Mike Leeder brings another action digest round-up of the news-stories from the world of eastern action that you may have overlooked in the last few weeks…
Viy 2: A Journey to China… Jackie Chan and the Governator in a Russian Wuxia movie?
The sequel to 2014’s VIY, the highest grossing Russian movie of all time, has been shooting for some time and Jackie Chan’s name has long been attached to the project with one unit from the Jackie Chan Stunt Team working on the films action sequences under the guidance of veteran choreographer Hu Jun (Man of Tai Chi).
For a sequence set inside a prison, the word was that Jackie Chan and Jason Statham would be sharing the screen and some high-impact action beats, but changes in schedule and production delays lead to a clash with Statham’s upcoming prehistoric shark epic Meg. Various other names including Steven Seagal and Sylvester Stallone were rumoured by some to be replacing him, but its none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger who is stepping into the role of the prison warden. As with the original VIY, the film is still set in the 18th Century, but after the success of the first film, the sequel will be a far more Wuxia and martial arts styled sequel.
Chan who may have celebrated his 62nd Birthday this year, shows no signs of slowing down, with Skiptrace currently on release, Railroad Tigers set for an Xmas release, Kung Fu Yoga and The Foreigner in post, and he’s currently shooting the sci-fi thriller Bleeding Steel, and – as we reported a few days ago – he’s just been confirmed as the recipient of an Honourary Oscar.
Retirement? Peh!
Kickboxer: A new Trilogy?
While reviews have been mixed – to say the least – for Kickboxer: Vengeance, the producers have already completed work on the sequel Kickboxer: Retaliation which addssome diverse names such as Christopher Lambert to Mike Tyson into the mix. No sooner has the first film premiered and the sequel finished shooting, then a third installment has been announced Kickboxer: Syndicate, which is set to start shooting Feb 2017. There’s no word yet on the plot or cast and crew for the third film, although we presume Alain Moussi will return (or perhaps the new films will stay true to the original franchise and introduce a previously unmentioned Sloane brother or close friend to take over the franchise for further installments? As fans know Kickboxer 2: The Road Back introduced a previously unmentioned third Sloane brother, David, who carried the franchise for three movies, while Kickboxer: 5 introduced Mark Dacascos as a close friend of David’s who is drawn into the fight following David’s death!
Whatever the reviews, there’s no denying the new Kickboxer movies are getting a lot of attention…
The Night Comes for Us… Again?
It’s two years since pre-production Timo Tjahnato’s The Night Comes For Us was put on hold for reasons that were never officially reveale. With the upcoming release of Timo’s dark thriller Headshot, starring The Raid’s Iko Uwais, it would appear that the project is coming back to life. A recent tweet from Timo himself confirmed the following;
Yes we are finally resurrecting this one. What hopefully will be a lean and (very) mean kill fest. Thanks to a dear and old friend Gareth Evans for his blessing.
The original announcement of the project, heralded The Raid’s Joe Taslim (most recently seen in Star Trek Beyond) as the lead had nothing less than The Raid 1 & 2’s director Gareth Evans serving as action director for the project, Iko Uwais as fight choreographer and Hong Kong vehicular mayhem maestro Bruce Law also joining the project. The North American rights for the film were pre-acquired by Sony Classics as a pre-sale.
No word yet on which cast and crew will be returning for Timo’s reboot of the project, so watch this space, things could get bloody!
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Blu-ray
While the much-covered sequel may not have met many people’s expectations, the original Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is still one of the most highly regarded Wuxia movies, especially considering how well it travelled and defied all expectation to become a Mandarin language English subtitled mainstream hit around the world. (It’s kind of ironic how the sequel decided to forego that, shooting in English and coming in, arguably fifteen years too late to make the most of its lineage).
Named as the Best Picture of the Year by various critics around the world at the time of its release, Ang Lee’s original movie turns 16 this year and celebrates with the release of a new special edition Blu-Ray from Sony Pictures. Sourced from a new 4K master, the release is packed with special features which include never-before-seen deleted scenes, a new ‘Making of…’, a new Crouching Tiger retrospective, the original trailer, original audio commentary by Ang Lee and scriptwriter James Shamus, a new audio commentary by the film’s Oscar-winning cinematographer Peter Pau and a conversation with Michelle Yeoh featurette.
Here’s a reminder of how great the original film was…
