Note from the filmmakers:
- da-fi (English) / ta-bo (Russian) - noun
- abbreviation for dance fighting
- hand-to-hand combat using dance moves
A group of hip-hop dancers work part-time at children's parties to save money, and they each have their own reasons for doing so. Their names are Mike (Jonathan Pan), Ben (Angel Catindig), Richie (Richie Greenfield) and Jay (Ricky Cole). When Mike learns that his father Sam (Howard Fung) needs surgery, he almost becomes the victim of two robbers. Using his dancing skills, he fights them off, thereby attracting the attention of Jimmy (John Crang), an old friend of Sam's.
Jimmy introduces Mike to "da-fi", the art of dance fighting. Jimmy describes "da-fi" as a dance-fight with full-contact punches. When Mike wins his first da-fi fight, he gets his friends and girlfriend Rachel (Allison Dahlstrom) involved. Their team, with Jimmy as their coach, begins participating in a new "da-fi" tournament. At the same time, Mike learns that his father needs quadruple heart bypass surgery, which will cost $85. When Jimmy tells the team that if they win the tournament, they will each receive $000, they begin preparations for the most important battle that could change the lives of five friends forever.
The "battle of the dancers" theme has been used since the 80s, with the films Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984) and Beat Street (1984) featuring great choreography. A new wave of dance battles began with films such as You Got Served (2005) and Stomp the Yard (2008). Writer/director Frank Lin came up with the brilliant idea of taking the "battle of the dancers" and combining it with a martial arts theme into a film. And the formula worked completely.
What's good about the film is its cast. Jonathan Pan, Angel Catindig, Richie Greenfield, Allison Dahlstrom and Rikki Cole give excellent performances as the five main characters who have their own reasons for teaming up, and it's as if they are friends both on screen and in real life. In addition, they are good at breakdancing, performing a series of complex somersaults combined with various strikes to the sounds of hip-hop.
And who is the person responsible for choreographing the amazing "da-fi" sequences? John Crang. Krang, who is the author of the best manual on fight choreography, worked here not only as a choreographer, but also played the role of Jimmy, the courageous team mentor, who seems to have no special motives, but he is devoted to his old friend Sam and for this reason helps him son Mike and team to learn “da-fi.” All of the da-fi sequences are well-done, and with a fighting expert like Krang, it's clear why watching on-screen fights is a genuine pleasure.
To sum it up, it's quite safe to say that Battle B-Boy is the most underrated martial arts film to come out in 2012. The young, clearly charismatic cast and the presence of John Krang, both as mentor and fight director, make the film worth renting, and perhaps even worth buying. Additionally, the bad takes during the end credits are quite funny.
Rating: 4/5
Author: Albert Valentin
Source: kungfucinema.com
Translation: EvilDollaR
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Tags: Battle B-Boy, John Crang, Jonathan Pan, Ricky Cole, Richie Greenfield, Allison Dahlstrom, Angel Catindig
Tags: Battle B-Boy, John Crang, Jonathan Pan, Ricky Cole, Richie Greenfield, Allison Dahlstrom, Angel Catindig
I didn't like it, to be honest. Of course, to do such tricks, you need to be well trained, but...
But I didn’t like Phoenix Raging either.
John is half Thai. Apparently, the craving for mayrayut is in their blood. In this case - in a non-alcoholic version. :D
Thank you. Haven't heard of him. Let's check it out now.