10 Most Anticipated Action Films of 2016

I recently looked back at my Top 10 Most Anticipated Action Films of 2015 List and couldn't have been more wrong about some of my choices. Transporter: Refueled looked like such a joke I didn't even end up seeing it, Terminator: Genisys was an insult to its series, Taken 3 sucked, and both Blackhat and Spectre were complete bores. At least I called it with Mad Max: Fury Road!

Anyways, it's time for me to lay out my Top 10 Most Anticipated Action Films of 2016! I feel much more confident with my choices this year, as many of the films being released are sequels to tried and true classics. In fact, every single film on my list is either a sequel or a spin-off minus one. Regardless, let's get to it and hope that I am right this time around with my choices.

10) Kickboxer: Vengeance (John Stockwell) - This remake of Van Damme's classic martial arts film is looking to be one of 2015's many great martial arts films. Not only will the film update the material for a new day and age (after all, the original is a flawed but entertaining cult hit), but it will also bring back Van Damme, but in a new role. Throw in Dave Bautista and George St. Pierre and you have yourself a tournament fighter that action fans are going to fall in love with.

9) Boyka: Undisputed IV (Isaac Florentine) - The fourth Undisputed film, and the third direct to video entry, will once again reunite Florentine with Scott Adkins for another round of brutal martial arts action. While Florentine has tackled several kinds of characters with Adkins, their Undisputed films are the ones that show off the two's love for martial arts better than the rest. Toss in the fact that the film will take Boyka out of prison, and you have a sequel that looks to separate itself from the rest of the series and try something fresh. 

8) Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (Edward Zwick) - 2012's Jack Reacher was one of the best studio actioners to come along in awhile thanks to its brutal fights, intriguing mystery, and incredible sound design. The film was an old fashioned throw back to the good old days when Hollywood actors beat the crap out of one another and drove fast cars around Bullit style. Anyways, Cruise is primed to return to the character and hopefully deliver another excellent round of great character and action. While McQuarrie's absence will be felt, Tom will hopefully help Zwick steer the series in the right direction.

7) Deadpool (Tim Miller) - It's an honest to goodness miracle that a Deadpool movie is finally coming out, and from a big studio nonetheless. While the character's sense of humor may be too obnoxious for my taste, every comic book and action fan is going to be checking this one out because it's almost too good to be true. Plus, I'll support an R rated superhero film in order to send a message to the studios that we are tired of PG-13 affair.

6) Hard Target 2 (Roel Reine) - It's very possible that this direct to video sequel to John Woo's amazing Hard Target could be another bland low budget film from direct to video maestro Roel Reine (see The Marine 2). However, the Hard Target name, as well as Scott Adkins' inclusion, make this one shoot to the top of the must see list for me. We'll see how this one turns out. Expect some shootouts and martial arts fights when this one drops, Most Dangerous Game style.

5) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2 (Yuen Woo Ping) - I am almost a little disappointed that this film is being released straight to Netflix. While I should shut up and enjoy that the movie will be in my living room on the day of its release, I wish that a sequel to the most successful foreign film of all time had a more prestige release with anticipation and such surrounding it. Anyways, this sequel will bring back Michelle Yeoh, but also throw in two of martial arts greatest artists, Donnie Yen and Yuen Woo Ping. It doesn't get any better than those two.

4) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Gareth Evans) - The first Star Wars Anthology film lands on the list because of one reason alone: Donnie Yen playing a blind character inspired by Zatoichi. Hell freakin' yeah. However, the film also lands on the list because its plot, that of stealing the plans to the Death Star, lends itself to the action genre very well. Toss in Jiang Wen of Let the Bullets Fly fame, and you have one of next year's biggest blockbuster hits for action fans.

3) John Wick 2 (Chad Stahelski) - John Wick came on to the scene in 2014 and dropped a bombshell on the action community with its amazing gun fu sequences, Keanu Reeves' triumphant return to the action genre, and its awesome world building. While Wick easily could have been a one-off action classic, the action Gods have graced us with a sequel where Reeves will once again rack up a 70 plus kill count probably. Regardless of what it is about, John Wick 2 is an instant watch based purely upon its predecessor.

