On April 3, 2018, Cinedigm Entertainment will be releasing Zhang Xianfeng’s sci-fi actioner Kung Fu Traveler to DVD. The film stars Tiger Chen (Monk Comes Down the Mountain) and Wang Zhi (Drug War).
In the film, aliens have invaded and overtaken the Earth. Trying to escape defeat, a Chinese General (Chen) is accidentally sent back in time while trying to devise a way to defeat the alien invaders.
Is this Tiger Chen’s answer to Timecop? In addition to Kung Fu Traveler, the Yuen Woo-ping protege, who made his starring debut in Keanu Reeves’ Man of Tai Chi, is also involved with Triple Threat, an Expendables-type actioner also starring Tony Jaa (Skin Trade) and Iko Uwais (The Raid 2).
Director: Mark Dacascos Cast: Alexander Nevsky, Casper Van Dien, Matthias Hues, Don “The Dragon” Wilson, Cynthia Rothrock, Olivier Gruner, Mark Dacascos, Tia Carrera, Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa, Jake Macapagal, Moises Magisa, Monsour Del Rosario, Dmitriy Dyuzhev Running Time: 86 min.
By Paul Bramhall
Russian bodybuilder turned fledging action hero Alexander Nevsky, the Tommy Wiseau of the action genre, returned to screens in 2016 with Showdown in Manila, which marks the directorial debut of Mark Dacascos. Much like Nevsky’s last movie to get a release stateside, Black Rose, so his latest effort has also spent a couple of years sat on a shelf unreleased. It was ITN Distribution that plucked Black Rose out of obscurity, providing Nevsky’s 2014 directorial debut with a limited theatrical run in the States during April 2017, and the same distributors have saved Showdown in Manila from the edge of limbo. Completed in 2015, while Showdown in Manila screened in Russia, it wasn’t until early 2018 that it eventually turned up on American shores.
If you’re anything like me, you’re likely asking what it is about Nevsky’s movies that prevents them from flying off the shelf as soon as they’re put on the market, however after watching just a couple of minutes of Showdown in Manila, the answer becomes blatantly obvious. They’re pretty bad. I don’t know what it is about these former USSR countries, and their ability to make action movies with casts that read like a who’s who of 90’s American B-movies, but just like Beyond the Game and Diamond Cartel, Showdown in Manila crams them in. Matthias Hues, Don ‘The Dragon’ Wilson, Cynthia Rothrock, Olivier Gruner, Mark Dacascos, Tia Carrera, and Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa all turn up for varying amounts of screentime. Dacascos appears in his own movie for less than 2 minutes, while Hiroyuki-Tagawa looks catatonic whenever he’s onscreen. It’s certainly never dull.
The plot involves Nevsky as a former New York cop who, after an operation gone wrong, is now running a private detective agency in Manila. A docile looking man mountain with zero screen charisma, and who sometimes sounds like he’s trying to imitate his idol Arnold Schwarzenegger (yes, a Russian trying to imitate an Austrian’s English accent, it’s not pretty), we learn that Nevsky is capable of crushing knee caps with his bare hands, and has an affinity for denim waistcoats. He runs the agency with Casper Van Dien, playing a former L.A. cop who’s a recovering sex addict, that escaped to Manila after being caught with his sergeant’s wife. It’s as dumb as it sounds. Van Dien, who randomly shows up after 20 minutes as the co-star with zero explanation, brings the most energy to Showdown in Manila, desperately attempting to breathe life into a horrendously clunky script.
Nevsky and Van Dien are hired by Tia Carrera (looking like her face has had a showdown with Botox), who it’s explained is a police sketch artist vacationing in the Philippines, when her FBI agent husband, played by Dacascos, is murdered in broad daylight by dialling-it-in bad guys Hiroyuki-Tagawa and Matthias Hues. I confess there’s something poetic in the way Dacascos chose to show up in his own movie for the sole purpose of being killed. Perhaps it reflects his attitude towards the whole experience of directing. In an interview I conducted with the 2nd unit director Sonny Sison in July 2017, he explained that it was Nevsky that approached Dacascos to direct, so exactly how much influence Dacascos had in the director’s chair is open to debate (and I’m sure it wasn’t his decision to include a cameo from a Russian pop star). However regardless of the truth, I feel confident in saying this will likely be the first and last time we see Dacascos the director.
He has worked with the writer of Showdown in Manila before though, Craig Hamann, when he took the lead role in Hamann’s directorial debut, with 1998’s Boogie Boy. What’s interesting is that, based on the details found on IMDB, it would appear that writing the script for Showdown in Manila is Hamann’s first significant credit since Boogie Boy, which would likely explain why the dialogue seems so rusty and lacking spark. Of course the fact the Nevsky and Van Dien have zero chemistry together also plays a factor, but with a better script, perhaps it could have been slightly less painful.
