Part Rambo part Wick, SISU is the ultimate action savior the modern genre needs.
In what is shaping up to perhaps be the dawning of a new golden age of action movies, Sisu hits theaters just as John Wick 4’s stellar run at the box office begins to die down. But for ultimate action movie audiences yearning for bloody, over-the-top action, Sisu doesn’t miss a beat — and in many cases kicks things up a notch.
Written and directed by Jalmari Helander, this Finnish period actioner set during the end of World War II follows a mythic John Rambo-esque action hero named Aatami Korpi (played by new action icon Jorma Tommila) who emblems the Finnish concept of “Sisu” and the strength of will needed to single handedly take down an entire battalion of Nazis trying to steal his gold.
For those like myself who might not have been familiar with Helander before Sisu began its media blitz on American action fans (most notably securing trailer spots before John Wick 4 for many theater-goers), his action exploits have not gone completely unnoticed as he has several award-winning shorts and commercials under his belt as well as two features including Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale and the 2014 action-adventure Big Game starring Samuel L. Jackson.
However, to say SISU is an explosive introduction to many international audiences would be an understatement. This film hits sooooo hard. I personally heard it word-of-mouth from several friends and often tagged as “the Finnish John Wick.” However, after seeing it I’d certainly call it more of a Finnish First Blood — but the point is the same.
SISU is fun, explosive, hyper-violent and about as ultimate of an action movie as anyone is capable of making for today’s market — and in general it’s just super enjoyable to watch. Clocking in at just over 90 minutes it doesn’t bite off anything more than it can chew, which is honestly just great revenge action from start to finish.
The film opens on some beautiful looks of our leading protagonist Aatami Korpi working as a lone gold miner in war-wrecked (yet still beautiful) hills of Lapland, Finland. Our hero finds the gold he was after and begins his short journey home only to come across a large group of Nazi soldiers on their own retreat back home.
Needless to say Korpi wants no trouble, but the Nazis want plenty of it, and it will all ultimately end in an fascinating 75 minutes of brutal carnage and vengeance.
Jorma Tommila’s work as our titular character is really a masterclass in ultimate action movie acting and action. He’s as stoic and unspoken as John Rambo or John Wick, yet despite his older age and more weathered appearance, he causes as much damage as both of them combined.
Without giving away too much of the plot or some of the best sequences, there is a slight element of the supernatural which gives our hero his “Sisu” powers which makes the film feel a bit more arthouse than just popcorn fare, and overall it finds its tone quite early with a bit of humor and fun as the fights and violence never get too serious or gruesome.
And it’s really in that vein that SISU stands out against many of the other ultimate action films of the day as it’s perhaps one of the best examples of how action movies don’t have to be anything more than, well… great action movies.
The stakes never get any higher than they’re laid out in the beginning, and we know the end results of the vengeance by the end of hte first fight sequence, yet the film — and filmmakers — are able to string together a beautifully shot, tightly-choreographed, and smartly designed action revenge flick that would stand up against the best of the rest in the 80s and 90s or today.
Ranking ‘The Marine’ films from ultimate to most ultimate!
In the past decade, WWE wrestlers like Dwayne Johnson, Dave Bautista, and John Cena have found success in films that few could have predicted. In the midst of their rise to stardom, WWE’s long-running but neglected studio film series found a home on direct-to-video. I’m referring to none other than The Marine series.
John Cena began the series on the big screen in 2001, with Ted Dibiasse and Mike “The Miz” Mizanin following him. In addition to the revolving leading men, a variety of talented direct-to-video directors were brought on board to helm the franchise. Roel Reiné, James Nunn, and William Kaufmen all got an opportunity to play in the WWE sandbox. A series that began with mediocrity eventually developed into a strong showcase of heart and craftsmanship. At Ultimate Action Movie Club, we are delighted to find the best of the series.
Aside from being the film that introduces The Miz in the titular role, The Marine 3 doesn’t really bring much else to the table. Director and Co-writer Scott Wiper guides us through a story centered on Jake Carter (The Miz) as he tries to adjust to returning home from service. Carter’s return is full of bar fights and familial melodrama about him taking control of the household away from his two sisters. While I like the idea of a dtv action film tackling the subject of a soldier returning home, the film doesn’t really do anything interesting with it. During Jake’s rocky adjustment we also follow the bank robber Jonas Pope played by the wonderful Neal Mcdonough. Mcdononough, brings his villainy charm and does the best that he can with this deranged robin hood figure.
When Carter is forced to cross paths with Pope and his team, The action we do get is bland and full of things that you’ve seen before but done better on this scale. Although, the fight between the late Darren Shahlavi and The Miz is a standout as the only decent fight scene in the film. This fight made me realize that The Miz can make a great action hero. He draws you in with his charisma and his physical prowess. If only the film surrounding his debut could have been better.
