Previously I talked about John Wick 3 in the sequels portion of this catch up, but now it's time to look closer at some of the more action centric releases from the year. I haven't had time to see everything of course, and it's been a fairly busy year for the genre. There was even a documentary on the rise of kung fu cinema called Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks not so long ago, which is pretty uneven but well worth a look. I don't often talk about non-fiction here but it fits well with the theme of 2019 in action. For anyone looking for a bit of a history lesson it's essential, but overall it skips a lot when discussing the last couple of decades. So let's talk about a few of the those newer releases.
Furie is a Vietnamese take on that whole kidnap revenge sub-genre, as a mother finds that her young daughter has been taken in broad daylight by an organ trafficking gang. It's blunt and to the point, but sometimes simple works in a world where films about stolen elephants and dead puppies are effective. Hai Phuong (Ngô Thanh Vân) does at least have a troubled past that lends this some character depth, and flashbacks show her time with her martial arts teaching father before she ran away from home and began a life of crime. These quieter moments are about as subtle as the rest of the film, but they do allow some welcome introspective scenes. The problem is that her family history explains her demeanour and her skill set, but the central drama isn't directly linked to these elements.
Hai might have found peace by becoming a mother, but the kidnap isn't because of her shady background and as a result it feels kind of random. She does have to travel back to the city after spending nine years in a riverside village, but there are no real connections between her rural enemies and her old friends in Saigon. Maybe it's supposed to be some kind of karmic backlash, but if she knew some of the villains (beyond a guy she threw out of a nightclub once) it might be more dramatic. Child in peril storylines are predictable after all, so it would have been interesting to have more going on. There are some interesting moments where she reunites with her brother and the theme of family and parenthood are discussed, which is a nice change of pace. But more of this would be an improvement.
The action itself is quick and messy, with lots of primary coloured neon lights and a plenty of dirty industrial locations. It's often pretty dark and the editing in many of the fight scenes feels choppy making some of the beats feel disconnected. Bad guys are sometimes KO'd in a single hit, while others beat Hai's small frame to a pulp when the story requires it. Guns are sometimes used, and are sometimes strangely absent. Some regional flavour in the first act involving a durian fruit and a series of scooter chases is interesting to see, but it's often just too hectic to have any real impact. Overall it really needs some better set pieces with clearer choreography, and a plot that goes beyond 'bad mother must learn to do better'. Sometimes a streamlined plot works wonders, but sometimes a little complexity goes a long way.
2/5
Elsewhere there's a welcome return to action for Michelle Yeoh in Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy. What's with the single letter moniker and the Ip Man connection? Well it's best not to think about that. Really this is a stand-alone story about retired teacher Cheung Tin Chi (Max Zhang) trying to run a small business and take care of his son. I guess single parents are just a dramatic short cut in these sort of underdog stories no matter how tired they feel. The rest of the story is also very familiar with yet more drug dealers, another foreign devil bad guy, and more police corruption in Hong Kong. Don't get me wrong the period setting is often visually interesting, but the same drab and grey 1950s or 60s backlot has been used far too often at this point.
The plot itself concerns Tin Chi just trying to get by, but a chance meeting with various underworld characters inevitably pushes him back into action. He's later taken on by a night club owner after saving a drug addict from opium den thugs, and there are several moments of unease as drunken customers and criminal elements disturb his new line of work. There are various flashbacks to the previous Ip Man film, but Tin Chi never gets back into a life of martial arts. Instead the film jumps around focusing on the growing divide between repentant crime boss Miss Kwan (Michelle Yeoh) and her unruly brother Kit (Kevin Cheng) who wants to do things his way. A film just about them would have been enough, but instead there are various subplots before they both make an abrupt exit.
The real villain is restaurant owner Mr. Davidson (Dave Bautista) who moonlights as a respected charity fundraiser but is obviously part of another crime syndicate. I was really just hoping he was here as a friendly steak chef, and early scenes lend him a friendly persona. But of course he's only in the cast to fill the same role as Mike Tyson and Scott Adkins, the large than life English speaking antagonist. The action is all decent enough, although there is some pretty dubious wire work, and the whole thing is fairly polished. But it's time to retire some of these tropes and do something else in a new setting. All those old school productions filmed on the same grassy hillside have their charm, but maybe they should know when things have run their course.
3/5
While Master Z might have wasted Tony Jaa in a strange cameo role, Triple Threat at least gives him plenty of screen time. Both as a fighter and a cook, just to tie in with that culinary theme. The other two parts of the trio are The Raid star Iko Uwais and Man of Tai Chi star Tiger Chen, with each of them getting to strut their stuff. Michael Jai White and Scott Adkins fill the role of English speaking bad guys here, and both have opportunities to kick ass and chew scenery. Adkins in particular is ridiculous as a cor blimey mercenary leader Collins, but most of cast have their own little moments along the way. On the other hand Chocolate star Jeeja Yanin is totally wasted as a possible third villain, and leaves the story unceremoniously in the first big fight scene.
As you might expect from the roster this is a pretty uneven affair, with character motivations often seeming overly complicated or overly thin. The worst example is Jaka (Uwais) whose simple revenge plot is often obfuscated by side swapping antics and unclear goals. He can apparently make phone calls to anyone at any time, but is often sitting around with the villains no good reason. Even when he's in a perfect position to spring into action. Maybe he just knows how a ninety minute B-movie needs to play out. Elsewhere there's a fuzzy tale of crime bosses, mercenaries and charity donations as each side tries to reach Tian Xiao Xian (Celina Jade) a wealthy heiress trying to end corruption in a fictional Indonesian city.
The film as a whole is fairly polished with great cinematography and well shot action. At least until a dark and smoky final showdown at least. The opening raid is reminiscent if Predator and a police station escape mixes guns and various hand to hand disciplines thanks to the main ensemble. The conclusion on the other hand feels rather repetitive as each character fights in a derelict building, occasionally lit by the moon or a glowing fire. For some reason they felt the need to have multiple heroes be knocked down for various come-backs, with some working as a pair to take on one villain. When everyone is supposedly an expert (with in real life or within the story) it just seems anticlimactic, although the final Jaa versus Adkins set piece has its moments. It's got a lot of good pieces, but some of them just aren't arranged properly.
3/5
