Independent Action or Martial Arts Film 2022
This is not to say that many high-quality independent films were released over the past year, but one should not deny the existence of very good works either.
Lord of Shadows (dir. Pirri Reginald Teo) (25%, 13 votes)
Our winner is again proof that a cheap project, made for a couple of hot dogs, but made with soul, can become the first in our voting.
The scenario about a caretaker at a homeless hospice running from his past who sells his soul to the demon Hanuman in order to stop cultists stealing children could fit on a piece of notebook paper. The film's characters appear in the frame in some kind of rags, uniform chaos reigns everywhere, people walk past rubbish with sad faces. Perhaps the director deliberately “impoverished” the picture, but the viewer will pay attention to the total lack of budget, and not to the High Idea.
What can you see in "Lord of Shadows"? As often happens in this category, you can only look at hand-to-hand combat, which is done with soul. However, it’s worth making a reservation again: you shouldn’t expect drama from local fights - they are more like showreels of the people demonstrating them.
The main character of this dark mystical thriller is a former US Wushu champion, and now a stuntman, actor and action director. Di Why Sao (whom Kinopoisk confidently calls Daira for some reason). Despite his background, Sao does something incredibly cool on screen, demonstrating elements of Thai boxing, capoeira and taekwondo, thereby proving that he is in excellent physical shape and is ready to look like a master of any martial arts on screen. Of the main character's rivals, only the bald one stands out Andy Le, who is also in amazing shape. Their fight, which can probably be considered the final, is filled with bright acrobatic elements and from the point of view of the craft there is nothing to complain about.
Unfortunately, during the break from the cool but emotionless fights, nothing really happens in the film. Or rather, something is happening, but watching it is extremely uninteresting. Perhaps those who voted for "Lord of Shadows" wandered from fight to fight and simply didn’t pay attention to the rest of the film? Who knows. But this movie Pirri Teo, for whom this film became one of the last director’s works before his sudden death, opens a trio of prizes, occupying the main thing.
Coordinates "Citadel" (dir. Sophie Banks-Coloma) (15%, 8 votes)
Second place goes to the action thriller, which is combined with "Lord of Shadows" platform for Russian release - both films can be viewed legally on Kinopoisk. These are the strange times we live in - independent projects that were previously difficult to even find on the Internet are now officially “distributed” here, even in digital format.
"Dark Territory" (that’s what the film is called in the original) invites the viewer with names Michelle Monaghan и Jason Clarke – not stars of the first magnitude, but rather familiar supporting actors in various big-budget projects. Well, the plot, in which the most dangerous criminal on the planet creates real chaos in the most secret prison on the planet, attracts interest: you think what will happen now "Toughie" vice versa. But no matter how it is.
In fact "Coordinates "Citadel" turned out to be a very boring action movie, the action in which begins only in the second half of the film. Yes, and like an action... The villainous villain played by Clark walks around the prison and lazily kills guards with improvised means, followed by the main character walking around the prison with complex shields, who: a) wants to take revenge on the villain for the murder of his family and b) have time to do this before that the moment when the prison is blown up by military drones sent by the government.
From the point of view of combat scenes, there is nothing to catch here either - all the action is focused on killing prison guards. There are several hand-to-hand encounters, the main one being the final fight Jason Clarke и Phoenix Ray, but they were filmed and edited so-so. The shooting action is cheap, filmed and acted without any imagination.
What did the film do to deserve second place among independent action films? To be honest, the editors are not very clear. Perhaps the very atmosphere of a closed secret facility, inside of which a cruel and, to be honest, extremely lucky psychopath exterminates local warriors one after another - somehow touches the viewer... Maybe the inscription “from the producers "John Wick" somehow influenced... Perhaps the magic of the central acting roles worked... But, one way or another, "Coordinates "Citadel" receives silver.
Blood Hungters: Rise of the Hybrids (dir. Vincent Soberano) (13%,7 votes)
Vincent Soberano is a Filipino former world champion in Muay Thai, a stuntman and action director, and he also trains actors. In addition to acting ambitions, Vincent also has directorial ambitions, which periodically results in independent projects.
"Blood Hungters" just one of these, and in fact the film is a direct continuation of two short films in 2016 and 2018 with Soberano in the title role. By the way, "Rise of the Hybrids" was officially released back in 2020, but due to the fact that the action film reached Russian audiences only last year, it is participating in our voting.
The film begins where the second short ends - the queen of the alien "guests" of our planet, the Aswangs, has been destroyed, but the last representatives of these demons and the so-called hybrids remain - people who inject themselves with serum from their blood. In addition, veterans of the first war organized a cult of warriors, where they train those who can resist demonic entities.
Soberano's backstory is told quickly and in comic book form, which works well and is used throughout the film. The plot also quickly introduces the main character - former police officer Gabriella, played by a five-time member of the US national Wushu team Sarah Chanwho wants to take revenge on wickedness for the murder of her family.