2) Untitled Fifth Bourne Film (Paul Greengrass) - I cannot wait for a fifth Bourne film because it will reunite Damon with Greengrass for their third time around with the character. As long as Greengrass maybe pulls back a little bit on the shaky cam, and delivers a great story with a new villain to boot, than Bourne 5 should kick major ass.

1) Ip Man 3 (Wilson Yip) - It's clear that Donnie Yen is going to be the action MVP of 2016 with roles in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and now Ip Man 3, the final and highly anticipated Ip Man film. In a sense, Ip Man 3 looks to be the end of an era of sorts for Yen because it marks his final turn as the character. Action fans won't have to wait long for this one as it comes out in January. It also features fight choreography by Ping and a highly advertised fight between Yen and sports icon Mike Tyson. This one can't come fast enough.

The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

Director: The Wachowski Siblings

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Colin Chou

Country: United States / Australia

Rating: R

Run Time: 138 minutes

Even though The Matrix Trilogy consists of three films, the series is truly split into two parts. When the Wachowski Siblings set out to make their Matrix trilogy, the two had to deliver a successful Matrix Part One before they could be guaranteed a Part Two or Three. Therefore, when The Matrix blew up in 1999 and set a new precedent for action filmmaking in Hollywood, two sequels were obviously commissioned. These sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, were shot back to back and released within the same year, 2003. However, both of these sequels featured numerous new characters and a grander storyline previously unexplored in the small scaled The Matrix. Even though The Matrix introduced us to a post-apocalyptic world run by sentinels, The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions were the films that directly dealt with the issue head on. The Wachowskis essentially crafted a focused and small scaled Part One that led into two large scaled Parts Two and Three shot at the same time. Therefore, I have always viewed the two sequels as being separate from the original for this reason.

However, many other movie fans view the sequels as being separate from the original because...well, they hate them. The Matrix sequels are notorious amongst movie buffs as being inferior and unnecessary in comparison to their amazing predecessor. The general consensus is that the sequels favor special effects and plot over the focused character work of The Matrix. Personally, I also think that the sequels' choice to dive head first into the heavy themes teased at in the original alienated audiences as well. Action is fun and all for audiences, but not so much so when you have to listen to heavy conversations about predestination, artificial intelligence, and causality. 

Is there anything more awesome than leaping out a window firing guns?

I remember seeing The Matrix Reloaded at midnight with my dad when I was in the 5th grade in 2003. Even though I probably didn't fully understand what was happening, I can tell you that the action scenes blew my mind as a kid. I don't know if my childhood history with the film clouds my opinion, but I think that The Matrix Reloaded is an ambitious sequel that falters in parts but mostly succeeds. Even after 10 or so viewings of The Matrix Reloaded, I still find myself picking up on ideas that I previously forgot the film explored. Regardless of how good or bad you think the sequels are, the fact that the films jog your brain after each viewing is a testament to their lasting value. Therefore, I have decided to revisit these two massive and complex sequels in order to determine my opinion on them once and for all. Also, I am going to go into mild spoilers for the two films. 

The film begins six months after the events of the first film. Neo (Keanu Reeves) and friends continue their rebellion against the machines in both the Matrix and the real world. The machines have begun to drill into the human city of Zion in order to attack the humans back for freeing so many minds from the Matrix. When Neo speaks with the Oracle for help, she tells him to locate a Key Maker who can lead them to the source of the machines within the Matrix. However, Neo's journey for the source of the machines is complicated thanks to the likes of antagonists Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) and The Merovingian (Lambert Wilson). 