Surprisingly, a film series that has a lot of great entries has a not so good beginning. As a whole, The Marine is a mixed bag who’s bad points outweigh its good ones. By the end of the film, you will likely belong to one of two groups. The group that thinks it’s a notch below mediocre or it’s so bad it’s good. In the end, I ended up in the former..
This is your standard kidnapped wife and highly skilled husband on the hunt for her plot. Overdone or generic stories have never bothered me, because execution is everything. And the Marine’s execution is a slog, because it doesn’t offer anything worthwhile. In retrospect, it’s fun to see John Cena’s potential in 2006, and Robert Patrick is having a great time playing the villain.
Fights are over edited to the point where they lose all excitement. Theres meta jokes about Robert Patrick’s Terminator past and rock candy stories implying childhood sexual abuse, the humor is varied. I wish I knew what the writers were thinking. If that doesn’t scare you away, you’ll enjoy some nice pyrotechnics and a gruesome final fight that is too little too late.
While the first film was full of vanity and exaggeration, the direct to video sequel finds itself stripped of the studio gloss and given a lowkey
tone. Mostly, it’s for the better. Our new marine Joe Linwood (Ted DiBiase Jr.) is on a mission to rescue his wife who is being held hostage by Damo (Temura Morrison) and his group of terrorists. Shot on location in Thailand, Roel Reiné makes the locations pop and adds enough variation so you won’t get visually bored. Reiné stretches the already thin budget to give the most entertainment he possibly could. There’s a legitimate one take shot full of practical explosions along with a very interesting one take fight near the end of the film. It’s a good show of craftsmanship from Reiné and the crew.
Taking the series direct to video is a clear course correction but it didn’t come without its pitfalls. The film takes a while to get started and we’re stuck hanging out with human planks of wood DiBiase Jr. His physicality for the film is decent, but he lacks the charisma needed to be a hero. It’s really obvious When he shares scenes with the likes of Michael Rooker and Temura Morrison. Despite the underwhelming lead, your bound to get enjoyment out from Reiné’s film.
Its predecessors were guilty of dragging their feet but, The Marine 4: Moving Target strips away the unnecessary and throws us directly into the action. The Miz returns for his second appearance as Jake Carter. He has left his hometown and is now working on a security detail tasked with protecting corporate whistleblower Liv Tanis (Melissa Roxburgh ). The straightforward assignment takes a turn for the worse once her former employer sends Simon Vogel (Josh Blacker) and his fellow mercenaries after them. If the third film left you luke warm on The Miz’s performance as Jake Carter, the fourth film will surely change that, his notable growth as a lead can’t go unnoticed. His lines of dialogue come with a greater sense of confidence, and he performs the action with intensity and focus.
Director William Kaufman takes a simple story and makes it one long gunfight, but manages to keep it thrilling the whole 90 minutes. Now, if there’s one thing you should know about William Kaufman is that he has mastered the art of shoot outs. He puts you in the middle of the bullet storm, you can almost feel the brass whiz pass you. But what matters most to me is that he injects a sense of danger that seems lost on a lot of films that feature guns. The bloodshed and manic pursuits only escalate to a cathartic First Blood-esque finale. The Marine 4 is everything you can ask for from a dtv action film, violent, fast, and a great sense of action on screen, despite the limits.
With The Marine 4’s stunning display of bullet hell, the next installment continues the upward trend. A hired driver takes part in the assassination biker gang leader, the remaining and rabid crew seeks revenge on him in an empty parking garage as he bleeds to death.The now EMT Jake Carter, is the only person standing between the dying man and the bikers that want to finish the job. The thrilling intro doesn’t stop with just a failed assassination, Carter is forced to face defeat when he fails to save a woman from a car accident.
If you have seen any of James Nunn’s work you can quickly discover that he has an affinity for hand to hand fights. This can be seen in the constant evolving brawls between Scott Adkins and Stuart Bennet in Nunn’s first WWE film, Eliminators (2016). Nunn brings the same energy but adapts it to a smaller scale. Nunn uses the small scale to great effect, the parking garage where majority of the film takes place turns into a concrete trap that’s slowly closing in on our lead characters. By the end, the cat-and-mouse game turns into a mad dash through an abandoned amusement park. Not only does the film have great action, it keeps you on your toes with its great pacing.
Built on its foundation of excellent craftsmanship and the dedication of its leading man, the franchise doesn’t lose any steam once it gets to the finish line. Instead, the sixth and final film is an emotional high point and pushes the series further in terms of technical achievements than it has ever been during its direct-to-video lifespan. The film’s pathos emerges early, when Jake Carter and his old friend Luke Trapper (Shawn Michaels) go to an abandoned brewery to help a veteran who has given up on society. This act of selflessness causes the two to cross paths with the best villain of the series Maddy Hayes played by WWE’s Becky Lynch and it turns into a fight to survive.
