11-19-2009, 11:56 AM
The DOOM chuckle - it bubbles out of each of us when there's a moment of real horrorshow ultravi. The yeti probably has the best DOOM chuckle because it takes a lot to get one out of him. LB has more of a DOOM guffaw, which is often accompanied by an orgasmic shout akin to a football fan when his team makes a critical interception. But we all do it.
The first scene in NA delivers a blood-soaked DOOM chuckle. And there are more. The film revitalizes the ninja genre and brings back the the big bad daddy of all ninjas, Sho Kosugi, in a perfectly tailored role. The fights are frenetic, lots of wirework and CGI, hard to see since they're all wearing black and in the shadows, but satisfying in their ninjaness. It's all digital blood, and you all know my general disdain for that. I want real fluids squirting over the actors and as they dodge lopped off mannequin limbs. There's something that's just too clean about the digital stuff. It's too easy to manipulate. With the real squirts, they have to strive to get it in one take, or they have to clean up a lot. From a martial choreography perspective, I have more respect for that because its more authentic. But I'll let the digital blood slide for NA. Here, the translucency of the sanguine splash was remarkably satisfying. The digital falling limbs were good too. That first DOOM chuckle won me over. It's all about the tongue. The first DOOM chuckle is early, but the film avoid the error that so many martial arts films have made of late. The fights are spaced out well enough, and they build to a climactic final battle, complete with another DOOM chuckle. I'll overlook the poaching of the first kill scene from Casino Royale.
Rain carries the lead role astonishingly well. There's a good in-joke about his looks, but he has a slow-burning depth from his rather controversial and tragic rise to Korean stardom that totally works for this. I'm scheduled to interview him on Monday and am really looking forward to that. Naomi Harris and Anna Sawai carry their roles well as the hotties in peril. Yune scowls well as the villain. Colin was dropped. But it's really all about Sho.
The bottom line of NA is this:
SHO IS BACK!!!
The first scene in NA delivers a blood-soaked DOOM chuckle. And there are more. The film revitalizes the ninja genre and brings back the the big bad daddy of all ninjas, Sho Kosugi, in a perfectly tailored role. The fights are frenetic, lots of wirework and CGI, hard to see since they're all wearing black and in the shadows, but satisfying in their ninjaness. It's all digital blood, and you all know my general disdain for that. I want real fluids squirting over the actors and as they dodge lopped off mannequin limbs. There's something that's just too clean about the digital stuff. It's too easy to manipulate. With the real squirts, they have to strive to get it in one take, or they have to clean up a lot. From a martial choreography perspective, I have more respect for that because its more authentic. But I'll let the digital blood slide for NA. Here, the translucency of the sanguine splash was remarkably satisfying. The digital falling limbs were good too. That first DOOM chuckle won me over. It's all about the tongue. The first DOOM chuckle is early, but the film avoid the error that so many martial arts films have made of late. The fights are spaced out well enough, and they build to a climactic final battle, complete with another DOOM chuckle. I'll overlook the poaching of the first kill scene from Casino Royale.
Rain carries the lead role astonishingly well. There's a good in-joke about his looks, but he has a slow-burning depth from his rather controversial and tragic rise to Korean stardom that totally works for this. I'm scheduled to interview him on Monday and am really looking forward to that. Naomi Harris and Anna Sawai carry their roles well as the hotties in peril. Yune scowls well as the villain. Colin was dropped. But it's really all about Sho.
The bottom line of NA is this:
SHO IS BACK!!!
Shadow boxing the apocalypse