films as "Child of Man" (2006) «1917» (2019) and last year "Last Chance" with Scott Adkins.
Byung-gil and his comrades tried to cram everything into their film to show how creative they can be. Shootouts from all possible angles, varied hand-to-hand combat with the use of bladed weapons, car and motorcycle chases, a crashed plane and stunts in the air. If this wasn’t enough for you, don’t worry – zombies appear in the film in the spirit of horror. "28 days later" (2002), and an action scene on a train, and a serious mess involving helicopters. Seems, "Carter" collected all the obligatory action scenes from a variety of action films. If the producers had given Byung-gil another 20 minutes, he would have sent the heroes into space or into the depths of the ocean, where they would definitely have met some kind of Godzilla.
At some point there is an oversaturation of action scenes, but it is simply impossible not to note the colossal work of the entire team, as well as the main actor Chu Won, who fits perfectly into the image of a professional who understands nothing but acts quickly. By the way, he did many of the stunts on his own.
"Carter" - this is a real action attraction, which, if we put aside questions about the script, can be safely recommended to any fan of action cinema. And “silver” is more than appropriate here.
Guardian Killer (dir. Choi Jae-hoon) (14%, 16 votes)
Again and again - “South Korean Tom Cruise”, as he is called - actor Chan Hyuk I’ve already been one of the winners of our project based on film results. He was featured in the film "Swordsman", which became the best historical action film for 2020. It's not only the same actor, but also the same director.
The main character is a retired killer who lives a completely comfortable life and does not blow his mind, but one day his wife, going on vacation, asks him to look after a teenage girl, the daughter of a friend. But she is being hunted by the Russian mafia and the protagonist has no choice but to protect her.
"Killer" (the word “guardian” has already been attributed by Russian localizers) – this is another clone "John Wick", but without the theme of revenge that runs through the American franchise. All the main attributes are in place: a well-known former assassin in narrow circles finds himself in the center of serious troubles in which the Russians are involved; Not even a shadow of emotion slips through the main character’s face throughout the entire film; all the local mercenaries are dressed entirely in formal suits, and the ball is crowned with the already tired “gan fu” - when martial arts are mixed with tactical shooting.
Hyuk’s character is a classic hero without fear or reproach, reluctantly rushing to save the girl, shooting accurately at the target, an experienced and serious professional who cannot compete with either the killers from the crowd or the conditional “boss” played by a martial arts master, stuntman and actor Bruce Khan, whom our editors were very happy to see in the new project. By the way, he and Hyuk have as many as three fight scenes where the heroes are trying to kill each other. Actually, Khan’s character follows on the protagonist’s heels, wanting to send him to his forefathers.
The film looks expensive and rich because of its stylish and fashionable picture; the lights of Seoul are shining around, reflecting on the doors of expensive cars. Accordingly, there are a lot of shootouts and a very good car chase with the obligatory explosions. Chan's gloomy hero shoots everyone to pieces and cunningly guesses all the twists and turns of the plot, so he has no equal here. That didn't stop Hyuk and Han's final showdown from making it onto the short list of the best movie fights of the past year. And "bronze" "Keeler's Guardian" also for a reason.
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Tags: Bullet train, Carter, day shift, The Gray Man, The Killer, The Outlaws 2, Bred Pitt, Bruce Khan, JJ Perry, Jamie Fox, Joe Russo, David Leitch, results of action cinema 2022, Chris Evans, Ma Dong-seok, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Ryan Gosling, Scott Adkins, Song Seok-gu, Hiroyuki Sanada, Chan Hyuk, Jung Byung-gil, Choo Won, Choi Jae-hoon, Andrew Koji, Anthony Russo
Tags: Bullet train, Carter, day shift, The Gray Man, The Killer, The Outlaws 2, Bred Pitt, Bruce Khan, JJ Perry, Jamie Fox, Joe Russo, David Leitch, results of action cinema 2022, Chris Evans, Ma Dong-seok, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Ryan Gosling, Scott Adkins, Song Seok-gu, Hiroyuki Sanada, Chan Hyuk, Jung Byung-gil, Choo Won, Choi Jae-hoon, Andrew Koji, Anthony Russo
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