Nunn’s sense of violence, first seen in the fifth film, has been refined and amplified with help from fight choreographer Tim Man. Man’s style can only be characterized by hard hits, grit, and a bit of extravagance. Shotgun shells rip into torsos and kicks fly through the air, this series has never had better action. Miz successfully balances action and emotional weight in his last outing, fully immersing himself in Jake Carter all the way to the end. You’ll cheer during well-composed fights but leave with a heavy heart. Undeniably, The Marine 6 is the best compared to its predecessors, it’s also the culmination of a film series that only got better and better. Ultimately, it proves that dtv gold is just a few steps away if you know where to look.
Article By: Cameron Levins is a filmmaker, comic book lover and fight scene enthusiast. Ever since his dad showed him Bruce Lee as a kid, he became obsessed with action films. In his free time he’s either day dreaming about an action scene or researching fight choreographers. Follow Cameron on Twitter here.
You know the name, you know the number… oh no, wait, wrong saga! Just when we thought all had been said and shown about Alexandre Dumas’ famous musketeers came the news of a new, actionised, big budget remake by French filmmaker Martin Bourboulon. The adaptation is split in two parts, and the first, D’Artagnan, was released in France at the beginning of the month, while Milady is due to hit cinemas on December 13th.
The trailer and its remix of late Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise had me really excited, as had the perspective of a badass fighter Milady, so I couldn’t wait to get my tickets. But should you get yours? Just how ultimate The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan?
Loosely based on the book: an actionised take on the classic
If you are a fan of Dumas’ work, the first thing which will strike you is how different the film is from its source material. The book does, nonetheless, adapt the first part of the novel. As such, it focuses on a necklace given by the Queen to her lover Buckingham, which the musketeers need to retrieve to prevent war between France and England – all the while the young D’Artagnan tries to make a name for himself. As you can guess from this pitch, and unlike its reputation, the book spends more time discussing plots against the French Kingdom than actually showing badass sword fights. Bourboulon smartly understood that an adaptation, especially in our day of action blockbusters, would have to take the fighting to the next level, and he did just that. Another positive point: you will see the heroes fighting with guns and stabbing their enemies in the back. Forget the chivalrous and everlasting sword fights, this is the real deal!
It is isn’t just the intensity of the combats which went up a notch: the film is centred around its fight scenes, and can definitely be classified as an action movie. The only ones who’ll be disappointed are fans of 2011 movie (if there really are any) – don’t expect flying ships this time around! The idea of an actionised take on the novel is excellent, and helps to set it apart from other adaptations. However, Bourboulon’s filming of the fight scenes is definitely one of the movie’s weakest points: most combats are over-cut, especially towards the beginning, which makes some sequences pretty hard to follow. This is a shame, as shots are interesting and care was given to the musketeers’ fighting choreography. Some brawls are even shot in a Western-like fashion, which suits the initiatory journey of the innocent D’Artagnan.
One for all, all for one: what about the characters?
All of the musketeers are well-played by their respective actors, and hearing that Pio Marmaï (Porthos) had fun with the role did not surprise me – the chemistry between the three older fighters and their pupil D’Artagnan is present. François Civil deserves a special mention for his interpretation of the young hero: always innocent but never too naïve, he is an interesting protagonist! Other highlights are the King (Louis Garrel) and the Queen (Vicky Krieps): much more time is devoted to their narrative arc than in most adaptations – and in the novel. This might surprise some viewers, who expected more badass protagonists to be put forward, but the actors really create an interesting couple.
And… that leaves us with my biggest disappointment in the film: I was really excited to see Milady de Winter, one of the most badass femme fatales out there, playing by Eva Green, who knows how to embody strong women convincingly – regardless of their moral compass. Well, if you are also a Green addict, beware: Milady is quite transparent throughout the film, and her role is mostly reduced to shooting characters and wearing a wig. Yes, Milady is meant to be a ruthless villain, but I hope that we will see her true “evil genius” abilities in the second part of the movie – here, I was left hungry for more!
So, as you might have guessed already, The Three Musketeers – D’Artagnan is a mixed bag: there are lots of creative ideas in the film, which are apparent in the new plot and in some carefully crafted shots chosen by Martin Bourboulon. The director clearly wanted to bring something unique to a well-known source material, and offers some unexpected twists on a famous story. Let’s be honest, not all of his ideas work: the film is far from perfect, and Bourboulon bit off more than he could chew (so many storylines get interwoven, that even the camera has to rush through!).
Nonetheless, the challenge is met: The Three Musketeers 2023 is a fun take on a historical adventure film, with gripping fights and a relentless pace. Milady is coming out at the end of the year, and I hope that we will see more of the famous villainess – and get some more developed storylines. In short, the film is flawed, but also unabashedly fun, and does get certified ultimate. One for all, all at the movies!