One person that Dacascos definitely has worked with before, albeit not in the film industry, is his father Al Dacascos. A Black Belt Hall of Famer, Dacascos Sr. is a highly respected American martial arts practitioner, and the founder of the hybrid style Wun Hop Kuen Do. It’s understandable that he be brought on board as the fight choreographer for Showdown in Manila, however there really isn’t enough martial arts action on show, to judge if he’s capable of transferring the realism of his style to a screen fighting aesthetic. Sison mentioned in our interview that Dacascos Sr. would usually come up with the moves, and then he’d interpret them to appeal to the camera. This is only really noticeable in a brief burst of action that Cynthia Rothrock busts out, when she takes on multiple attackers using Escrima, but outside of these few seconds there’s nothing of note.
Speaking of Rothrock and Don ‘The Dragon’ Wilson, who seem to come as a package deal recently following appearances together in The Martial Arts Kid and Death Fighter, their appearance here is as incomprehensible as everything else. When proceedings shift to the jungle for the finale, a change in location which is fuzzily explained at best, Nevsky and Van Dien are met on a riverbank by a pair of Nevsky’s former comrades, played by Olivier Gruner and fellow Russian Dmitriy Dyuzhev. Gruner introduces Rothrock and Wilson to Nevsky as people that can help them in their mission to take down Hiroyuki-Tagawa and Hues, to which Nevsky responds “I’ve seen a few of their films.” I’m not sure if it was supposed to be a moment of meta-humor, but considering Nevsky’s monotone delivery of his lines, it’s difficult to tell. Either way, it felt like a face palm moment.
Not content with simply being an unremarkable action B-movie, unfortunately Showdown in Manila makes the ill-advised decision to open with a setup identical to The Raid. The influence of Gareth Evans’s 2011 classic can be seen in several movies in the years since, from Hong Kong’s Zombie Fight Club, to Bollywood’s Rocky Handsome, to Cambodia’s Jailbreak. However while those movies aimed to match the visceral thrill that The Raid provided, Showdown in Manila settles for delivering a rather dull and lifeless raid on a compound by the Violent Crime Unit Strike Force, culminating in a yawn inducing gun fight. It’s the very definition of a by-the-numbers action scene, and when Nevsky takes a bullet in the scenes finale, the fact that he doesn’t seem to have taken any stunt-fall training is equally painful to watch, as he carefully falls to the ground.
Despite Nevsky’s unremarkable track record as an action star, there’s something morbidly admirable about his can-do attitude. He’s already prepping Black Rose 2 during 2018, and is the star of Romeo Must Die and Cradle 2 the Grave director Andrzej Bartkowiak’s (who serves as executive producer here) next feature Maximum Impact, which will also feature Mark Dacascos and Matthias Hues. However rather than the talent he surrounds himself elevating his performance to their level, it seems the case that those who appear in Nevsky’s vanity projects end up being dragged down to his level. He may have lofty ambitions and dreams, but you need to have the talent to back it up. With stiff acting, lifeless line delivery, and a distinct absence of screen presence, at this point even if he got Donnie Yen to appear in his next title, I’d likely give it a pass.
Showdown in Manila may be a bad movie, however I admit seeing so many familiar faces show up to embarrass themselves did keep it mildly entertaining. Even respectable Filipino actors, such as Jake Macapagal and Moises Magisa from Metro Manila show up, along with vintage action star Monsour Del Rosario in a blink and you’ll miss it appearance (albeit one that provides a reunion with Don ‘The Dragon’ Wilson, as Del Rosario played a fighter in Wilson’s 1990 sequel Bloodfist II). Towards the end of Showdown in Manila’s mercifully short 85 minute runtime, Wilson declares “Enough of this, let’s kick some ass.” If only he’d said it at the beginning, maybe it would have been less of a chore to get through. Maybe, but not likely.
Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for Kevin Tancharoen’s Mortal Kombat: Legacy II (aka Mortal Kombat: Legacy – Season 2).
Legacy II stars Casper Van Dien as Johnny Cage, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Shang Tsung, Eric Jacobus as Stryker, Michelle Lee as Mileena, David Lee McInnis as Raiden, Ian Anthony Dale as Scorpion, Samantha Tjhia as Kitana, Harry Shum, Jr. as Kuai Liang (Sub-Zero’s younger brother), Brian Tee as Liu Kang, Mark Dacascos as Kung Lao, Kim Do Nguyen as Ermac, and Daniel Southworth as Kenshi.
Hong Kong martial arts star Vincent Zhao (The Blade, God of War) is set to make his directing debut with Huzong Dieying, a spy-thriller based on a popular series of novels by Wang Jianxing (via AFS).
Huzong Dieying is being produced by Sammo Hung (God of War) and will also star Yu Nan (Wolf Warrior 2, Taking of Tiger Mountain). It is currently unknown if Hung will also be choreographing the film’s action.
The first Trailer for Tomb Raider, the anticipated reboot of the 2001-2003 film series (based on the highly successful video game franchise) has been released.
Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina) steps into the role of Lara Croft (previously played by Angelina Jolie), the daughter of a missing adventurer, who must push herself beyond her limits when she finds herself on the island where her father disappeared.