The Matrix Reloaded heavily expands upon the mythology of the first installment by introducing numerous new characters and tackling a large scale story hinted at in The Matrix. If anything, The Matrix Reloaded is one of the biggest sequels ever next to The Chronicles of Riddick in terms of expanding upon the mythos and scale of the small scaled original film. The film also dives deeper into themes of artificial intelligence, identity, reality, predestination, creation, religion, and causality dealt within The Matrix. However, Reloaded and its sequel devote entire scenes and conversations to discussing such themes. Therefore, modern audiences may find themselves bored and distant from such complex scenes that come in between slam bam action set pieces that please the eyes. The Wachowskis clearly took advantage of The Matrix's success and decided to go full philosophical and intellectual with their sequels. When I look back on the Matrix sequels, I almost can't believe that a studio like Warner Bros. funded such deep and complex R rated action films.

"Surprised, Mr. Anderson?"

While ambitious and positively epic, The Matrix Reloaded bites off more than it or its audience can chew. The film relies so heavily on plot, and a weird one at that, that it leaves its characters in the dust at points. The sequel also incorporates such a massive amount of sub-plots that it becomes difficult to keep track of them all even after all of these years of viewing the film. You've got the threat of the duplicating Agent Smiths, the Smith induced Bane character who wants to kill Neo within the real world, the threat of the machines' imminate attack on Zion, Neo's journey for the source of the machines, Neo's desperation to stop his visions from coming true, the tension between Morpheus and Commander Lock, to even the stories of the littlest of supporting characters like Link or Kid. Because everyone has a story of their own amidst the grand scheme of things, it becomes a lot to take in for only a two hour film. And while I love the ambitious nature of Reloaded and find some of its sub-plots to be truly riveting, the film's ambition turns it into a somewhat bloated epic that lacks The Matrix's tight focus.

Even though the film features far too many characters for its own good, I still enjoy some of them. My personal favorite is the Oracle's bodyguard, Seraph. Not only does Seraph have a great character design and purpose within the film's narrative, but he is even played by Hong Kong action star Collin Chou (Flash Point). Chou does a great job with his few minutes in the film and even takes on Neo in a great one on one fight a top several wooden tables. I also love the design of The Twins, two of the Merovigians henchmen who have the ability to turn into ghosts in order to phase through walls and to heal themselves. Other character highlights include the stern Commander Lock (Harry Lennix, Man of Steel) who will do anything to protect Zion, the cold but sexy Persephone (Monica Bellucci, Brotherhood of the Wolf), and the kind and helpful Key Maker (Randall Duk Kim, The Replacement Killers). Returning franchise characters Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, The Oracle, and Agent Smith are all well played by their respective actors; especially Laurence Fishburne (Death Wish II) who turns in an incredibly emotional and physical performance.

Praise the action movie gods.

It's no surprise that The Matrix Reloaded's strongest aspect is its fantastic action sequences. The Wachowskis and choreographer Yuen Woo Ping (Kill Bill, The Grandmaster) up the ante by delivering the kind of bigger and crazier set pieces you expect in a sequel. Reloaded showcases fist fights, car chases, and gun fights galore. The melee fights in the film are uniformly perfect, ranging from a massive brawl between Neo and numerous Agent Smiths to a small one on one fight between Morpheus and Agent Johnson (Daniel Bernhardt, John Wick) atop a moving 18 wheeler. The epic car chase in the middle of the film stands as the biggest and longest set piece in the entire franchise. Filmed entirely on a newly constructed freeway specifically for the film, the Wachowskis deliver a grand and massive cavalcade of vehicular destruction.

I especially adore the Vampire Chateau fight between Neo and The Merovigian's henchmen set to music by Rob Dougan. The sequence features pitch perfect camera work, excellent editing, and stunning fight choreography. The sequel's many action sequences are made all the better by composer Don Davis' score. Davis continues to expand upon the musical themes heard in the first installment by upping the ante and delivering a broader and grander score. Additional tracks by Rob Dougan and Juno Reactor are just as fantastic as Davis' musical themes. I truly could go on and on about Reloaded's exquisite action scenes and how I have watched some of them well over twenty times. But I will leave these few short words to express my adoration and obsession with them. When Yuen Woo Ping is the fight choreographer and Bill Pope is the cinematographer, a film's action scenes are going to look damn good.