The Masebrothers strike again! The French indie filmmaker crew knows to evoke the spirit of 1980s action flicks, and their newest short feature Dragon Cop is a fantastic homage to Hong Kong action cinema. Hong Kong Cop Dragon and his partner Cynthia sneak into a warehouse to observe a deal between two crime gangs. When they are detected, all hell breaks loose.
Dragon Cop delivers fantastic martial arts fights, bloody shootouts and a killer soundtrack, it’s a must-see for all fans of old-school action! The team started a kickstarter campaign (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/masebrothers/dragons-revenge) to turn the short into a full-feature film, and I’m sure would be an absolute blast. So let’s make sure it happens!
Also, check out some of this ultimate promo pics for the project which the crew just sent over. We’re certainly quite excited for it here!
Jeff Wincott teams up with Karen Sheperd to take on Matthias Hues in this 90s DTV action classic.
The two Martial Law films became cult classics with action fans, and Jeff Wincott was a welcome addition to the second part where he joined Cynthia Rothrock. The producers liked him so much that they gave him the title role in another martial arts banger, 1992’s Mission of Justice. For this spirit in sequel to the Martial Law duology, fans of Rothrock likely were disappointed to not see her return. But Wincott showed that he can easily carry a movie on his own, and it turned out to be one of the best DTV actioners of its decade, so let’s have a look!
Kurt (Wincott) is an earnest cop, but his violent enthusiasm earns him a temporary suspension. With spare time on his hands, he intends to train in the gym of his good friend Cedric, who is a member of the vigilante squad Peacemakers. Their leader Dr. Larkin (Brigitte Nielsen) wants to use her small army for plenty of malice, and when she gets into an argument with Cedric, her goons kill him. Kurt becomes suspicious about the murder, joins the Peacemaker organization, and embarks on a dangerous mission with lots of bones being shattered and windows smashed along the way.
The Peacemakers from The Mission of Justice Have Prevented Another Crime
The first five minutes of the film set the tone in a terrific way. Kurt kicks a domestic abuse perp into the backseat of his police car. While taking him to the station, he sees three thugs robbing a liquid store from the corner of his eye and intervenes with lightning speed. The overall story tries to be a bit different from your standard cop-chasing-criminals scenario. And while it’s not extremely interesting, it flows smoothly from one action set piece to the next, and diligently piles up an impressive number of cop thriller cliches.
Kurt is our classic resolute action hero, but also a sympathetic and relatable fellow, who even cries once in the film. Brigitte Nielsen and Matthias Hues as her brother Titus impress with their intimidating height, and their stiff acting performance even helps a bit in depicting them as calculating powermongers. Titus usually stands behind Larkan, and only steps forward to indulge in his favorite hobby of neck-snapping when her talking isn’t enough to resolve the situation.
Wincott’s Ultimate Contribution to 1990s Martial Arts Action
What sets Mission of Justice truly apart from other low-budget actioners of its time are the fight scenes. Continuity with the Martial Law films is brought by fight choreographer Jeff Pruitt, with support from Drive stunt coordinator Koichi Sakamoto. The actors deliver top-of-the-line fights thanks to a choreography that is fantastic for a film of its time. The beatdowns are brutal, with breakneck performances by the stunt crew. People are getting thrown and kicked around mercilessly, we can almost feel the pain when someone is smacked through a door.
Wincott’s fights naturally are the highlights of the film. He takes on more than a dozen contestants in an insane stick fight, and during a showdown in a garage many tools are used for high-impact hits. Mission of Justice has aged well thanks to splendid fight sequences and – for the most part – the absence of the usual goofiness found in DTV actioners of its time. Wincott demonstrated he had excellent fighting and acting skills, which is still a rare combination. It’s too bad he never landed roles in high-profile actioners, but he certainly can be proud what he achieved with Mission of Justice.
All Bond fans have their own ranking of 007 films – sometimes widely shared on social media, sometimes hotly debated during gatherings. Lo and behold, every fan also has a least favourite movie – as you can guess from the title of this article, Daniel Craig’s second Bond film has been mine for a while. Quantum of Solace was released in 2008, a mere two years after Casino Royale (2006) and is set up as a direct sequel to its predecessor: we follow James Bond as he tries to avenge the death of his lover Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) and understand why she betrayed him. This leads 007 to investigate the mysterious organisation Quantum and its nefarious leader Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric).
For some reason, QoS never made much of an impression on me as a kid: I didn’t get its title (though my English might have been to blame), hated the shaky cam, and mostly remembered it as a sub-par sequel to Casino Royale. But this year, the film is turning fifteen, and it was about time that I confronted my own prejudices and gave Quantum of Solace another chance. The film received mixed reviews from critics, but has recently been re-appraised by some Bond fans, who argue that it’s more ultimate than we remember. So today, let’s retro-review Quantum of Solace!
