Big... often starts small. The film lives up to this saying. Jose Montesinhos has been making indie action films for a while now, and this time he's directed a feature film that FINALLY brings Latino martial arts experts to the forefront, much like Blood and Bone did with its African American fighters. It's damn timely, but that doesn't mean it's a good martial arts movie.
So is this a good movie?
Hell yes.
Marco Antonio Alvarez stars as Carlos Castillo, a martial arts teacher. He is going through difficult times now: his wife left him, and they are on the verge of divorce, and there is not enough money to pay for the dojo, since it does not generate enough income. At the same time, Carlos is trying to pay off his grandmother's medical bills. He is a great sensei and a good person, he just hit a bad patch in his life. Carlos goes to see his loser brother Ricky (Ruel), who works in the bar of Morales, a local drug lord who organizes unsanctioned underground fights. Ricky advises his brother to take part in fights, and Carlos, who despises such fights, does so reluctantly. He will later regret this as Ricky's problems with Morales soon become his problems. After a while, Carlos will have to make a choice between his principles as a martial arts practitioner and helping his brother. Will he be able to save Ricky without destroying himself? And is Ricky worthy of saving?
Jose Montesinhos did a great job here, and we have to give credit to the cast. Marco Alvarez played Carlos well. I immediately connected with the character and was able to sympathize with him in the situation with his problems. Alvarez plays Carlos, who is a truly kind person, and you can read all the internal conflicts and decisions he makes on his face. Great acting and the fighting is okay, but more on that later. Dennis Ruel was perfect for the role of Ricky. He is a pleasant character, a natural goofball, whom we have met more than once. He makes one bad decision after another, but for this reason I never once felt a sense of hatred towards him, and this is due to Ruel's acting performance. Dave Rivera's Morales is a complete asshole, just like his right-hand man Ruiz (Embriz Di Colosio). The plot narration is normal, although it is about a tournament, the characters are well developed, and not one of the characters ever did anything that was not inherent to them, but I have seen this in films of this kind very often.
All the fights were filmed perfectly, and although the locations could have been better (most of them are warehouses, but the last fight takes place in a very beautiful place), the fights themselves are great. The choreography is energetic and fluid, combining MMA and traditional martial arts, just like Donnie Yen did in “SPL.” I cheered throughout the final bout as I witnessed the kind of perfectly executed submissions that are so rare to see in modern action films, so kudos to Dennis Ruel for a job well done!
This film is further proof that you don't need a big budget to make a good martial arts film! It's not a perfect movie, but it's a damn good movie nonetheless.
Author's rating: 8,5/10
Author: Michael S. Moore
Source: kiaikick.com
Translation: EvilDollaR
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Tags: Barrio Brawler, The Stunt People, Dennis Ruel, Marco Alvarez, Morgan Benoit, Jose Montesinhos
Tags: Barrio Brawler, The Stunt People, Dennis Ruel, Marco Alvarez, Morgan Benoit, Jose Montesinhos
The film is really rated highly. The plot is, of course, as simple as 3 rubles and hackneyed. Although the main characters performed by Ruel and Alvarez are quite good. If only they could be put in a proper film. They are all right with the fighting game, they play very sanely, Alvarez generally does everything competently, his diction is excellent. I liked that he works in such an ascetic, classic style, without any tricking jumps or other banality. Karate, MMA elements, all with good speed and accuracy. The work is not original, but well tailored. But on the whole the film is... “one of”, we can consider it a sample, we have all already seen it. And the negative fighter character in the film was not at all impressive, IMHO, gray, clumsy, uncharismatic, absolutely nothing. This, you know, is not Tong Po or Chong Li...))
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Trailer
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From the trailer it was clear that it would be at least good, there were cool fights in the trailer, Asylum is apparently making progress, they will have a second normal film, the first was the king of the ants.
Yes.
The film was released in theaters in the US on June 25th?
One famous site is surprising. One gets the feeling that names are assigned without looking. This movie was called "Barrio Brawler", as if it was the main character's name or something.
"Kung Fu Man" became "Kung Fu Master", although in the trailer GG says: "I'm not Superman, I'm Kung Fu Man."
We'll see, but the rating is a bit high, in my opinion.
Could Asylum actually make a good movie? Suddenly...