Tomb Raider also stars Walton Goggins (The Hateful Eight), Hannah John-Kamen (Ready Player One), Dominic West (The Wire) and Alexandre Willaume (The Last Kingdom).
Hong Kong cinema fans will welcome the inclusion of Daniel Wu (Sky on Fire), who has a substantial co-starring role. Wu continues the tradition of well-known Asian talent showing up in the Tomb Raider film world. In 2003, both Simon Yam (Mrs K) and Terence Yin (Zombie Fight Club) appeared in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.
Tomb Raider opens on March 16, 2018. Don’t miss the New Trailer below:
Ichi the Killer: Restored Director’s Cut | Blu-ray (Well Go USA)
RELEASE DATE: March 20, 2018
On March 20, 2018, Well Go USA will be releasing Takashi Miike’s 4K Restoration of Ichi the Killer (aka Ichi the Killer: The Digitally Restored Director’s Cut) on Blu-ray.
Based on the manga Ichin the Killer by Hideo Yamamoto, the film follows Kakihara (Tadanobu Asano), a notoriously sadistic yakuza enforcer whose search for his boss’ killer brings him into the orbit of a demented costumed assassin known as Ichi (Nao Ohmori).
“At Well Go USA, we’re big Takashi Miike fans,” said Doris Pfardrescher, President and CEO of Well Go USA Entertainment, “and we couldn’t be more excited that we get to finally unleash Ichi the Killer the way it was meant to be seen – and freak out a whole new audience!
Director: Jesse V. Johnson Cast: Scott Adkins, Ashley Greene, Michael Jai White, Amy Johnston, Ray Park, Ray Stevenson, David Paymer, Nick Moran, Perry Benson, Ross O’Hennessy, Roger Yuan, Lee Charles, Tim Man, Brooke Johnston, Stu Small Running Time: 105 min.
By Paul Bramhall
With a new year upon us in the form of 2018, there are 2 things that I can safely guarantee. One is that we’ll be getting more Scott Adkins movies. The other is that we’ll be getting more comic book movies. What I didn’t expect though, is for the 2 to be combined, but that’s exactly what we have with Accident Man, the UK’s busiest martial arts star’s latest action kick. For those not familiar, (which I confess, includes myself), Accident Man was a character created by Pat Mills in 1991, which featured in the UK comic Toxic! While the comic lasted less than a year, Accident Man proved to be one of its most memorable characters, about a hitman by the name of Mike Fallon who specializes in making his hits look like accidents.
As it turned out, Adkins is a huge fan of the comic, and stated it was his passion project to bring the character to the screen. Needless to say, when action stars pursue their passion projects, it often leads to interesting results. Just ask Warner Brothers, who threw a heap of money at Steven Seagal to make his magnum opus, expecting a hard boiled action flick, and instead received an Eskimo friendly eco-thriller with On Deadly Ground. Or Jean Claude Van Damme, who made his labour of love, (ironically) titled Full Love, back in 2010, which after various title changes, re-shoots, and edits, has yet to see the light of day. Adkins may not be directing like the Seagal and Van Damme of yesteryear, however it is his first time to take on script writing, and also step into the role of producer.
Directing duties are taken up by Jesse V. Johnson, delivering the second movie from the pair in less than 12 months, the first being Savage Dog from 2017. Adkins and Johnson appear to have struck a successful working partnership together, and the amount of productions they’re working on is becoming easy to lose track of. When Savage Dog wrapped, timing suggested that the next movie they were working on to receive a release would be Triple Threat, an all-star action extravaganza which pits Adkins against Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, and Tiger Chen. However since coverage started on Triple Threat, both Accident Man and The Debt Collector appeared on peoples radars, and look like they’ll be seeing the light of day first.
Combined with Twilight Zodiac, Sinners and Saints: Vengeance, and Incoming, 2018 promises to be a year when fans of Adkins will never have to wait too long to get their next fix. His choice to work so much with Johnson would indicate that, much like his previous pairing with frequent collaborator Isaac Florentine, Adkins has found a director (himself a stuntman) who knows how to use his skillset. For all intents and purposes, Accident Man is a movie which proves that theory. The direction is more confident, the pacing sharper, and Adkins is visibly in his element as a cocky foul mouthed hitman, finally able to use his actual British accent for a change.
Indeed not since Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning has a Scott Adkins flick felt like a real cinematic piece of storytelling. Sure, I’m not taking anything away from his role as Boyka in the Undisputed series, or even the previously mentioned Savage Dog, but at the end of the day, the narrative in those productions only serves as filler to the action scenes. Accident Man is a different beast, and I’d dare be so bold as to say it has more in common with British crime flicks such as Layer Cake and Sexy Beast, than it does the likes of Close Range or Ninja.
Adkins the script writer turns out to be capable of writing lines as crisp as his kicks, with a deliciously filthy script that is littered with dirty jokes and language which is not for the easily offended. Taking place on the streets of London, the heavy use of British slang, and some of the most un-politically correct dialogue you’ll hear this year, may leave some Adkins fans scratching their heads as to what they just watched, but really, that’s ok. Accident Man is the Scott Adkins show, not just Adkins the martial artist, but Adkins the actor, delivering a screen presence and charisma which has occasionally been hinted at, but never fully realised until now.
