Category: Martial Arts
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Lionheart (1990)
Lionheart (1990) was released as Wrong Bet in Australia; I never really grew up as a Jean-Claude Van Damme fan when I was a teenager and missed a lot of his movies. Now I love the guy because to me he’s endearing, even when he’s an egotist and not to mention, back in the day,… Read.
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Cyber Tracker (1994)
Don ‘The Dragon’ Wilson is a name I know from the video store shelves, a direct-to-video action star on the lower circle of action heroes. Like Jeff Speakman or Olivier Gruner, these were recognisable names but I never saw any of their flicks. Until now. Cyber Tracker (1994) is a sci-fi martial arts thriller that… Read.
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The One (2001)
Jet Li kicking a SWAT team into the air in slow motion as Drowning Pool’s ‘Bodies’ thunders on the soundtrack is an iconic high point of The One (2001). While working as bullet-timecore (the special effect enhanced martial arts a clear indication of The Matrix’s impact), it also introduces audiences to what will be a… Read.
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First Love (2019)
First Love (2019; Hatsukoi) combines a couple of my favourite sub-genres: One Wild Night and Multiple Parties Want One Thing. Directed by the prolific Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike (13 Assassins, Blade Of The Immortal), we follow a young boxer Leo (Masataka Kubota) who goes from shiftless to despondent when he receives some bad news after… Read.
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Throw Down (2004)
Director Johnnie To said in an interview that he “didn’t want any antagonists” in the Hong Kong film, Throw Down (2004). This is intriguing to hear – no antagonists in a neo-noir martial arts movie set in the backstreets, gambling dens and smoky bars of Hong Kong? And that is specifically about the fighting form… Read.
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