Short Attention Span Review: Falcon Rising (2014)

There was a time when people used to go rent movies at places like Blockbuster and various other rental chains, places where the walls were lined with titles and you could buy candy at absurd prices.  The heyday for this particular era may have been the 90s, and during that time there were entire sections devoted to martial arts movies.  Here, roughly a dozen gifted warriors of the cinema were vying for kung fu supremacy.  You could chose from legit stars like Jean-Claude or Segal, or you could go for the talent hanging out on the lower shelves, people like Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Cynthia Rothrock, or my personal favorite, Gary Daniels.  It was like Billy Bob's Kung-Fu Theatre for my generation.  Now, VHS tapes are fossils, the rental industry is all but dead (Redbox is an entirely different animal), and the martial arts sub-genre isn't exactly flourishing--but we have Michael Jai White!  Yes, good people, Black Dynamite is here to save the day.  You'll have to understand if I can't help but give Black Dynamite lots of props here--it's one of my favorite movies and if you haven't seen it, please stop reading this blog and go watch it RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE.  I typed that in all caps because I mean it.  Those of you who have seen Black Dynamite and are therefore still enjoying this review can go ahead and lower your expectations, but you already knew that Falcon Rising would be no Black Dynamite.  Honestly, it's a far cry from Blood and Bone, but it's still worth watching--particularly if you miss that old school kung-fu glory as much as I do.  Of course Michael Jai White delivers the goods, he's an absolute beast.  I think he's a good actor and his martial arts prowess is second to none in this day and age.  The plot for Falcon Rising is a simple exercise in the time-honored "noble hero encounters kung fu treachery and kicks a lot of ass" vein, but I thought Ernie Barbarash's direction was exciting and the score from Charlie Lin was pretty nifty too.  There were decent opponents for Michael Jai White to combat and underrated vet Neil McDonough showed up just long enough to earn a paycheck.  Bonus points: I had never seen Thiago Santo in a movie before and he caught my attention as crooked cop with a bit of a conscience.  All things concerned, this was an entertaining little romp that probably deserves a C, but I'm going to give it a C+.  Why?  Black Dynamite, that's why!

Final Grade: C+

Michael Jai White doing what he does: kicking ass.

Haven't seen Black Dynamite?  Go watch it.  I'm serious.  Scram, you jive turkeys!

Short Attention Span Review: Merantau (2009)

As a huge of fan of both The Raid (awesome movie) and The Raid 2 (just fucking incredible), I'm surprised it took me so long to get to Merantau.  For those who aren't familiar with Gareth Evans and Iko Uwais, the director and the star of a pair of the finest action films ever (that would be The Raid and The Raid 2 for anyone who's having a hard time keeping up), this potent team first hit the scene with Merantau back in 2009.  Knowing that this was the film that launched this ultra-talented tandem, I was expecting something vastly inferior, but that wasn't the case.  I think that with The Raid and its powerhouse sequel, Evans and Uwais greatly advanced their game in terms of plot and effects/gore, but Merantau is no amateur debut.  It's a highly-polished martial arts film with a decent story and an abundance of riveting fight choreography.  It's a bit more traditional than those later efforts, with The Raid taking a John Carpenter-esque approach to the genre and The Raid 2 deftly combining kung fu treachery (I never miss a chance to give Black Dynamite his due) and a plot that was on par with The Departed.  Yet Merantau is still highly-effective, and if I had happened upon this before viewing either Raid picture, I would have been almost as keen on Evans and Uwais.

Final Grade: B