In some ways Accident Man can be viewed as the UK equivalent of John Wick, only with less guns and more, well, fists, kicks, axes, katanas, and band aids (you’ll understand once watched). Adkins hangs out in a spit and sawdust pub called The Oasis, “a pub for hitmen” as he calls it, were the local hitman community can drop by for a pint, a game of darts, and to pick up the details of their next job. Much like The Continental from the John Wick movies, inside the walls of the pub there is to be no killing, and in a decidedly British manner, no spitting. It’s in the pub we get to meet the supporting cast of other hitmen (and women), which include a pair of ex-special forces soldiers played by Michael Jai White and Ray Park, a constantly enraged man mountain played by Ross O’Hennessy, and a katana wielding “right nasty bitch” played by Amy Johnston.
The pub is run by former hitman cum barman Ray Stevenson, recognizable as Frank Castle in 2008’s Punisher: War Zone, who enforces a policy of never knowing who the client is, or what the reason is behind the hit. However when Adkins’ pregnant ex-girlfriend turned lesbian is murdered by one of their own, it sets him on a warpath against his former colleagues, leading to a series of escalating showdowns as he attempts to reveal the truth behind why she was targeted. In any other movie, this would likely consist of CSI style scenes of investigation, but this is a Scott Adkins movie, so instead it consists of a series of joyously violent fight scenes. The fight action is choreographed by one of the best choreographers working today, Tim Man, here working with Adkins for a 4th time after Ninja: Shadow of a Tear, Eliminators, and Boyka: Undisputed.
As expected, Man also gets in on the action to take on Adkins, here as a motorbike riding triad member. It provides the movie with its only kung fu showdown, as Man humorously applies old-school kung fu posturing into a contemporary setting, only to be confronted by an aggressive and clearly more skilled opponent. This isn’t the only re-match Accident Man gives us though, with one of the highlights being a fantastic two versus one, which pits Adkins against Michael Jai White and Ray Park. It’s a hard hitting fight, even though Jai White is visibly carrying a few extra pounds than we’re accustomed to. Combined with the Adkins versus twins fight from Boyka: Undisputed, it feels like Tim Man has developed a real talent for choreographing two versus one showdowns.
The sustained finale ultimately culminates in an Adkins versus Amy Johnston throwdown which is a pleasure to watch. Johnston, a stuntwoman who’s been making inroads to being an action lead, has so far been lumbered with unremarkable roles in the likes of Lady Bloodfight and Female Fight Squad, but here really gets to shine. Starting off open handed, before brandishing her weapon of choice in the form of a katana, despite the obvious difference in size they go at each other with a convincing level of ferocity and impact, with plenty of painful blows and cursing thrown in with equal measure. Needless to say, much like most of the language, Accident Man concludes its affairs with a burst of suitably bloody violence.
It should go without saying, but Accident Man is a movie which deserves to find an audience far beyond those who are only clocking in for another Scott Adkins action movie. It feels like a Guy Richie inspired crime flick just as much as it does a slice of action goodness, and it’s a testament to the script when the most intense scene belongs not to an exchange of fists and feet, but to a conversation that takes place over the bar. Throw in a soundtrack featuring the likes of The Jam, a look that far belies the budget being worked with, and a character called Finicky Fred, what you’re left with is 100 minutes of pure unadulterated entertainment. Oh, and if you don’t know what defenestration means, then this is the movie that’ll teach you.
“The One-Armed Swordsman” Chinese Theatrical Poster
We’ve got some cool news for Shaw Bros. fans today! AGFA, the American Genre Film Archive, has a new deal with Shaw Bros. to theatrically release new restorations of 30 Shaw classics.
AGFA is the largest non-profit film archive in the world, whose mission is to preserve, restore, and distribute genre films for the world to see. Advisors to the archive include filmmakers Paul Thomas Anderson, Nicolas Winding Refn, and RZA. Previous releases which AGFA had a hand in distribution, restoration, or preservation of include Donnie Darko, Battles Without Honor and Humanity, and Doberman Cop.
From the AGFA website: AGFA has curated thirty sparkling restorations from the Shaw Brothers vaults to reissue in theaters throughout the year. This includes fan favorites such as The Super Inframan, as well as deep cut horror-blasts like The Boxer’s Omen.
“It’s a dream come true to help a new generation of film lovers discover the Shaw Brothers catalog,” said AGFA director Joe Ziemba. “These movies deserve a new life on the big screen, where they can fulfill their destiny of melting as many minds as possible.”
Shaw Brothers movies are available on DCP — and in some cases, 35mm — for theatrical bookings from AGFA starting immediately
The full list of Shaw Brothers titles distributed by AGFA:
What this means for film fans in the short term is that theaters across the world may soon run newly restored prints of some of your Shaw Bros. favorites. On the long-term, hopefully this also means we’ll see those new restorations find their way to Blu-ray eventually, too.