There are three locations for filming in the action movie: a wasteland where fighters train and communicate with each other; some kind of garbage dump where funny made-up villains hang out; corridors and rooms of an abandoned building. At the same time, the narrative in the film is divided into two parts: in the first there is a plot, getting to know the characters and, in fact, training of fighters, and the second clearly refers us to the Indonesian "Raid" (2011). Trained people, armed with both firearms and melee weapons, roam the corridors and kill the demonic extras, moving on to sub-bosses and bosses.
Because artistic value "Rise of the Hybrids" does not carry, let us turn our attention to the local scenes of hand-to-hand combat. On the one hand, they are not bad, since martial artists and stuntmen take part in them, on the other hand, this is where the obvious lack of budget catches the eye, as is the case with "Lord of Shadows". Cosplay "Reida" also not completely successful: where the Indonesians’ professional and tough approach to fight scenes is emphasized by competent editing and innovative camera work, with the Filipinos, with the same introductions, everything comes out somehow caricatured, careless, without rigidity and pressure, with a “cheap” sounding of blows and obviously computer blood.
But it seems that our readers had enough local asceticism, since "Blood Hungters" entered the prize shortlist.
Disappointment of 2022
It is curious that the candidates for the title of “worst” presented in this category are for the most part high-quality projects, but, as we know, our brother has the right to expect certain emotions from certain films, and, having not received them, sends a very good action movie to "disappointment". True, all this does not apply at all to the two films from our “prize” list - they are objectively bad.
Fists of Vengeance (dir. Roel Rein) (18%, 21 votes)
For some reason, when taking an analytical approach to this film, I immediately want to talk about the career of the Indonesian master of silat Iko Uwaisa, which seems to be going downhill. After he moved to Hollywood, Iko's roles became noticeably more boring and smaller than what he did in his homeland: "22 miles", "Triple Threat", "Ali, please" и "Snake Aes" They not only relegate the actor to the background/third place, but also completely deprive Weiss of his individuality.
Netflix series "Wu Assassins" (2019) in the urban fantasy genre should have given Iko a chance to shine, since he had a central role. As a result, the series received lukewarm reviews, and the producers decided to make a full-length film instead of a second season, which, we think, was a mistake.
First, the "Fists of Vengeance" Not only does it not continue the original series (at the end of which, by the way, they gave quite a bold plot hint to the further development of the story), but it also completely ignores it. In the center of the plot are characters familiar to us from the series, performed by Iko Uwaisa и Lewis Tan, who come to Bangkok for a very vague purpose and are faced with an ancient magical evil. What kind of showdown between an ancient clan of assassins? Nope, haven't heard! In the future, it is completely unclear why another character from the series appears, performed by Juju Chan, which also ingloriously disappears.
Secondly, the production of the film was entrusted to a rather weak niche director Roel Rein, which, apart from a bright picture and eye-catching flower color, could not offer anything to the viewer. "Fists of Vengeance" banal, boring and uninteresting.
What's with the hand-to-hand action? Alas, everything is not smooth either. The main characters fight with the crowd, sub-bosses and ultimately with each other, but there is nothing to catch the eye. Yeah, Iko is still fast and tough, yeah Lewis Tan stately and handsome, but after watching the film absolutely nothing remains in my memory. The authors tried to be creative only in the final battle, in which Uwais’s hero fights with sectarians and with his brainwashed friend Tan. The scene was filmed with the effect of one frame and that is probably why it was included in the list of candidates for the title "best screen fight" for 2022. But there are also questions about this scene: despite the “single” frame, the fragment seems to be split up, giving a break to Iko’s rivals - by the end of the fighting game this begins to get boring. In addition, in this confrontation it is clearly visible how Uwais’ level exceeds that of Tan, who clearly lacks speed and refinement of movements.
In general, it is not clear for whom this film was made. Spectators Netflix They didn’t watch it – this is evidenced by the low rating of the action movie on the streaming platform. Fans of the Indonesian were more upset by such a project than supported it. This is why it takes first place among the “worst” of the year.
Batman (dir. Matt Reeves) (15%, 18 votes)
When a big-budget project about one of the most popular comic book characters of all time with good actors and a serious director at the helm turns out to be a disappointment, the thought that immediately comes to mind is that the viewer clearly expected something different from the film.
From this angle we will look at the new "Batman". Director Matt Reeves ate the dog on dark, dark stories. Actually, the screenwriters (one of whom was Reeves himself) required something like this - the local Gotham is written out and shown like the eternally rainy black and white cities in classic noir films, the only thing missing is the “whiny” jazz. But a whiny protagonist is enough - not in the sense that Robert Pattinson constantly roars, but the fact is that his Batman is always sad, gloomy, brooding and it seems that for some reason the stingy male spirit is about to disappear from his eyes.
Local villains are not cartoonish comic villains, but the most real gangsters and psychos. They were brought to life on screen Colin Farrell as the Penguin (although you sure as hell won’t recognize him here) and Paul Dano as Ridler. From a performance point of view, they are good, but not at all as a threat to Batman. Hence, the main leitmotif of the film is not the action and flair of a superhero comic, but a strong, but rather boring detective story, which is superimposed on the personal drama of Bruce Wayne. If we had cut this three-hour film by a good half, thrown out one of the detective lines and made, if not many, but well-accented action scenes, it would have been better.