Unfortunately, I have to fault Reloaded for its terrible incorporation of CGI during a few shots of the burly brawl between Neo and Smith. While most of the film's fight sequences feature real stunt men performing real stunts, the burly brawl between Neo and Smith requires up to 100 actors to be seen on screen at once. Therefore, some of the characters are rendered entirely with computer animation for a few choice shots in order to deliver complex moments of fight choreography. Much like Guillermo Del Toro's Blade II, The Matrix Reloaded shoots itself in the foot with these painfully obvious moments of computer graphics. It doesn't help either when the Wachowskis cut from a shot of a CG Keanu Reeves to a shot of the real Keanu Reeves within the same fight sequence. The jarring difference between computer graphics and human actors pulls the audience out of the filmic experience whenever it is apparent in the film. And believe me, it is extremely apparent when the characters in the film look like something out of an early 2000's PlayStation 2 video game.

"Well that's a neat trick."

Entertainment Weekly declared The Matrix Reloaded the 25th worst movie sequel of all time in 2007. Their paragraph on the film directly attacks the film's rave sequence and mocks it as a Lenny Kravitz music video. In all honesty, how can this be the one thing that Entertainment Weekly wrote about? Did they not see the amazing action scenes, brave storytelling, and incredible ambition that I saw? Yes, I admit that Reloaded is a somewhat bloated epic that falters from poor CGI and heavy reliance on plot. But I find that its positives greatly outweigh its negatives. I adore The Matrix Reloaded warts and all. It's an incredibly entertaining and massive science fiction epic that I have been watching for more than 10 years now and hope to continue revisiting for as long as I live. Tune in next time for the finale that movie fans hate more than The Matrix Reloaded...The Matrix Revolutions!

Rating: 8/10 - Haters be damned. The Matrix Reloaded has everything I love about an R rated blockbuster.

Franchise:
The Matrix (dir. The Wachowski Siblings, 1999)
The Matrix Reloaded (dir. The Wachowski Siblings, 2003)
The Matrix Revolutions (dir. The Wachowski Siblings, 2003)

Game of Death II (a.k.a. Tower of Death) (1981)

Director: See-Yuen Ng (w/ action choreography by Yuen Woo Ping)

Cast:  Bruce Lee, Tong Lung, Huong Chen Li, Roy Horan, Roy Chiao

Country: Hong Kong

Production Company: Golden Harvest

Rating: R

Run Time: 86 minutes

Game of Death II (or Tower of Death / The New Game of Death) is a shameful attempt at cashing in on Bruce Lee's name and the original Game of Death. The film has nothing to do with the original film except for the fact that Billy Lo is in the first 45 minutes of the film (only in the English dub though). It also duplicates Game of Death's tactics by using body doubles, stand ins, and stock footage to represent Bruce Lee. The first 45 minutes have some dreadful story telling and dubbing but first rate action scenes that surpass anything in Game of Death. 

But than Game of Death II does the unthinkable and kills off Billy Lo! And you know what that means? More footage of Bruce Lee's actual funeral! The film brings in another character named Bobby Lo (Tong Lung), Billy's brother. Bobby becomes the lead of the film as the second half of the movie becomes something entirely different from the first half. The first half of the film is brought down by its ridiculous attempts to portray the real "Bruce Lee" just like in Game of Death. 

Once Billy Lo is killed off, there is no more Bruce Lee stock footage or body doubles. The second half of the film is all about Bobby investigating Billy's death and discovering a martial arts training compound owned by a man named Lewis (Roy Horan). The film becomes exciting, crazy, and completely bonkers in this final half of the film as the filmmakers let loose with some of the best fight scenes in movie history. Billy Lo fights a kung fu lion, a one armed man, a horde of henchmen, a monk, and a man wearing a tiger print outfit that looks like a cross between something Fred Flintstone and Tarzan would wear. Where do I even begin with this movie?

"Bruce" vs. lots of baddies.