We have people everywhere – the work of Marc Forster
Before the rewatch, most of my complaints about QoS concerned the work of director Marc Forster, who made some questionable editing decisions, and did not truly capture the essence of what makes a Bond film. My opinion on Quantum of Solace has not greatly improved, but the nostalgia might be kicking in, because I felt more indulgent this time around.
Let’s start with the most obvious problem: the shaky cam and choppy editing are really annoying. Not only do they make many action scenes (and as many falls) less impressive, but they sometimes render fights impossible to follow. As a whole, the film’s spatiality puzzled me: characters are not always focused on by the camera, making it hard to understand who does what. Of course, the shaky cam and over-cut shots are really ugly, but when I spoke about nostalgia, I now see them more as a late 2000s period piece. Much like tecktonik music and neon colours, I still dislike the editing, but I have stopped hating it with a passion!
Some shots conversely stood out as carefully crafted and beautiful, especially towards the beginning of the movie in Haiti, and as Camille (Olga Kurylenko) and James escape a cave in Bolivia. These were helped by a warm colour scheme… most of the time. I cannot for the life of me understand why all sequences in London have such a desaturated tone: I know the British weather has a bad reputation, but this is downright insulting for us Londoners! Speaking of mother England and Mi6, the HQ in QoS is just confusing, full of random walls and pillars which seem to obsess Marc Forster… thank god Raoul Silva blew this maze up! So, the bottom line might be that while I now find some qualities in the film’s cinematography, the terrible editing still hinders my appreciation of QoS.
Okay, but what about the characters? My memories of Camille (Olga Kurylenko) were pretty positive, and contrasted with a dislike of Mathieu Amalric’s performance as Greene. Well, not much has changed on that front! Camille remains an interesting Bond Girl, who has her own goal and backstory – though her character could have used more screen time – and she is subtly played by Kurylenko. She and Craig have good chemistry as companions going through tough times, and their lack of intimacy makes perfect sense.
I still struggle to take Dominic Greene seriously, in part because I worried that Amalric’s eyes might explode during the film, but also because he suffers from a bad case of “informed villainy”: we keep hearing how bad he and Quantum are, but only rarely see them acting terrifying. This is all too common in late Craig era villains, and to me, prevents most of them from being ultimate bad guys!
And that leaves us with supporting characters: Judi Dench’s performance as M is as good as ever, but she seems too present throughout the film (possibly a side effect of the reduced Mi6 cast). Felix Leiter’s interactions with Bond remain a joy to watch, and Jeffrey Wright simply masters the role. Gemma Arterton’s agent Fields is endearing but dispatched too quickly, and conversely, I found Anatole Taubman’s toupee-wearing-henchman Elvis neither intimidating nor really funny. I recently learnt that Elvis is in fact Greene’s cousin who was rescued by the leader of Quantum, making their interactions fun to (re)watch – but the henchman still lacks a distinct aura.
A piece of context which really helped my viewing experience was learning that Forster organised fight scenes around all four elements (air, water, earth and fire). This matches the film’s theme of natural resources’ exploitation, and makes a rewatch much more interesting. As a whole, the “organic” feel of QoS was my greatest surprise: a lot of the time, smoke, soil and glass shards are involved in the fights, and hit the camera. They give the powerful impression that the cinematography is going wild, much like Bond himself – who is driven by his instincts. Don’t get me wrong, this still doesn’t make up for the choppy editing mentioned above, but the movie’s combat scenes are not the bland fights I remembered. In terms of script, things are stripped down to the minimum (courtesy of the 2007 Hollywood writers’ strike) but the simple, fast-paced plot also suits Bond’s story of (almost) blind revenge.
So, what to take away from Quantum of Solace fifteen years after its release? Well, it definitely won’t be making it into my top 5 favourite Bond films, but it’s not the unwatchable, brainless flick I remembered. My biggest issue after this rewatch is actually not the editing, but how the movie compares to Casino Royale: not only is QoS not as good, but it also struggles to exist as a standalone, making its interest for the franchise very relative. Still, since Quantum has people everywhere, I better watch my back and say that it remains a fairly decent action flick from the 2000s!
I was not a fan of the recent fantasy movie Jiu Jitsu starring Nicholas Cage. It was not because it was a bad movie, but because I knew that there was a much better movie out there waiting to be made that would be more deserving of that title. One that would show the techniques and tenants of the martial art known as Jiu Jitsu and the character and tribulations of those who practice it. Well, that movie has finally been made and it’s title is Born a Champion.
The movie stars and was written by Sean Patrick Flanery, who himself is a black belt under the greatest fighter in Jiu Jitsu history Rickson Gracie. The movie plays out as a fictional but accurate history of early mixed martial arts in the 1990s. Flanery plays Mickey Kelley,who is a master of a martial art nobody has ever heard of called Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Because of his obscure knowledge, he receives an invitation to be flown to the Middle East to teach a seminar to the children of the oil sheiks.