The viewer expects to be shown the double life of the main character, but in reality the really good actor Pattison is as cool in the Batman mask as he is uninteresting in the image of Wayne. If the residents of Gotham took a good look at the face of the city's defender, it would be simply impossible not to recognize Bruce in him - the same lost look, the same tired eyes lined with mascara, the same voice.
But to be honest, "Batman" it is simply impossible to classify it as an outright failure: the film collected a large box office, immediately securing a sequel; a large number of viewers and critics rated the blockbuster positively; The detective thriller really boasts an impressive picture and very good action. Light, color, aesthetics of the frame - everything is imbued with a classic detective story, only with a superhero wrapper, where Batman and Catwoman can exist played by a sexy Zoe Kravitz. Those rare scenes of action that are in the film are viewed with interest and are easily remembered: be it a car chase along the roads of Gotham, a fight with extras in a nightclub, or the final skirmish under the roof of the stadium... The heroes act quickly, toughly and effectively in battles.
However, we can understand those who expected a film with the title "Batman" or a superhero mix-up in the spirit of realistic, but still comic-book films Christopher Nolan, or outdated gothic, but action-oriented films Tim Burton or, forgive me, bright but stupid films Joel Schumacher, but certainly not an ordinary noir detective from Matt Reeves.
Blade of the 47 Ronin (dir. Ron Yuan) (13%, 15 votes)
From a strange sequel to a full-length rental fantasy film "47 Ronin" (2013) starring Hiroyuki Sanada and Keanu Reeves, no one expected anything. Firstly, why did this idea even occur to anyone? Secondly, the project was first ordered by studio bosses Netflix, but during the work, the agreements with the streaming giant disappeared, which led to a noticeable loss of budget. Thirdly, we were promised a world of the distant future - cyberpunk with all its attributes, but even when watching the first teaser of the action film, it became clear that there was absolutely nothing of a fantastic element here.
There was still faith that a low-budget, but good stunt film could turn out: in the director's chair is a martial arts master, a veteran stuntman Ron Yuan, who also has experience in directing; in the central and supporting roles there are entirely masters of screen combat and stuntmen, and the cast is replete with names Mark Dacascos, Mike Mo, Dustin Nguyen и Dan Southorth. In fact, not a single potentially good aspect of the film came through.
It’s worth starting with the fact that the picture simply does not have a written world in which the events take place. We are told names and events from the 2013 film, they say that the events take place in a future distant from our time, everyone walks around the frame with gloomy faces, carrying bladed weapons, which, by the way, does not bother anyone at all. But all this does not play any role, because the plot follows the heroine Anna Akana – a certain chosen one who holds up the fragile peace between the clans of witchers and samurai, which will invariably affect the next end of the world. The script simply introduces and removes characters from the narrative, without bothering to explain anything to the viewer scratching his head. The only thing we can understand is that the authors were obviously inspired by the franchise "John Wick" in an attempt to develop a local way of life for clans, which have their own rules and traditions.
Visual "Blade of the 47 Ronin" expectedly weak - there is no cyberpunk here, the picture tries to seem more expensive than it is due to the neon color scheme, and the locations can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Add here very lackluster action scenes, tied mainly to sword fights and merged characters played by iconic actors for the genre: Mark Dacascos there is enough screen time, but again and again he is not allowed to show what the actor is capable of even at his age; They did about the same thing with the main villain, played by a black belt in taekwondo and an experienced on-screen fighter Dan Southorth – the final battle with him became some kind of helpless mess. Other people who can fight beautifully on camera also got small roles (Dustin Nguyen, Chris Pang, Yoshi Sudarso, Akira Koeyama...), but Yuan won’t let anyone turn around.
The only actor in the film who at least somehow plays his character, is humorous and looks good in on-screen fights is Mike Mo, who clearly didn’t do any good for his film career by filming “Blade.”
Could this film have been good even in its niche? Yes, it is quite. But for some reason this didn’t happen now "Blade of the 47 Ronin" wins bronze in disappointment of the year.
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Tags: Batman, black site, Blade Of The 47 Ronin, Blood Hungters: Rise of the Hybrids, Fistful of Vengeance, Hanuman: Shadow Master, Netflix, Vincent Soberano, Jason Clarke, Di Why Sao, Dan Southworth, Iko Uwais, results of action cinema 2022, Lewis Tan, Mike Mo, Mark Dacascos, Michelle Monaghan, Pirri Reginald Teo, Robert Pattinson, Ron Yuan, Roel Rein, Sarah Chan, Andy Le
Tags: Batman, black site, Blade Of The 47 Ronin, Blood Hungters: Rise of the Hybrids, Fistful of Vengeance, Hanuman: Shadow Master, Netflix, Vincent Soberano, Jason Clarke, Di Why Sao, Dan Southworth, Iko Uwais, results of action cinema 2022, Lewis Tan, Mike Mo, Mark Dacascos, Michelle Monaghan, Pirri Reginald Teo, Robert Pattinson, Ron Yuan, Roel Rein, Sarah Chan, Andy Le
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