The first half of Game of Death II is about Billy trying to discover who is trying to kill him and his master Chin Ku (Drunken Master's Huong Chen). As Billy investigates, he meets with an old mentor of his and expresses his worry about how his younger brother is too immature and doesn't take martial arts seriously. Chin Ku is eventually killed and a funeral is held in his honor. A helicopter shows up at Ku's funeral and picks up his coffin. Billy leaps onto the helicopter and tries to bring it down. Unfortunately for Billy, a man in the helicopter shoots a dart at him and causes him to fall to his death.

Bobby now shows up as our protagonist and realizes that he has to man up in order to uncover who killed his brother Billy and his master Chin Ku. After he receives some film showing Chin Ku studying at a temple, Billy heads there to investigate. When he arrives, he offers his services to Lewis, the man who owns the grounds. Lewis is an excentric bearded man with a love for trained peacocks, an appetite for raw deer meat and deer's blood, and loves to feed his fallen challengers to his many lions as dinner. Lewis is easily the most ridiculous and memorable character in the whole film.

When Billy suspects that someone is trying to kill him and Lewis, Lewis reveals that a tower of death was built into the ground somewhere. He believes that whoever might be trying to kill them lives in that tower...of death. When Lewis is eventually killed, Billy tracks down his killer and finds the tower of death. The last 40 minutes of the film are an action packed extravaganza as Billy has to uncover the mystery behind the deaths of Lewis, Chin Ku, and his brother Billy.

"Raw venison! Deer's blood!"

As I stated before, the first half of Game of Death II is nothing special. It's yet another attempt at Bruce-ploitation with some absolutely excellent action scenes. The film takes advantage of even more stock footage of Bruce Lee and passes off a deleted scene from Enter the Dragon as new footage (at the time it was new footage but it has since been restored into Enter the Dragon). The film even has the balls to use footage from Bruce Lee's actual funeral yet again when Billy Lo dies. If one time wasn't shameful enough, a second time is just laughable. 

But once you get through this boring and monotonous retread of what the original Game of Death was, the second half of the film comes to life and feels like an entirely new film. The craziness of the animal filled compound, the ridiculousness of Lewis, and the insane fight scenes during the final 40 minutes make Game of Death II one of the most entertaining action films ever made. I discovered after watching the film that the one and only Yuen Woo Ping choreographed all of the fight scenes and this explains everything. Ping turns even the crappiest of material into a jaw dropping masterpiece thanks to his masterful fight choreography.

Once Bobby reaches the underground tower of death, the film feels like a science fiction movie mixed with a video game. Bobby arrives in a huge room filled with blinking lights and pools of boiling red acid. Numerous henchmen in silver suits attack Bobby and all fall at his mighty hands. One henchman even falls into the boiling acid and burns to death! Sliding doors reveal more enemies and eventually a man in a ridiculous tiger print suit. I don't even know how to explain this. Game of Death II stops giving a crap and turns into pure adrenaline pumping action non-sense. 

Watch out for those pits of acid!

If that wasn't entertaining enough, Bobby than has to make his way across a hallway with an exploding floor! If anything touches the bottom of the floor, it sets on fire and explodes! After making his way across the hallway, Bobby than has to fight a monk. As I watched this film I asked myself, "This has to be the final fight scene right? There can't be more?" But alas, there is still more action! After the battle with the monk, Bobby discovers the master planner who has been behind all of the killings. What follows is an epic 10 minute fight between Bobby and the final villain. It's like something out of a video game! You fight hundreds of henchmen, take on several mini-bosses, work your way across a booby trapped hallway, and than take on the final boss in an epic showdown.

Game of Death II is a lousy film with a ridiculous plot, worse acting, and horrible English dubbing (I did not have access to the original dub). However, the insanity of the final half of the film makes up for everything that comes before it. Even the fight scenes in the first half of the film are excellent too. The original Game of Death had decent fight scenes and a few excellent ones leading up to the true Bruce Lee footage. Robert Clouse tried his hardest to come up with solid martial arts fights and action scenes that could match the quality of Lee's incomplete Game of Death footage. But Game of Death II has quality action from frame one! Every single fight scene is out of this world.

