Revenger (2018)

Beach Fight: ***3/4

Yool vs Thugs in House: ****

Yool vs Thug Leader: ***1/2

Brawl at Camp: ***

Yool vs Thugs at Camp: ***1/2

Yool vs Kun's Lieutenants: ***3/4

Yool vs Kun: ****1/2





Bruce Khan is an absolute badass in this movie. He carries the action throughout with a stoic poise and executes the fight scenes with graceful brutality and quiet rage. This is one of the better lead screen fighting performances I've seen in a while. Khan is fast, crisp and efficient.

Khan's character, Yool, is also booked incredibly strong throughout. He marches through hordes of thugs with less resistance than a waist deep tide. He is briefly taken out of commission after tanking a poisoned arrow to save the little girl, Jin. He then wakes up and immediately outclasses two mini bosses 1 v 2. Even the final showdown is incredibly one sided. For as much build up as Park Hee Son's "Kun" gets for being this big villain, he doesn't do much damage at all to Yool in the finale and it never seems in doubt that Yool will win, let alone survive.

That being said, I instill enjoyed the finale quite a bit. It was modern and inventive in its incorporation of mixed martial arts into the choreography, and I also enjoyed the sequence where Kun tries to use feints and level changes to throw Yool off. The stuntmen in the group fights also did a hell of a job. The hits and falls they took felt grounded and conveyed Khan's power and skill.

Movie itself is a bit thin in terms of plot but there are some fun characters. Kun is an intriguing villain, his lieutenants are distinct and quirky, Mali and her daughter are solid as the heart of the film and Bau is your typical comedic relief.

Recommended.

Special ID (Flash Point/SPL) (2014)

Fight Scene: 3.75/5


Much better than their Raid tribute, I dug this fight. My main qualm was that the choreography felt a bit repetitive towards the end. But overall lots of great stuff. Good exchanges, a nice sequence leading into a triangle choke, and some flashy kicks. Better than any of the solo fights in Special ID.

One Last Rumble (2009)

Lester vs Edmund: 4.25/5

Lester vs Bakia: 4/5

Lester vs Edmund: 4.75/5


One of my all time favorite martial arts indie shorts. Lester's Magnum Opus. The Finale between him and Edmund is fantastic. And the other 2 fights are also great. HIGHLY recommended.

Second Life (2014)

Kitchen Fight: 3.25/5

Building Fight 1: 2.25/5

Building Fight 2: 3.75/5


Nice MMA style fighting in this short film. The kitchen fight has a cool transition from a Triangle choke into a Gogoplata. Really good fight, especially considering they did it all in that one little area.

The last fight has great handwork and fluid choreography. Feels gritty and realistic, but still looks pretty. If it had gone a little longer it would be 4 stars or more. Note that there is some sound level inconsistency throughout the short film. I had to adjust accordingly. Still, recommended.

Walter Garcia's "Hermanos" (2012)

Fight Scene: 3.75/5

Love the accompanying music to the fight. Gives it a distinct Latino vibe. Very good choreography. A believable 2 vs 1 exchange. And an interesting location as well. I dig this short film.

Flash Point (2007)

3 Brothers vs Gang: 2.25/5

Donnie Yen vs Xin Yu: 4.5/5

Donnie Yen vs Collin Chou: 5/5

Not much for quantity, but definitely quality. The end fight is one of my favorite fight scenes of all time. Highly recommended.

Special ID (2013)

Donnie vs Ken Lo: 2.25/5

Donnie vs Thugs: 4/5

Donnie vs Andy: 3.25/5


One great group fight but Donnie experiments with grappling and ground fighting a little too freely in the finale. And the fight with Ken Lo is underwhelming. Skippable.