Along the way, he meets a fellow American Layla played by Katrina Bowden and uses his particular skill set to save her from a creepy businessman and his entourage. Layla will eventually become Mickey’s wife when they return to the states and start a family. So impressed was the shriek by this new martial art and Mickey’s skills in it, years later he invites Mickey to return to Dubai and fight in a tournament for a sum of money that could prove to be life alternating for Mickey and his family.
Mickey cruises trough his first two bouts using the grace and technique of his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. His final fight is against up and coming contender Marco Blaine played by UFC fighter Edson Barboza. Blaine is an expert in the fighting art of Vale Tudo, which translates into anything goes, and if you know your history of martial arts, it is the heated rival to Jiu Jitsu in its native Brazil. Blaine lands a cheap shot on Mickey as he attempts to bow in and then administers a hellacious beating that leaves Mickey broken and bloody with the permanent disability of losing his sight if he ever fights again.
Mickey and Michelle return to the United States where they become devoted parents to a son as Mickey eats out an living as a bouncer and teaching private classes in the corner of a McDojo teaching traditional martial arts. Then one day, a VHS copy of the fight is uploaded to this new thing called The Internet. Blaine is by know a well known MMA champion and fans are outraged after viewing the fight and demand a rematch. And there just happens to be a promoter that’s willing to put up the prize money and set in back in the Middle East so Mickey can get around the medical restrictions. Mikey needs the money for his family’s future, so que the trading montage and back to the Middle East we go.
Up until recently, martial arts always got the short shift to boxing as far as sports movies go. History has finally caught up with the rebooted Cobra Kai, 2010s Warrior with Tom Hardy and Joe Eggleston or the three season Netflix show The Kingdom with Frank Grillo. Here is a martial arts themed movie that is more The Champ than Rocky with a healthy dose of history thrown in. The final fight is not the point of this movie but it’s about the heart of a true champion and the love for his family that forces him to get back in the ring. You would have a hard heart if the final scene of the movie doesn’t make you want to go train.
And who is this Sean Patrick Flanery and why does he look so familiar? Well, as far as his action credentials, he was the lead in the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles back in the day and was on of the MacManus Brothers in The Boondock Saints. Check out his A-list acting chops where he played an outcast albino who could channel electricity in Powder or holding his own against Christopher Walken in Suicide Kings.
He has always worked steadily but instead of becoming an A-list actor and all that would entail, he concentrated on starting a family and earning his black belt. He appeared on the last season of The Boys, numerous action movies trough the years, wrote and directed the recent movie Frank and Penelope and has another movie out next month called Nefarious where he plays a convict with a secret. But this is the perfect movie to rediscover one of my favorite actors that I’ve enjoyed trough the years.
It doesn’t get much better than a cheesy, ultimate sci-fi actioner from Jalal Merhi.
Jalal Merhi made a name for himself in the 1990s direct-to-video circuit with producing and starring in films such as Talons of the Eagle and the Tiger Claws film series. In 1994, he assembled the mighty quartet of muscles Billy Blanks, Bolo Yeung, Matthias Hues and himself for TC 2000. And what he and his fellows delivered in this low-budget martial arts flick is beyond all imagination, so let’s have a look!
In 2020, the ozone layer has been destroyed, and the world’s richest have taken refuge in an underground city. Jason Storm (Blanks) and his partner Zoey patrol the entrance to the underworld. One day Niki Picasso (Merhi) and his gang attack the gate and kill Zoey. A secret weapons program turns her body into the cyborg TC 2000, and she is sent to infiltrate Picasso’s gang who found a way to make the surface world hospitable again. Meanwhile, Storm uncovers a conspiracy, and is exiled. He meets martial arts master Sumai (Yeung), who trains him in the mystical power of the Chi, and together they to take on their enemies.
Death launch mechanism has departed, Surface World cleansing has commenced
This sounds like a lot of plot, but every new hook is really just an excuse to set up the next fight sequence. The environmental message the film carries is still welcome in our time, even though the destruction of the ozone layer has been prevented. But we can easily draw some parallels to global warming, and the scenario that the ultra-rich will be able to buy themselves safe shelter and leave the rest of us to suffer in an inhospitable world, has some disturbing credibility.
The underground is a giant, perfectly illuminated boiler room, and the overworld a strikingly tidy chemical plant. The budget must have been on the low end of the spectrum even for a DTV actioner, and the ultracheesy dialogues and acting are perfectly in line with this. It looks like all the money was spent on smoke, lighting, and body oil for the bare chests of our protagonists. This leads to great creations like helmets made from welding masks, a fortress built from cable drums, and fireworks to emulate world-ending missiles.
Jason Storm, report for total deprogramming right now!