Exploding hallway rope climbing.

The most bizarre scene in the film takes place near the end. When Bobby is relaxing in his room, Lewis sends a prostitute into his room to pleasure him. As she and Bobby start to kiss, she tries to stick him with a needle from her ring. When Bobby blocks her attack, a freakin' kung fu lion breaks into the room! At first, I couldn't figure out if it was just an attacker in a lion suit or if it was actually a lion fighting Bobby! I didn't know what the film wanted us to believe. After watching the scene, I am sure that in the context of the film's universe that we were to think that it was a man in a lion suit. But why should I doubt that it is a kung fu lion when though there are so many other crazy things going on in the film?

I think that this film should have been called Tower of Death and not Game of Death II. There is some incredible quality action in this film and it is a shame that it is attached to the title of Game of Death II. The film features no new footage of Bruce Lee (minus the deleted Dragon footage) and is only called Game of Death II because the English dub calls the main character Billy Lo, the protagonist of Game of Death. It's all a shameful cash grab but I completely understand. Raymond Chow produced all of Bruce Lee's films. Therefore, it makes sense that the guy wanted to cash in on Bruce Lee's name even after his death. I am just arguing that the second half of the film is so bonkers and insane that I wish it stood on its own as Tower of Death and not Game of Death II. Besides, Billy Lo is killed 40 minutes into the film. It essentially stops being a Game of Death film (if that is even a term) once he dies.

World domination? You guessed it!

Unlike the original Game of Death, there isn't much to say about this film. The incredible action scenes speak for themselves. Just look up the fight scenes on YouTube or purchased the out of print Fortune Star Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection on DVD if you want to get your hands on the film (as well as the recommended Game of Death). See Yuen-Ng and Golden Harvest made a helluva action film with Game of Death II. However, the boring opening act and lousy storytelling prevents me from ranking this film very high. Never the less, I still highly recommend the film to action enthusiasts who go bananas for fight scenes like I do.

Rating: 7/10 - A horrible mess of a film blessed with some of the best action in movie history.

Franchise:

Game of Death (1978, dir. Robert Clouse)

Game of Death II (1981, dir. See Yuen-Ng)

Eastern Condors (1987)

Alternate Chinese Title: Dung fong tuk ying
Director: Sammo Hung
Starring: Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Yuen Woo-Ping, Joyce Godenzi, Haing S. Nor
Country: Hong Kong

I love good dramatic-action-war films like Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down. However, there is a soft spot in my heart for entertaining and awesome war films like The Inglorious Bastards and Windtalkers. These are war films where the drama and story take a back seat to incredible action sequences and more slow motion than you thought your mind could take. I have heard that Eastern Condors is one of the most action packed and entertaining war films ever made. Well, I am happy to say that is totally correct. While the characters and drama are weak and underdeveloped, the action scenes are great and masterfully choreographed by a trio of true badasses: Sammo Hung (SPL), Yuen Biao (Dragons Forever), and Cory Yuen (The Transporter).

A photograph to be proud of.

My mouth must have dropped at least 10 times during this film. I shouted, "Ohhhh!" more times than I would like to count. The kills, slow motion explosions, and kicks in this film are just gorgeous. Eastern Condors reminded me why Hong Kong Cinema has the greatest action scenes in all of the world.

On to the plot. Eastern Condors is essentially a Chinese Dirty Dozen set in Vietnam. It's as plain and simple as that. The Americans apparently left a huge stock pile of weapons in Vietnam. Therefore, a rag tag group of Chinese prisoners are enlisted to go destroy the stockpile before any Vietnamese soldiers get their hands on them. If they succeed and live, they will be granted full pardons and $200,000. Not a bad deal.

I love the heck out of a basic plot summary like that. Why can't every action film be this basic? Too many modern American action films are so concerned with exposition and plot that they forget that action and technical mastery is what the audience has come to see as well.