For more information on these films, or if you’re looking to book one of the films at your theatre, check the AGFA website.
Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for Incredibly Ever After (aka Mr. & Mrs. Incredible), an action-comedy directed by Vincent Kok (Jackie Chan’s Gorgeous).
In ancient China, a husband and wife (Louis Koo and Sandra Ng), both of them retired superheroes, contend with the high cost of living, infertility, and other contemporary life issues. Think of it as a live-action version of The Incredibles.
From the director of the smash South Korean hit, Train to Busan, comes Psychokinesis(read our review). This upcoming movie revolves around a guy (Ryoo Seung-Ryong of Roaring Currents) who gains the supernatural power of psychokinesis (the ability to move objects by mental effort alone). He puts it into good use after his daughter (Shim Eun-Kyung of Fabricated City) gets into some trouble.
Director: Leo Zhang Cast: Jackie Chan, Show Lo, Nana Ou-Yang, Callan Mulvey, Tess Haubrich, Erica Xia-hou, Damien Garvey, Kaitlyn Boyé, Isabelle Wojciechowska, Olga Miller Running Time: 110 min.
By Paul Bramhall
To say that Jackie Chan has had a busy couple of years could well be construed as the understatement of the century. With starring roles in Skiptrace, Railroad Tigers, Kung Fu Yoga, The Foreigner, and now his latest with Bleeding Steel, the last time one of action cinemas most enduring icons was this busy was 1985. Over 30 years on, and Chan certainly no longer has the gift of youth on his side, but as a man who’s spent almost his whole life dedicated to thrilling audiences, it’s understandable that old habits die hard. While Chan’s enthusiasm doesn’t seem to have diminished for appearing onscreen, the quality of the productions he chooses to appear in varies greatly. While The Foreigner was arguably his best role in over a decade, Kung Fu Yoga was a career low.
Bleeding Steel sees Chan’s first excursion into the realms of science fiction (notwithstanding his role as producer on Reset from earlier in the year), in a Mainland Chinese production that has him paired with director Leo Zhang, here helming his sophomore feature after his 2012 debut Chrysanthemum to the Beast, which starred Jaycee Chan. So we have an aged action star, in a movie made by an inexperienced director, in a genre that’s still largely unexplored in Mainland cinema. What can possibly go wrong? As you may expect, the answer is, practically everything. Bleeding Steel falls into that niche market, all be it one that has a rapidly increasing catalogue of titles, that we’ll call – The Incompetent in Every Way Mainland Blockbuster. It was Switch that essentially set the bar for this genre back in 2013, but it’s since been joined by the likes of Bounty Hunters and Chan’s own Kung Fu Yoga.
The plot of Bleeding Steel is equal parts incomprehensible and idiotic, so to even attempt a summary seems like a fruitless task, but the in-a-nutshell version goes something like this. A scientist is attempting to make the perfect human weapon, called a Bioroid, but is murdered by one of his former subjects. Through various incomprehensible events, before the scientist dies he transfers his research and memories into Jackie Chan’s daughter, who has leukaemia. The transfer makes her lose her own memories, so she grows up in an orphanage. But of course Chan is always watching over her, in a variety of creepy ways, the latest of which (13 years after the death of the scientist – not that you’d know as he hasn’t changed a bit) has him working in her university canteen. Oh, and the orphanage she’s sent to is in Sydney, Australia, because, why not?
In that regard, you could say that Bleeding Steel completes Chan’s Australia Trilogy. First Strike took place in the Gold Coast, Mr. Nice Guy took place in Melbourne, and in 2017 he’s finally made it to Sydney. It’s just a shame it has to be in this disastrous mess. Bleeding Steel is a confused beast from the get go. Despite being set in 2020, the futuristic vision is poorly defined to say the least, and seems more like it’s operating in its own bizarre alternate reality. This is personified particularly by the Australian cast members, who all appear to be having a laugh at the director’s expense, by hamming up their accents to hilariously exaggerated levels. Lines like “Sir, we’ve found the transvestite” are delivered completely poker faced, and even the subtitles get in on the act, with one particular standout reading “Rick is a dick.” As an unintentional comedy, Bleeding Steel is gold.
The character design is equally bewildering. The failed subject dresses like an emo version of an unmasked Darth Vader, before he ends up half blown to pieces and re-appears fitted out like a Borg from Star Trek (complete with some brain on show for extra impact). The lead villainess runs around in a PVC cape and outfit that looks like a Matrix reject (and for good reason). The bad guys dress like an Asylum version of the Robocop reboot. We get a spiritual medium that wears a Native American headdress, a dwarf played by a cast member credited as Sammy the Dwarf, and a magician that looks like David Copperfield mixed with Jack Sparrow. I could go on, but it’s already painful to recall.
