![]() ![]() But at the very least it feels like a throwback to a far wackier period in the storied history of martial arts flicks. Granted, 212 Warrior doesn’t quite reach those heights of lunacy. And never forget to multiply that love accordingly. ![]() But never forget he also had a hand in stuff like this, and this, and of course, this. You may have loved him on account of classics like Iron Monkey and Wing Chun. Some of the strangest and most delightful films of the collection were actually the work of the Yuen Brothers, whose most famous member Woo Ping happens to be the recipient of this years lifetime achievement award. Kung fu nerds of a certain vintage may remember Xenon Entertainment’s ‘Wu Tang Collection’ VHS series, wherein a more or less random cross section of old school, dubbed martial arts flicks were renamed to sound Wu Tang Clan adjacent and released on a generally bewildered populace. Mahesa is played by Yayan Ruhian of The Raid fame, and it’s a curious thing to see him jumping around and throwing energy balls, Wuxia style. ![]() What follows, of course, is mayhem in the form of Mahesa Burawa, a bandit gang leader and all around bad guy. ![]() It’s an epic, mythical visual which does a laudable job of setting the scene for what follows. The film opens with a striking image that immediately shows off the resources invested by Fox Studios in their first ever collaboration with Indonesian studio Lifelike Pictures: a gang of shadowy figures on horseback, silhouetted by a blood red moon hanging massively in the sky. But overall it’s a fun and zippy couple of hours well spent. It’s actual action never quite rises to the heights of its inspirations. Saturday screening, 212 Warrior was described as a perfect movie for Saturday matinee viewing, and that’s more or less the case based on a series of novels by Bastian Tito, the movie feels very much like a more modern, bigger budgeted version of the kind of old school action comedies that kung fu fans devoured from their local television affiliates after the cartoons (and that most regular NYAFF attendees of a certain age would have fond memories of). The New York Asian Film Festival took place between June 28 and July 14, 2019. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |