The Trigonal: Fight for Justice (2018)

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The Trigonal: Fight for Justice (2018)

Somewhere in-between the gritty social commentary of Erik Matti and the revenge-driven action of Pedring Lopez, Vincent Soberano now adds his voice to a golden age for Filipino fight films. Like Maria and BuyBust, this has a strong international appeal (filmed in the Philippines but mostly in the English language) with action roots embedded in indigenous art-forms; Filipino stick-fighting, pole forms, blade-work and ground-fighting. The film also stars a wushu ace, Sarah Chang, adding another dimension to the martial arts on display. The story is nothing you haven’t seen before; it concerns an underground, ‘anything-goes’ fight tournament called the Trigonal, …

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Manhattan Chase (2000)

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Manhattan Chase (2000)

‘Manhattan chase’? ‘Manhattan saunter’ is more appropriate. This cheap action yarn suffers from some critical pacing issues, not to mention a poor sound mix and fluffed lines which, for whatever reason, have been kept in the film. Shot on the fly in New York, this has all the hallmarks of a Godfrey Ho head-kicker (sorry, “Godfrey Hall”), reuniting with his Honor and Glory star, Cynthia Rothrock, as well as veteran Hong Kong stunt performer and martial artist Steve Tartalia, who also acts as producer and stunt coordinator, as well as having a supporting role as a scumbag. Dashing Loren Avedon, in …

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KFMG Podcast S05 Episode 50: Gareth Evans

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KFMG Podcast S05 Episode 50: Gareth Evans

“It’s such a privilege to be able to call what we do a career, and to call it a job. It’s absolutely insane.”

Through his trio of martial arts films – Merantau (2009), The Raid (2011) and The Raid 2 (2014) – filmmaker Gareth Evans helped to put Indonesian action cinema on the map, launched the careers of a new generation of fight stars (including Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman), and created some of the most exhilarating, inventive, and game-changing fight sequences of modern times. Not bad for a young filmmaker from South Wales, who grew up watching Jackie Chan films with …

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Profile: Gareth Evans

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Profile: Gareth Evans

Date of birth: April 6, 1980 (Hirwaun, Cynon Valley, Wales)

Occupation: Director, writer, editor, fight choreographer.

Biography: The filmmaker Gareth Evans was born and raised in Hirwaun, Cynon Valley, in South Wales. He grew up watching and loving martial arts films, particularly those made in Hong Kong starring Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung. He graduated from the University of Glamorgan (now the University of South Wales) in 2003 with an MA in Scriptwriting for Film and Television. While at university, he befriended the cinematographer Matt Flannery, who has worked with Evans on every one of his projects to date.

In 2003, Evans …

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Charlie’s Angels (2019)

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Charlie’s Angels (2019)

Elizabeth Banks’ self-conscious reboot of the Charlie’s Angels TV show may be right-on in its gender politics, but in the midst of its own worthiness, Banks seemingly forgets to have fun, too. The McG films were problematic, yes, but they were also batshit crazy, and all the better for it. Having pop stars like Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj on the constantly rotating soundtrack may be a ploy to make the film relevant to millennials, but surely no-one under 25 cares about Charlie’s Angels; the film’s rampant consumerism (of cars, clothes, watches, tech and travel) only highlights its existence as a …

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The Iron Mask (2019)

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The Iron Mask (2019)

For those who felt shortchanged by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s non-action cameo in the 2004 Jackie Chan adventure yarn, Around the World in 80 Days, this similarly silly Chinese-Russian adventure yarn makes up for lost time by pitting the two ageing action stars against each other in the Tower of London. It’s a perfect setting, with both stars behaving in a complimentary and wholesome manner, with Arnie hamming it up as the Tower’s chief warden (not even attempting the British accent) and Chan playing his prisoner, a bearded and bedraggled kung fu mystic. They have a typically zany slapstick tussle involving swords and …

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Blood Hunters: Rise of the Hybrids (2019)

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Blood Hunters: Rise of the Hybrids (2019)

A monster-martial arts mash-up from Vincent Soberano based on the story of the evil ‘Aswang’ spirits from Filipino folklore. For a 70-minute movie, you get your money’s worth: its packed with stabby, slicey vampire-slaying, with Soberano using a well-worn apocalyptic premise to showcase some exemplary, weapons-based Filipino martial arts sequences. The back-story feels slightly superfluous; something about the Aswang possessing magical blood which infiltrates the human gene pool, creating a hybrid army led by Naga (Temujin Shirzada), who goes full-on crazy and needs to be taught a lesson. The final assault on the Aswang lair takes up a huge part …

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U.S. Seals II: The Ultimate Force (2001)

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U.S. Seals II: The Ultimate Force (2001)

Super fun action film from Isaac Florentine, who takes a straight-to-video property about the U.S. Navy SEALs and injects a whole new cast and sharp fight choreography into the sequel. He would do the same with Walter Hill’s modest boxing drama, Undisputed, with Undisputed II: Last Man Standing in 2006. Being a competitive sports film, that franchise managed to convincingly make the shift from boxing to MMA as a way of following the craze of the time; but turning sea-faring navy-types into kung fu masters is a bigger pill to swallow. So, Florentine creates a completely new scenario in order for all …

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New Kids in Town (1990)

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New Kids in Town (1990)

This is all over the place, but worth it for the kung fu scenes featuring choreographer Lau Kar-leung, who storms the final act giving triad meanie Eddie Maher a righteous ass-kicking. Chin Siu-ho is brilliant as one half of a wushu sibling force sent to Hong Kong from the mainland to help their cousin (Moon Lee) run the family restaurant when her dad (Lau Kar-leung) goes away. The brothers have barely stepped foot in Hong Kong before being jumped by some drug-carrying pickpockets, who are promptly (and amazingly) dispatched by Moon Lee’s amazing kung fu powers. The brothers learn about Hong Kong’s consumerist, capitalist …

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Sword of Honor (1994)

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Sword of Honor (1994)

Straight-to-video head-punching from PM Entertainment – heralded purveyors of low-budget, high-kicking video-store product from the 1990s – this perfunctory cop flick gives TV star Steven Vincent Leigh a glimpse of the limelight. And he’s pretty good, investigating some mafia-types in Las Vegas after they kill his cop buddy (played by the film’s fight choreographer, Jeff Pruitt) over a sword dating back to the Mongol empire. Leigh is a renegade on the force who can’t even go to the gym or buy a hotdog without somebody wanting a piece of him. He quickly moves in on his dead partner’s sister, the …

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