Tekken (2009)

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Tekken (2009)

Based on Namco’s hit Japanese video game, this live-action US film does little to support the franchise, providing a discounted dystopia as background for a clichéd tournament fight movie. Dwight H. Little (Rapid Fire, Marked for Death) never properly revels in the campy opportunities afforded to him, much unlike the Mortal Kombat films, for which this owes a slight debt. The stock dialogue and creaky acting doesn’t help matters. Yet it’s not all bad: the fight scenes, despite never shaking off their gaming roots, are still great physical showcases for the cast, most of whom have clearly been selected based …

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Interview: Mike Fury

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Interview: Mike Fury

Life of Action is the first book by film journalist Mike Fury. It’s a detailed analysis of action cinema told by some of the genre’s most famous names and features interviews with stunt coordinators, fight choreographers, directors and actors based around the world. The book includes biographical information and comments from leading industry figures like Donnie Yen, Dolph Lundgren, Tsui Hark, Cynthia Rothrock, Andy Lau and Scott Adkins, and acts to highlight the skill, determination and creativity required when working in this much-maligned genre. We caught up with Mike to discuss his love of action movies and what he hopes …

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Profile: Scott Adkins

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Profile: Scott Adkins

Date of birth: 17 June, 1976 (Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, UK)

Full name: Scott Edward Adkins

Occupation: Actor, stuntman, martial arts instructor

Style: Judo, kickboxing, Taekwondo

Biography: Scott Edward Adkins is a British martial artist and actor who was born in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, UK, to parents John and Janet Adkins. He has an older brother, Craig. Scott attended Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School in Sutton Coldfield and as a child he idolised Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jean-Claude Van Damme. He learnt Judo at the age of 10 with his brother and father, and later turned the family garage into a dojo where he would train as …

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Interview: Ricky Baker

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Interview: Ricky Baker

Ricky Baker was instrumental in bringing martial arts movies and Hong Kong cinema to the masses through his UK-based Eastern Heroes company. Along with kung fu movie expert Toby Russell, Ricky introduced the genre to a new, global audience through his company’s line of books, videos, DVDs, merchandise, events and documentaries. He provided many of Hong Kong’s leading lights with their first appearances outside Asia, hosting events with the likes of Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Chow Yun-fat, Gordon Liu and John Woo. Now, after an absence of ten years, Eastern Heroes is back. We talk to Ricky about what the …

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Warrior King 2 (2013)

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Warrior King 2 (2013)

Principal cast and crew return eight years later for this action-packed sequel which never quite settles into a steady groove and becomes overly reliant on distracting camera trickery. The gimmicks seem unnecessary for a film featuring two of Thailand’s best martial arts actors: Tony Jaa and Jeeja Yanin, supervised by fighting legend Panna Rittikrai and director Prachya Pinkaew, who last worked with Jaa on the prolific failure of the Ong-Bak prequels. The film is bolstered by great personalities, but every set-piece descends into convoluted chaos, and seemingly good ideas are made to look ghastly in post-production. A rooftop bike chase …

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Badges of Fury (2013)

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Badges of Fury (2013)

Odd Hong Kong-Chinese cop comedy from first-time director Wong Tsz-ming who uses mostly computer effects to create outlandish slapstick sequences with cartoonish sound effects. The comedy never quite gets beyond the juvenile – up-skirt kilt shots, leery cleavage, pratfalls and so on – and in-jokes referencing the Hong Kong film industry. Celebrity cameos crop up to break the fourth wall: Jacky Wu Jing as a kung fu insurance inspector; Alex Fong as a fortune teller; Michael Tse as a dancer; Collin Chou as a criminal; Leung Kar-yan, Corey Yuen Kwai, Fung Hark-on and other kung fu veterans are called upon …

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Chinese Zodiac (2012)

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Chinese Zodiac (2012)

Jackie Chan fans certainly get their money’s worth with this one; his first solo-directed effort in over two decades. Tellingly, he picks up where he left off with an indirect sequel to 1991’s Operation Condor, reviving the character of treasurer-hunting, globe-trotting adventurer Asian Hawk with familiar nods to the Indiana Jones films. He plays a conflicted thief imaginatively referred to as J.C. who is called upon by a rich consortium of art forgers to locate 12 antique animal heads – each representing a sign in the Chinese zodiac – which were pillaged by British and French colonialists in the mid-19th …

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13 Assassins (2010)

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13 Assassins (2010)

A remarkable samurai film from idiosyncratic director Takashi Miike, based on Eiichi Kudô’s 1963 film. Miike is a filmmaker renowned for controversy and unpredictability who first gained international acclaim for the lulled, twisted nightmare of Audition in 1999 and the horrific Ichi the Killer. He is a filmmaker capable of creating genuinely shocking moments, but never at the expense of character or motive. The brooding suspense he conjures up here shows a clarity of vision far beyond his reputation as an enfant terrible, and the violence is finely balanced between being both comic book in nature and brutal when it needs …

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Angel II (1988)

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Angel II (1988)

Not quite the same rollicking thrill ride of the first film, although this sequel certainly redeems itself in the final act in which the Angels go native and take on a heavily armed militia in a Malaysian rainforest. Up to that point it seems the crew have joined the characters on their tropical vacation, gently teasing viewers with Malay scenery and a back story involving CIA operative Alex’s reunion with his former classmates. Moon and Elaine take to sunbathing by the pool while the lads enjoy a good fight at a transexual nightclub. But their holiday is cut short when …

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Angel (1987)

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Angel (1987)

A fantastically fun and feral delight. If you need an example of how bat-shit crazy Hong Kong action films were in the 1980s – particularly in contrast to the sort of macho slug-fests being touted in the west by the likes of Stallone and Schwarzenegger – then this would be a great place to start. The film transformed the career of former child star and girl-next-door type Moon Lee – who seriously upped her fu credentials to lead this great film – and Yukari Oshima, who steals the show as the sadistic villain. The film also set the template for …

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