The more Bleeding Steel progresses, the more it begins to feel like Zhang is making it up as he goes along, as the tone varies wildly from scene to scene, and plot twists occur with little attention paid to if they actually make sense. Even the quieter scenes quickly turn into cringe inducing moments of bewilderment. When Chan’s daughter, played in present day by Nana Ou-Yang (last seen in Mission Milano), innocently bumps into another student on her way to lunch, it quickly descends into a catfight with the pair of them rolling all over the floor. Played out to a script which has insults of speaking Chinglish being thrown around, and the bizarre praise of Ou-Yang’s punch in the face to the other student making her a credit to China, ultimately all you can do is raise an eyebrow.
Chan himself frequently takes a back seat to the pairing of Ou-Yang and Show Lo (a recent Stephen Chow regular, appearing in the likes of Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons and The Mermaid), who plays a thief that takes an apparent liking to Ou-Yang. Lo has learnt well from working with Chow, as he delivers the couple of genuine laughs to be derived from Bleeding Steel’s surprisingly humourless runtime. These very brief moments of respite are short lived though, as he’s equally lumbered with painfully self-aware jokes, which see him referencing Jackie Chan by name not once, but twice.
Of course with Chan headlining proceedings, action is a prerequisite, and while it happens frequently it never feels remarkable. The biggest set piece takes place during the opening, when the special forces agents protecting the scientist are ambushed, leading to a series of exploding cars and bodies flying through the air every which way, preventing the credits from finishing until we’re already 15 minutes in. The more grounded action though simply sees Chan rehashing the same routine we’ve seen him perform for over 30 years, with even a mid-way showdown that takes place on top of the iconic Sydney Opera House feeling perfunctory and dull.
The finale in particular is a hoot, as it turns out that the Borg/Bioroid (played by Australian actor Callan Mulvey from Beyond Skyline) has spent the last 13 years living in a sterile room housed in a (presumably) permanently airborne spaceship. At least I think it was a spaceship, in truth it’s more of a rip-off of the floating bases from the Avengers franchise. In it Chan, Lo, and Erica Xia-Hou team up to take on both Mulvey and the cape wearing Tess Haubrich (Alien: Covenant) in a completely generic and uninspired set piece. Containing one of the most inconsequential arm dismemberments I’ve ever witnessed, a heart being bare handedly ripped out of someone’s chest, and Chan being strangled by a completely naked Mulvey, it’s impossible to do justice to with words. Don’t get me started on the sky diving escape they all have to do.
Despite the absurdity of Bleeding Steel, or perhaps because of it, in the end I still found myself enjoying it more than Kung Fu Yoga, all be it the enjoyment was definitely of a morbid variety. While Stanley Tong’s latest effort was consistently infuriating, Bleeding Steel kept me glued to the screen simply to see what it had up its sleeve next. Whenever you thought it couldn’t get any worse, a random dwarf would appear, or a magician would sacrifice himself for no reason whatsoever, or Chan would start crying. It’s that special level of incompetence which is most commonly referred to as “so bad it’s good”, and Bleeding Steel achieves that level almost effortlessly. If you’re a Jackie Chan fan like myself, regardless of the reviews, fate predestines us to still watch it. Just be warned that when the end credits roll, the only thing likely to be bleeding is your brain.
In our late 2014 interview with Don “The Dragon” Wilson, we asked the 11-time World Kickboxing Champion his thoughts on a possible continuation of his popular Bloodfist series. His reply:
“Well, I did recently speak to Roger Corman in his Brentwood offices and he was very upbeat and friendly. We did not discuss another project together but I would LOVE to work with him again. We made 12 films together and he distributed several others produced by other companies. He is my “mentor” and friend, so there could very well be one more Jake Raye film to complete the series.”
Now, 3 years later, Wilson is revisiting the idea, at least according to a recent Tweet: “Thank you Roger Corman for starring me in the Bloodfist series! It was fun and now it’s time for the REBOOT!”
1989’s Bloodfist spawned 7 sequels (only Parts I and II were related) throughout the 90s, all hugely successful, particularly in the straight-to-video market. In 2005, Corman backed a semi-reboot, Bloodfist 2050, which was directed by cult Filipino director Cirio H. Santiago (Future Hunters), but instead starred Matt Mullins, who teamed up with Wilson in the recently released Death Fighter.
The Bloodfist series also had one of the most memorable marketing strategies: The original poster for Bloodfist predominantly advertised the critic quote “Don Wilson would kick Van Damme’s ass in one round!”. It was during this time – at the height of kickboxing genre films made famous by Van Damme’s 1989 film Kickboxer – that Corman was responsible for a publicity stunt that promised to put Wilson and Van Damme in the ring for an actual kickboxing fight.
“I have met Jean-Claude Van Damme and he was very friendly. I’ve enjoyed many of his films and have the utmost respect for him as an action star. However, I do not tolerate anyone who lies about their “kickboxing” background and record. That’s the only problem between us and the fight offer from Corman was just a publicity stunt because it would have been like Tyson fighting Stallone. It’s one thing to “act” like a fighter and a completely different thing to have a trained professional trying to decapitate you in the ring,” said Wilson.
