When Tommy (Lawrence Kao) quips this line in a Fistful of Vengeance, it’s nearly meta. Fistful of Vengeance is the characteristic movie sequel to Netflix’s 2019 10-episode martial arts pushed sequence Wu Assassins. It’s produced in the identical spirit as Fox’s Firefly and Serenity or Netflix’s personal Sense8 by the Wachowskis (which additionally had a number of martial arts.)
Past Tommy, two different Wu Assassins leads reappear in Fistful of Vengeance. Indonesian martial arts celebrity Iko Uwais reprises his position as Kai Jin, the San Francisco Chinatown chef and final incarnation of the Wu Murderer, an everlasting superhero warrior out to avoid wasting the world. Additionally there’s Lu (Lewis Tan), a mere mortal like Tommy however with ridiculous Kung Fu abilities. Wu Assassins was a martial arts pushed present, paying homage to AMC’s Into the Badlands, DirecTV’s Kingdom, and Warrior on Cinemax.
Powered by Asian Inclusion
With a predominantly Asian forged, Wu Assassins was forward of its time. Like CW’s Kung Fu reboot final yr, Wu Assassins was a forerunner of Asian inclusion, only a bit untimely. It didn’t obtain the showering of accolades that Kung Fu acquired, however that present got here out proper when the spike in Covid-blaming Asian hate crimes left media clamoring for some constructive Asian illustration. Kung Fu acquired copious essential reward hailing it as flagbearer for the ‘Cease Asian Hate’ motion and AAPI illustration.
Regardless of previous the pandemic, Wu Assassins had an nearly prescient sensitivity. The sequence contained intelligent cultural nods that spoke to an Asian American expertise. Netflix capitalizes on this with its teaser preview which spotlights a scene from the episode 7 “Legacy” the place Uncle Six (Byron Mann) educates a racist diner waitress in regards to the historical past and rights of Asian People. It’s nearly a lecture, adopted instantly by Uncle Six and Kai beating the crap out of a gang of offended rednecks, simply to emphasis the purpose. Fistful of Vengeance perpetuates this Asian inclusiveness vibe with an nearly all Asian forged. As Tommy mentioned, “Just like the Avengers…however Asian.”
All people was Kung Fu Combating
Nonetheless, this AAPI illustration takes a supporting position in Fistful of Vengeance. Identical to the sequence, this franchise is at first a showcase of martial arts. Fistful of Vengeance is nearly stable struggle scenes, much more so than the unique sequence. It doesn’t fiddle with an excessive amount of plot, identical to its predecessor. Wu Assassins was a pastiche of clichés, reciting time-worn martial arts tropes equivalent to the traditional “chosen one,” the household restaurant threatened by a Chinatown triad, the defiant cop who’s doing the suitable factor regardless of her commanding officer’s orders, the junkie brother, and so forth. It’s half homage and half rip-off, liberally poaching components from exhibits equivalent to Highlander and Avatar: The Final Airbender.
What redeemed Wu Assassins was a forged full of real martial arts masters. Most martial sequence use actors who simply had a couple of months of coaching previous to filming, and stalwart followers of the style can inform. Uwais was a nationwide martial arts champion who was found in his breakout movie The Raid and went on to star in a string of well-regarded but brutal martial arts movies, in addition to having a cameo in Star Wars: The Pressure Awakens.
Tan was skilled from childhood by his father, the veteran stuntman and martial artist Philip Tan. When he took the position of Lu, he was recent out of Into the Badlands and on the way in which to the lead position in Mortal Kombat. The buddy-film chemistry of Uwais, Tan, and Kao works nicely. They’re extra just like the Asian Three Musketeers then the Avengers. Nonetheless, it struggles to echo the significance of household, a method that has been so profitable for the Quick & Livid franchise.
Different famous martial artists from the unique sequence included Mark Dacascos (John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum), Katheryn Winnick (Vikings), and JuJu Chan Szeto (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: Sword of Future). Nonetheless, past Uwais, Tan, and Kao, solely Chan Szeto reprises her position as Zan. Fistful of Vengeance will not be Season 2 compressed into one film. It is a entire new story.
Overlook How Wu Assassins Ended
Fistful of Vengeance is disconnected from the Wu Assassins finale. Within the closing scene, the primary Wu Murderer Ying Ying (Celia Au) seems earlier than Kai to inform him “The world nonetheless wants the Wu Murderer” and the restaurant begins to mystically collapse. However that teaser goes nowhere. Au doesn’t seem in Fistful of Vengeance and Jenny (Li Jun Li), the proprietor of the restaurant and Tommy’s sister, is useless. Fistful of Vengeance is Kai, Lu, and Tommy avenging Jenny’s killer in Thailand. It’s simply as nicely as a result of that closing teaser felt incongruously tacked on, as if the showrunners realized on the final second that they wanted one thing to pitch for Season 2. Netflix ought to return and delete that scene now.
Fistful of Vengeance instantly dives headfirst into the motion. When Kai, Lu, and Tommy are chasing clues at a Thai nightclub, a giant bar brawl breaks out pitting the trio towards a jiangshi, which is Chinese language form of vampire. This units the tempo for the movie – it’s a barrage of Kung Fu struggle scenes strung along with a supernatural story that provides fan service to Chinese language mythology akin to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. In some methods, Fistful of Vengeance harkens The Raid in its unabashed portrayal of gratuitous violence. It’s nearly like struggle porn. The threadbare plot breaks up the motion simply sufficient to seize extra snacks and refresh your libations.
Fistful of Vengeance provides some new forged members from different action-based franchises together with Jason Tobin (Warrior, F9), Pearl Thusi (Queen Sono), and Yayaying Rhatha Phongam (The Protector 2). The stunt group is predominantly Thai, a nation that captured the eye of motion movie followers twenty years in the past with the bone-crunching flicks of Tony Jaa and Panna Rittikrai.
One Combat in Bangkok and the World’s Your Oyster
The postcard excellent Thailand places are captured with spectacular drone pictures. It’s the cinematography that elevates Fistful of Vengeance above the typical martial arts flick with expansive fowl’s eye views on the fights. One hovering shot that strikes from a parking construction automobile chase to a rooftop poolside struggle after which again to the automobile chase makes for a tasty little bit of ultraviolence. It’s a sensational piece of drone camerawork and motion choreography, certainly one of a number of surprisingly sensible scenes that stand as testaments to the filmmakers’ technical talent.
The place Fistful of Vengeance succeeds is the motion. Uwais, being a chef, is bloody useful with butcher knives and nonetheless delivers among the finest elbow strikes in movie. At 6’ 2”, Tan strikes an imposing determine and backs that up with the agility and precision from a lifetime of coaching. Kao’s background is in dance not martial arts, however he is aware of how one can transfer and ranges up significantly for Fistful of Vengeance. And Chan Szeto has fierce sufficient abilities for a villainess who can convincingly commerce punches and flying kicks with the boys. For followers of struggle choreography, there’s some critical eye-candy right here.
In the end Fistful of Vengeance is extra about motion than plot. For these on the lookout for a profound story, that is the improper style. The scope and depth of the motion builds persistently all through the movie, as any good actioner ought to, and a climactic battle the place Kai and Lu face off is masterfully executed with a fancy one-er the place the digicam bobs and weaves by the fisticuffs for a stunning and modern match. For martial arts followers, Uwais versus Tan is definitely worth the worth of admission.