The talent of the main cast lies in their martial arts prowess, and TC 2000 delivers a fight every five minutes. They all look pretty neat, even though nothing is spectacularly choreographed or shot. But there’s just so many of them, and with the absurdity of everything else that’s going on, spirits are high all the time!
We know an important fight is coming up when everyone goes topless before the beating starts, and especially Blanks likes to get rid of his shirt at every opportunity. He may not be much of an actor, but delivers the most awesome grimaces while fighting and sports a most intimidating hair cut that looks like a helmet.
His other cast mates are equally entertaining.Even though Matthias Hues’ massive body barely fits on the screen, it’s amazing to see how easily he delivers jumpkicks and roundhouse kicks galore. Yeung is an unstoppable force fighting guys four times his weight, and his chi superpower that “transfers power through objects” gives rise to many hilarious moments. Fashion-wise, Merhi and his Picasso gang take the cake with a wild mix of glam and punk rock attire, and face paintings you will only find in a self-expression workshop on a teambuilding trip.
Much of this may sound like a film that falls into the so bad it’s good category, but TC 2000 just radiates so much energy! The combination of fine martial arts action, a massive amount of cheese, and a likable low budget flair create a fun flick that is a lot bigger than the sum of its parts.
A look back at Die Hard with a Vengeance and why it’s such a lovable ultimate action movie.
Before waves of hatred start to break down my door like the top floor of the Nakatomi Plaza, I did not say that Die Hard 3 is the best film of the saga, but it is my personal favourite. Sometimes, we prefer the dumber, more boisterous child (my parents would tell you that) and this is why I love Vengeance so much: the movie is unabashedly fun, and deserves a re-appraisal.
While it does not have the novelty of the first Die Hard, the return of John McTiernan offers us a wild ride through the streets of NYC, and a certified ultimate action flick. Still need some convincing? Below are my reasons to check it out.
In action films like in love stories, first impressions matter, and in that department, Vengeance delivers straight away. It starts with catchy tune Summer in the city as the camera pans over NYC on a suffocating summer day, before a massive explosion blows up a department store. Not only will this opening catch you off-guard, but it has also become a fantastic 90s period piece.The camera follows New Yorkers as they go about their daily lives in a documentary style, making the attack a lot more jarring and intense!
This opening is absolutely iconic: it offers some cool visuals and sets up the menace, but also tells us everything that we need to know. The world has changed, threats are bigger, but the need for our favourite cop remains. Unlike the first Die Hard and its opening, there is no small-scale, McClane-centric atmosphere here, and this time the whole city is fair game. With this opening sequence, John McTiernan shows us that he will be offering a different but equally fun take on the franchise!
Now, this might seem like a very minor point to most viewers, but it is nice and refreshing to see that McClane is supported by his hierarchy – for once. After two films of fighting incompetent cops as well as bad guys, seeing our cowboy work hand in hand with his NYPD colleagues feels wholesome – especially as said cops are colourful and endearing. Some might miss the “only man against the world” idea, but larger-scale threats call for more protagonists.
The presence of McClane’s coworkers also nicely subverts the first film’s tropes. On that account, the brilliant interpretation of Samuel L. Jackson as the geeky and sharp Zeus deserves a special mention! For once, we have a sidekick who does more than just spit out a few jokes.
Alan Rickman redefined what it means to be an action villain in Die Hard, and giving a brother to the iconic Hans Gruber was a risky bet. But no matter your thoughts on Vengeance, it is widely admitted that Jeremy Irons rose up to the challenge. Simon Gruber is an absolutely excellent bad guy, who has a unique style, charismatic presence and impossibly hilarious fake American accent. Much like Hans, he can also boast a well-crafted and quite complex plan, which helps to keep the film suspenseful.
While he lacks his younger brother’s suave charisma, Simon makes up for it by having a fun-loving personality and an almost friendly relationship with McClane. Both are able to share a few laughs, and this amiability – coupled with Simon’s surprising moral code – is a joy to watch. Despite only showing up an hour into the film, this ultimate villain has what many lack – a signature style!
One of Die Hard’s greatest strengths was its unique, layered plot, in which Hans Gruber posed as a terrorist only to reveal himself as a brutal thief. This worked as a smart subversion of viewers’ expectations, on top of making the film highly rewatchable. Die Hard 3 has fun toying with the same ideas: Simon’s heist is first disguised as a revenge mission for his dead brother, before it is revealed that the older Gruber stays true to his name – and is in it for the money. But this is where things get interesting: Simon does, after all, consider McClane’s death as a little “bonus” – and he intends on making the most of this summer day!
The fact that Simon’s motivations are impossible to guess is an excellent nod to the first movie, but also helps to make this third film more enjoyable than your average brainless blockbuster. Much like its antagonist, Vengeance has fun toying with the idea of revenge – and this fun is contagious.