If a Bloodfist sequel, reboot – or whatever – happens, we’ll definitely fill you in. In the meantime, we’ll be seeing Wilson in the forthcoming actioner V-Force, and he’ll soon start pre-production on The Martial Arts Kid 2: Payback, the sequel to 2015’s The Martial Arts Kid. Stay tuned!
Whether it’s the brilliantly absurd Beverley Hills Ninja, or the genre-defining Enter the Dragon, eastern culture has permeated western cinema for well over half a century. And with the Asian movie-going public fast becoming the most lucrative on Earth, Hollywood’s love affair with the East doesn’t show any signs of abating.
Early Years
It’s fair to say that Hollywood doesn’t have the greatest track record when it comes to East Asian culture, and early incarnations were predictably flawed. Characters such as Fu Manchu and Mickey Rooney’s Mr. Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany’s saw Caucasian actors in culturally insensitive roles. Certainly in the case of Breakfast at Tiffany’s Rooney’s absurd one-dimensional performance has marred for many what might otherwise have been considered one of the great films of the twentieth century.
It took a breakthrough star like Bruce Lee, who himself had fallen prey to Hollywood’s cultural prejudice – famously losing out to David Carradine (a white actor) for the lead role in TV series Kung Fu – to bring true Asian culture to western screens. After several huge hits in China and Hong Kong, Hollywood came calling, and Lee’s blistering performance in Enter the Dragon finally propelled him to international super stardom. Sadly, for Lee, he wouldn’t live to see it, falling ill and dying just days before the US premiere.
By the nineteen eighties, with the cult of Bruce Lee and the success of films like The Karate Kid, Eastern culture had begun to proliferate western cinema. Japanese progress was inspiring a new generation of filmmakers – Ridley Scott’s magnificent neon cityscape in Blade Runner mirroring the rapid rise of Tokyo’s metropolis – and Chinese mysticism was at the core of money spinners like Big Trouble in Little China. No wonder then that these Eastern influences were beginning to spill out into the wider culture, with a Dojo on every corner and a banzai tree on every coffee table; a phenomenon that we take for granted today, with Samsung phones in our pockets and panda-themed slot machines in online casinos such as Ladbrokes, which offers bonuses through Oddchecker. But scratch the surface in the nineteen eighties and we still see glimpses of the old stereotypes. Mr Miyagi as the ascetic Karate master, Ming the Merciless as the devious villain – a white actor portraying an obviously Asian role while sporting his very own version of the Fu Manchu moustache.
It would take another giant leap in the ensuing decades before we finally saw an honest cultural depiction on screen. Even Bruce Lee had to make concessions, sharing the billing on Enter the Dragon with less than agile (Caucasian) co-star John Saxon. But with films like Ang Lee’s stunning visual masterpiece Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Zhang Yimou’s House of Flying Daggers, we finally saw authentic Asian storytelling by Asian actors and Asian directors. This wasn’t Eastern culture chopped up and fed to us piecemeal, this was the real thing; and it took Western audiences by storm. The Guardian even named Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as one of its top 25 action films of all time.
Fast forward to the present day and western film studios are increasingly turning their gaze Eastwards, scrambling to grab a slice of the burgeoning Asian film market. No fluke then that recent Hollywood blockbusters have given more than a passing nod to Asian audiences. Big summer releases like last year’s Kong: Skull Island are increasingly looking to popular Asian stars to boost overseas numbers, and some franchises have gone even further in pursuit of the almighty yen. Take 2016’s Captain America: Civil War which sees Tony Stark switch his super-friends’ phones from LG to Vivo in an obvious appeal to the Eastern market. Vivo isn’t even available stateside, but it just happens to be the most popular mobile phone in China. Even Disney’s uber-franchise Star Wars has had to adapt. While J.J. Abram’s 2015 rebirth was hugely successful, the obvious nostalgia for the original trilogy didn’t play well in China, pulling in a fraction of what backers might have expected. No coincidence then that 2016’s follow-up, Rogue One, features two of Asia’s biggest stars, Donnie Yen and Jiang Wen.
So is this a sign of things to come? Almost certainly. With modest estimates predicting China will overtake the US as the largest movie-going audience by 2019, more and more studios will be looking to the East; a far cry from the early days of Hollywood and a reflection of the massive economic shift that has seen China, Japan and South Korea rival the US and Europe not just in the box office, but on the global stage.
Director: Ricky Lau Writer: Raymond Wong Cast: Lau Kar Yung, Dean Shek, Lily Li Li Li, Eric Tsang, Peter Chan, Wong Ching, Fung Hak On, Ho Pak Kwong, Mars, Huang Ha, Chik Ngai Hung Running Time: 90 min.
By Martin Sandison
The nephew of the Lau brothers, Lau Kar Yung, certainly did not achieve as much in the martial arts film genre as Lau Kar Leung and Lau Kar Wing. The former, before his death, was seen as one of the top three choreographers of all time; with his countless credits on Chang Cheh’s early classics, then on to his self-directed masterworks such as 8 Diagram Pole Fighter.
