Hey everyone! It’s great to be back and sharing my love of fights with you all. And guess what? Today is the birthday of none other than Jackie Chan! Regardless of what you think of him, Chan was an integral part of what martial arts movies are today, and he’s easily one of the most recognizable figures in cinematic history. Bruce Lee may have brought kung fu to the wider public, but it was Chan that kept people coming back for more, if only to see what kind of ridiculous stunts he’d pull off next.
Today, we salute Jackie Chan with a top ten list by Cinemassacre, documenting some of his best fights throughout his long and storied career.
Serbuan Maut
At the risk of seeming hyperbolic, The Raid quite possibly has the greatest martial arts action sequences I have ever seen. It is the product of its history, and effectively uses techniques and styles from everything that has come before it. Yayan Ruhian and Uwais’s choreography is all at once brilliant, brutal, and beautiful. Using the spinning kicks and sweeps from the classic Hong Kong era, to the frantic winner-take-all frenzy of modern American films, to the crushing impact of Muay Thai, with a liberal dosing of local Indonesian Silat flavor, cinematographer Matt Flannery manages to capture it all with breathtaking grit and clarity. The sound design picks up where the visuals leave off, leaving every punch, kick, and break echo with fearsome authenticity. The shootouts are equally as intense, a storm of bullets and muzzle flares that boggles the mind with fear and violence. And while the score seems a bit on the generic side of heart-thumping techno beats, it definitely sets a strong tone and pace for the whole movie.
While not exactly an action movie, I wanted to talk a little bit about Chronicle because it presents an interesting case-study that I believe a lot of action films could learn from. Directed by Josh Trank and written by Max Landis, both newcomers to the feature film industry, on the surface it’s about a group of three teenagers that are suddenly given superpowers after an encounter with a strange object in a cave. I’d like to talk a little in-depth about the film, so be warned that there may be some spoilers, explicit or implicit.
And when the big action set-piece finally does arrive, everything is that much more powerful, that much more epic, all because we actually really care what happens to him. Most action movies don’t, or can’t, or won’t, do this. Either the writing is hacky or the actors are terrible or some other thing isn’t paced right or whatever, it doesn’t really invest the audience too much in what’s happening. Without that investment, there isn’t really any drama, there aren’t really any stakes in play, we already know who’s going to win and no one really cares. Granted, a few films play on this for a twist at the end, but those films are few and far between, and generally still don’t solve the problem of actually getting the audience to care about what’s happening.
This is further reflected in Andrew’s fascination with film as well, which could serve as an example of young people anywhere. The desire to be seen, to be recognized and applauded, this is real and can be seen with every blog and vlog and livestream and commentary and review series across the internet. It’s more than just the act of viewing the film through these devices that makes the movie feel genuine; it’s the societal zeitgeist that exists behind it. And this cultural relevance is where the real power of the film lies. Beyond just caring about a kid with a sad story, we care because we know him already, we know his world. Either it was a friend of ours growing up, or maybe it actually was us, we could easily transplant the emotions and themes of the movie into our world and vice versa.
I went through the series in about a week, most of it today lying sick in bed. I was first tipped off to it for the bad ass spear fights, but it’s not really about that. It’s not an action or a martial arts series; it’s more like… I guess I would describe it as a political/fantasy drama with some action elements.
It’s a bit difficult to get a good sense of consistent tone throughout the series, which is one of the reasons I’m putting all my thoughts down here. The characters are mostly interesting, if a bit on the dry side, so it’s probably intended for older audiences. There are only a few brief scenes of real fighting, so probably not meant for the young male action crowd either. There’s only the barest hints of romance and complicated emotional relationships, so you can count the soap opera and love-seekers out as well. Honestly, I’m a bit at a loss as to who the story is really meant for. On paper, it’s supposed to be a story about the foster-mother/-son relationship between the bodyguard and the prince, and how that grows over time, allowing the boy to grow up into a strong young man ready to face his destiny, and allowing the bodyguard to soften her heart a little after following through for her dead mentor. Stretched over the course of 26 episodes, I don’t know who would really want to invest the time for something that, at first glance, seems incredibly slow and dull.
Warrior
It must be said that the story isn’t particularly innovative or original, and seasoned fans of sports dramas will likely recognize a great deal of popular genre tropes. However, it sets everything up well and amazing performances by the cast really outweigh any feelings of cheesiness. Joel Edgerton really gets the chance to open up on camera, and it’s amazing to see him perform such an impressive role. Tom Hardy doesn’t disappoint either, and delivers in a way that makes it impossible to fully love or hate his character. This is the very definition of a nuanced and human performance, and Hardy manages to hit just the right balance between heartless and compassionate. Nick Nolte as the brothers’ father is outstanding as well, and the three actors elevate the film from just another sports drama to something truly worthy of becoming a classic.