The cat and mouse game between Gruber and McClane is probably best represented by the film’s alternate ending (available on YouTube) which sees McClane travelling to Europe to enact a cruel and riddles-filled revenge on a victorious Simon. The hero now has a personal grudge against the second Gruber brother, since the NYPD fired him after Simon’s heist. Talk about the ultimate cycle of revenge!
Granted, this final point sounds a little mysterious – but what I mean here is that the third Die Hard instalment has a unique, vibrant universe. This helps Vengeance to feel more interesting, but also fairly realistic (despite its over-the-top stunts): a lot goes on during the film’s two hours, but just as much is left to the imagination of viewers.
We never know what John McClane got suspended for, and we only get tidbits of Zeus’ backstory (though it is expanded upon in deleted scenes and the film’s novelisation). Simon’s unusual crew and lieutenants also deserve their own origin stories (how did he even recruit all of these men?).
The fact that we seem to catch all of these people on just one fateful day in their lives makes them more believable and easier to root for. This is not just about the main characters: New Yorkers themselves are the heroes of Vengeance, and could be counted as its protagonists. From the deadpan traders to the crazed extras, there is much more to Die Hard 3’s story than McClane’s prowesses, and this makes the film a very unique – and certified ultimate – action flick!
Action cinema finally has its Lawrence of Arabia for its majestic sweep and its Godfather 2 for sheer storytelling. This epic chapter to the John Wick saga should be receiving Oscar nominations for everything from best picture, to screenplay to cinematography and if doesn’t establish an Oscar category for stunt work there is no justice in this world. So onto a review of quite simply the Greatest Action Movie Ever Made — John Wick Chapter 4.
According to it’s director, John Wick is a modern retelling of the Greek Epic Poem The Odyssey. In it, the hero goes off to fight in The Trojan Wars and then takes ten years to return to his homeland having all manner of adventures in the meantime. In our tale, John Wick is mourning the death of his wife and has a death wish himself. What pulls him back from the abyss is the gift of a puppy. When that is taken from him, we come to realize this is no ordinary man but an assassin that is death personified and you have just reawakened him. And once John renters the life, the underworld opens up its jaws to shallow him whole. Over the second and third movies, John can no longer go back to becoming the man his wife always wanted him to be. And what follows is killing. Lots and lots of killing.
Chapter four picks up six months after the last. John is still on the run from the High Table and has been given sanctuary under the streets of New York by The Bowery King. He has spent that time healing and training after having the worst week in human history. His first stop is a return to Casablanca to give the head of the High Table a final opportunity to return his wedding ring and lift the bounty on his head. Needless to say it ends badly. What the High Table does in retaliation is unleash a slimly Frenchman by the name of Marquis de Gramont , played by Bill Skarsgard to act as judge, jury and executioner on all things Wick, as the all out war with the High Table begins in earnest.
Literally every character in this movie deserves a spin-off. John seeks shelter with his only friend left in this world in Shimazo Koji played by Hiroyuki Sanaa and his daughter Akira played by Rina Sawayama, as the management of the Continental Hotel in Osaka Japan. So of course, all hell follows with him. Donnie Yen channeling cool in a way not seen outside of a John Woo movie plays John’s best friend Caine, who is forced back into service against him to protect his daughter from the High Table. Then there’s Chilean martial arts sensation Marko Zaror playing the Marquis right hand man. Scott Adkins in a purple fat suit channels Sammo Hung from the movie SPL as Killa, head of the German underworld. Even the Kurgan himself Clancy Brown turns up the The Harbinger, to bring order to all the chaos that’s about to ensue.
I never thought the action of John Wick 3 would ever be surpassed without becoming repetitive, but God Damm does director Chad Stahelski and his stunt team lead by Keanu Reeves do just that in Chapter 4. The de concentration of the Osaka Continental begins the mayhem and the climax is a duel at thirty paces at sunrise in Paris on the steps of the Sacre -Coeur Basilica for John’s freedom. But before that, John has to face down High Table member Killa in Germany, engage in a car chase around the traffic circle of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which ends in hand to hand combat using traffic, before he is chased into an abandoned church for a shootout that was filmed from overhead with shotguns that fire a shell called dragon’s breath.
Finally, John has to surmount the 222 steps of the Rue Foyatier leading up to the basilica with every Hitman in Paris standing in his way. It’s kind of like the Greek story of Sisyphus, dammed to roll a bolder up a hill forever. Only he didn’t have to deal with hitmen trained in firearms and martial arts. Does John make it to his duel at the appointed hour and earn his freedom?
The movie was originally subtitled Hagakure-which is a book that exemplifies the Code of the Samurai. And in knowing this, you can appreciate that some men live by a code of honor that stands above the vow of servitude the High Table was forced them to live under. The most quoted line of the book is “The way of the warrior is death”. And every character in this movie is the living embodiment of that.