Kar Wing established himself as one of the great onscreen fighters of the golden age, fighting his brother in a few productions (most notably in the all-out classical weapons fest Legendary Weapons 0f China) and his collaborations with Sammo Hung, bearing such beautiful fruits as Odd Couple. In contrast, Lai Kar Yung, despite being the best-looking of all three, never succeeded in being a leading star or working on much of note behind the camera. One of the few films he took the lead in is the independent kung fu comedy Crazy Couple – which despite silly comedy, a hackneyed script and storyline – delivers some great shapes action and is pretty entertaining.
Cho (Lau Kar Yung) and Yan (Dean Shek, Drunken Master) are sworn brothers who are looking to save up their cash and learn martial arts. When their pet monkey is killed in a comedy of errors, the supposed culprit Chiu Chat Yeh (Wong Ching, Eight Escorts) takes them in and teaches them kung fu. However, many twists and turns, mean comedy, and tragedy collide as the brothers keep getting deeper in some dastardly villains evil situations.
Interestingly, the plot of the movie allows for two masters who teach the young two differing styles. First is Wong Ching, who gets one of his best martial arts roles with numerous examples of his physical dexterity. Second is Huang Hua, who plays an old swindler who rips off the pair but ends up befriending them. A veteran of classic kung fu, my favourite part of his is a small one in Sammo Hung’s masterful The Victim.
Choreographing the action and appearing as the main villain is the late Fung Hark On (Police Story), sporting a nifty goatee. His skills are evident and powerful, with his end fight hand forms reaching some pretty intricate heights. Fung was always one of my favourites, and his work stretched from classic kung fu to even John Woo’s early comedies, such as Pilferrers Progress, with his onscreen credits scoring at 201.
While the comedy in Crazy Couple errs on the side of tiresome and too silly for its own good, especially Dean Shek’s usual schtick that got boring two films after Drunken Master, one cameo beggars belief. Wong Ching’s daughter – who Lau Kar Yung is asked to look out for, as she has a mental problem – is none other than Eric Tsang in drag. The tired trope of the hero thinking he has struck gold with a beautiful girl, only to see she is rather rotund, is exploded with the appearance of Tsang; especially with the great man’s standing as a Hong Kong cinema legend in the present day. However, this is one of the few moments of the film that made me more-than-chuckle, the other being Dean Shek getting pulverised in to dirt. The comedy sits uneasily alongside the more po faced leanings, creating a vacuum of responses that never rests.
Lau Kar Yung does a reasonable job in terms of a lead performance, but lacks the requisite charm to carry it off. His martial arts chops are never in question, with his fluid movement between animal styles and Hung Kuen leaving the viewer begging for more. The most famous movie he had a hand in was Drunken Master 2, in which star Chan and choreographer Lau Kar Leung had a falling out. I have a soft spot for his self directed New Kids in Town, but perhaps only for the Pops cameo wherein he kicks some serious ass. Incidentally, the director of Crazy Couple, Ricky Lau, was a journeyman filmmaker who was DP on classics such as Prodigal Son. His biggest achievement was directing the wonderful all timer Mr. Vampire.
The plotlines intersect in Crazy Couple in the usual coincidence-filled and silly ways typical of the lesser classic kung fu movie, leaving the viewer letting out a deep sigh of acceptance. If you love these movies that is. When I was a kid I really didn’t care about such aspects; now that I’m in my mid 30’s and have seen these weak elements a million times, it gets harder. However, there is a lot to enjoy here for the fan of shapes and the cast.
Martial arts legends Don “The Dragon” Wilson (Death Fighter, Diamond Cartel) and Cynthia Rothrock (Shanghai Express) are reprising their roles as Uncle Glen and Aunt Cindy in The Martial Arts Kid 2: Payback, the sequel to the 2015 anti-bully actioner, The Martial Arts Kid.
Once again, Michael Baumgarten (The Guest House) will be directing with award-winning stunt coordinator James Lew (Luke Cage, Big Trouble in Little China) handling the film’s action choreography.
Also returning are Matthew Ziff (Kickboxer: Vengeance), T.J. Storm (Kickboxer: Vengeance), Brandon Tyler Russell (Smitty) and Chuck Zito (Sons of Anarchy). Notable cast additions include the cult action star of Kickboxer 2-4, Sasha Mitchell. The film will also feature Anita Clay (The Right to Live), Crystal Santos (The Art of Fighting) and Tara Cardinal (Paying Mr. McGetty).
Producers include Cheryl Wheeler Sanders, Dr. Robert Goldman, James Wilson, Alan Goldberg, Jody Nolan and Maurice Elmalem.
On January 15, 2018, the producers of The Martial Arts Kid 2: Payback will be launching an IndieGoGo Campaign to raise extra funds. According the campaign page, the sequel will be bigger, with a larger cast, more locations, greater action, and a lot more danger.
Stay tuned for more announcements for The Martial Arts Kid 2: Payback, until then, don’t miss the campaign video below:
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