God bless Bruce Lee, Robert Clouse and the forty minutes of - TopicsExpress

God bless Bruce Lee, Robert Clouse and the forty minutes of archive footage used to complete ‘Game of Death, 1978’. Lee penned the script and was supposed to direct the film before he died of cerebral edema, whilst filming. In the original script, the center-point of the film where the action takes place; was to be shot at a pagoda, a sacred Oriental architecture where ammunition is not permitted. What we see today is a disjointed narrative with the pagoda scene as the main attraction, or the only sequence where the keen viewer gets to watch the legend for the last time. The way Bruce Lee laid out the structure of the pagoda was by adding levels to the structure and each level had an opponent with a different martial arts style that Lee would defeat, to reach the gang’s boss (symbolic to God). The forty minutes are philosophically layered as we watch Lee defeating the bad guys at their own combat disciplines (Eskrima, Silat, etc.) and also getting tired. For you see, as each level is completed by defeating the opponent the difficulty level rises tenfold. His last encounter with Karim Abdul Jabbar was the last genuine scene, with the real Bruce Lee in the film. Jabbar was a student of Lee and in his scenes he mimics Lee as he fights back using the techniques of Jeet Kune Do. After the ‘Jabbar Level’ the movie abruptly ends after sometime without any explanation or closure. Filming action sequences the ‘pagoda level’ style has now become common in most mediums, and thirty six years later it is still as fresh and compelling as the yellow and black track suit – and also quite effective. Which brings us to the sequel of a surprise Indonesian blockbuster that took the world by storm, ‘The Raid: Redemption, 2011’. This was after ‘Ong-bak, 2003’ and the sequels it spawned. Similar theme runs throughout the latter film as our protagonist, Petchtai Wongkamlao (The Bodyguard, 2004 and ‘The Protector, 2005) fights a cavalry of men to reach god, beat him and get his elephant back. Simple. Not one bit. In Raid 2 the film starts from where it had ended, back in 2011 - Rama, Iko Uwais (Merantau, 2009 and Man of Tai Chi, 2013) teams up with Internal Affairs to take down dirty cops. The plot requires Rama to go undercover and get jailed to get close to the son of a mafia boss. The rest is easy to follow. What defies reason and physics is the fluidity with which the fights have been choreographed and in some cases improvised. There were loads of broken limbs and ribs to fix during and after filming. The attack and the defense are not rigid, as a matter of fact the economy of motion is in abundance; so much so that sometimes you have to pause and rewind just to watch ‘the maneuver’, again and again. Yes, some of the kicks are that good. Coupled with the eclectic direction of Gareth Evans (The Raid: Redemption and Merantau, 2009) the film packs a solid punch, many a limbs ripped apart by a slight arm movement and some gore; like never seen before in a ‘cops and robbers’’ narrative. The camera is fluent and alive and conscious of its surroundings. The film is shot using many techniques including wide ‘Riefenstahl-styled’ shots to Raimi ‘Dutch angles’, when the fighters are on the ground; their legs and upper torsos entangled. Raid 2 also pays homage to ‘Oldboy, 2003’ and that’s hands down eye-candy. The film takes roughly fifteen minutes before we are in the thick. The jail-yard fight, the underground subway sequence, the three henchmen with skills of a Bond Villain; it’s overwhelming and quick. Evans crafts his scenes in chaos that ultimately simmers down (or up) with fluid movement, unpredictability of the craft, and a hard-to-believe blend of fighting techniques. The sound mixing is one of the characters in the film and pushes the film in to the realm of aesthetics and shock, if not gore (shown as a matter of fact or reaction), which isnt there just because it has to be. Another tour de force to reckon with is actor Yayan Ruhian as the long haired bearded Prakoso. You might remember him from the first film as ‘Mad Dog’, the top henchman of the boss, a disheveled man who is simply undefeatable and also (spoiler) kills one of the top-billed guys (Joe Taslim) from the first film. And it takes two heavy duty martial artists to finally take him down (spoiler ends). In Raid 2, he plays an assassin; taking down two dozen men at a time. However it is during the nod to ‘Kill Bill, 2003’ and The Crazy 88 that we see a heart-wrenching defeat-immortal. Raid 2 is classy, with its expensive suits and shoes and set-pieces; carefully torn to splinters by the end of the deal. The colours are flashy and the hero, Rama, has the look of boy, but when he means business then it’s ‘oh boy’. This is a superior film that can be enjoyed by fans of all genres, except existential angst. There are no fancy terms like that to explain the film as the angst surfaces and beats the shit out of everyone. Keep an eye out for the respect shown to Scorsese as the film opens. Also, remember the line; ‘throw it back.’