"You put your gun down first!"

The lead performances are all great. Sammo Hung plays a strict and serious leader of the group. He also racks up a massive kill count. This film has a huge body count by the way. I know I'm estimating, but there must be nearly 200 onscreen kills in this movie. Yuen Biao is probably the best actor in the film. He plays a silly traveler who sells goods to villagers. He also happens to be a master martial artist and gets wrapped up in the mission on accident. Action choreographer god Yuen Woo Ping even has a small but memorable supporting role as one of the Chinese prisoners on the mission. I would love to see him in more films because he's really entertaining as well. The other lead performance worth mentioning is Joyce Godenzi as the leader of the Cambodian rebels. She kicks just as much butt as everyone else and holds her own as one of the most awesome female action characters I have ever seen. She even flips a guy over and stabs him in the butt hole! Best kill ever?

You will never look at a leave of grass the same.

As I said before, the choreography, framing, sound design, and editing of this film is flawless. All of the action scenes are incredible. I couldn't ask for more. There are several instances where one of the film's musical themes plays as a character runs in slow motion and prepares to either throw a knife or do something awesome. I immediately recognized it as the music that plays during the scene in Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds when Omar Doom runs across a room in slow motion and gun punches a Nazi soldier. By accident, I found yet another one of the many things that Tarantino lifts from other films. It also works because Inglourious Basterds is an homage to "Men on a Mission" War films (i.e. Eastern Condors).

Bridge on the River Condor

However, my biggest complaint with this film is that it thinks all of its supporting characters are incredibly interesting and memorable. Whenever anyone dies, the music swells and becomes very heavy and dramatic. Everybody starts crying or holds that character in their arms and watches them die. I'm sorry, but I know nothing about many of these characters. Why am I supposed to care when they die? I was invested in the deaths of some of the major characters and a member who turns out to be a traitor, but that was about it. I couldn't forgive this because Sammo Hung really thought each member was their own unique character and they simply weren't. They were either a cookie cutter soldier or a goofy piece of comedic relief.

But, this is still a great action film. A lot of what I have to say is just praising individual moments during the action scenes. You could have a whole hour long conversation just about the action scenes! There is so much variety and madness going on here. I can't remember the last time I saw an action film that contained these images:

- 8 people on a motorcycle ride through a field and shoot up an entire army of soldiers.
- A girl flips a guy over and stabs him right in his butt hole.
- Sammo Hung shoots leaves of grass as deadly darts.
- A man has a grenade shoved in his mouth and than explodes.
- A character has their hand sliced off and than continues to fight.
- And so much more!

Eastern Condors is purely a visual feast for the eyes. It begs repeat screenings because the action scenes are so damn impressive! I recommend gathering up a group of action junkies and putting this on. You will definitely have a good time.

Skinny Slow Motion Sammo Hung

Rating: 8/10 - I think that the weak character development prevents me from giving this a perfect score. For that alone I knocked my rating down two notches. However, the lead characters and action scenes propel this film into the top tier of entertaining war films. Highly recommended and essential viewing for anyone who considers themselves an action fan!

Best Kill / Beatdown: There are truly too many to count! If I had to pick just one though, it would be when Sammo Hung leaps out of the exploding truck on the bridge with a machete and in one fell swipe takes a Vietnamese soldiers head clean off!
Best Action Scene: I think the siege of the bridge was my favorite action scene. I know the longest action scene was the defense of the weapons base, but the bridge scene was just flat out fantastic. There was so much going on visually that I had never seen before. Sammo Hung bouncing on metal plates, Yuen Biao hanging onto the bottom of a truck, and even Yuen Woo Ping running in slow motion across a bridge. This scene was so great, it even has the balls to end on a freeze frame shot! How many movies end a scene on a freeze frame?
Best Performance: Yuen Biao is fantastic as the hilarious but bad ass traveler who joins the group halfway through the film. I love his personal style: his long bang of hair, his trench coat, and the fact that he has a giant motorcycle with freakin balloons on it!