Death Race 2

Title: Death Race 2

Director:  Roel Reine
Released: 2011
Starring: Luke Goss, Fred Koehler, Taint Phoenix, Robin Shou, Lauren Cohan, Danny Trejo, Ving Rhames, Sean Bean

Plot: Set before the events of the original film as getaway driver Carl “Luke” Lucas (Goss) is sent to Terminal Island after a failed bank robbery. Here the Weyland Corporation currently run their televised gladiatorial fights known as “Death Match”. However with the audience waning a new event is needed and that event is “Death Race”

Review: A direct to DVD prequel to the surprisingly good Paul W.S. Anderson remake, who this time returns only to take on producing and scripting duties, while the directing reigns are handed over to Direct to DVD regular and favourite of WWE Studios Roel Reine.

With Jason Statham clearly not interested in returning here instead we get a prequel with direct to DVD regular Luke Goss taking over the leading man duties as he once more wheels out his bargain bin Statham act. At the same time its films like this which only serve to make me question what exactly Guillermo del Toro did to get such a great performance out of him in “Blade 2” and “Hellboy 2: The Golden Army” two films which are continually used to hock these lesser films and give the illusion of someone of some star power being involved. Here though it is a pretty charm free experience as we get a lot of gruff machismo as he essentially plays the same character that Statham did in the first film. Just one of the many moments of déjà vu which run through this film to say the least.

Joining Goss we see fellow Direct to DVD regular Danny Trejo who shows up as Luke’s mechanic Goldberg the only Mexican Jew. Tanit Phoenix meanwhile gets to provide the titillation as Luke’s navigator / love intrest and who like her character like all the female characters here has been drafted in solely for the purpose of providing sex appeal, more so when she shares zero chemistry with Goss. Ving Rhames and Sean Bean meanwhile continue their journey to direct to DVD fame with Bean putting in a fun villainous turn as Luke’s former crime boss employer. Only two member of cast return from the first film being Fred Koehler who appears once more as Lists the compulsive data collector while Robin Shou also returns as the Triad gangster 14K though sadly is once more given far too little to do.

Clearly aiming to fill in the gaps in the franchise history as we return to Terminal Island where currently they run gladiatorial battles to the death between the prisoners. The battles taking place in an arena filled with the same kind of pressure pads that we have in the races to release weapons. This in itself isn’t a bad idea to provide a gateway into the creation of the races, what is a bad idea is to spend half the film focused on these fights scenes especially when you’re selling the film under the “Death Race” header in a move that left me kind of confused to say the least. This wouldn’t have been a major problem if the fights had been shot with any kind of style or featured capable fighters both of which the film is lacking and further hindered by these scenes being largely shot with quick cuts and shaky camerawork which makes them hard to follow and this is before we watch Luke and the films main villain Big Bill (Oparei) engage in a flame thrower fight which might sound awesome but when you see the weedy flames these things produce, there is never any sense that either of them is in any kind of danger.

Once the film finally remembers that it’s supposed to be about you know a “Death Race” we get even more fighting as there are too many inmates for the vehicles they have. When it comes to the race segments for some reason they choose to just recycle the same vehicles from the first film only with different drivers and considering that all but two of these vehicles are destroyed by the end of the film, you have to question why they rolled out the same vehicles for the race in the first film especially when they are supposed to be using vehicles being broken down by the prison.

Unlike the first film the race scenes here pale in comparison thanks largely due to some clumsy direction and the shots of the drivers frequently appearing like they sitting in stationary cars. This however is not to say that the film is without its own standout moments, as the races manage to pull out a few surprises but when they are shot with such rapid cuts with none of the lingering shots or fancy car work of the first film you can’t help but assume that your just watching race footage cut out of the first film rather than anything specifically shot for the film. Why these scenes are so poor is something of mystery especially when we have the scenes of Luke’s getaway driving during the bank heist which are enjoyable enough, even if Reine has a strange obsession with shooting things in slow motion even if they don’t need to be perhaps in an attempt to raise the film about its budget limitations.

Hampered by questionable action scenes and a plodding script let alone one of the most boring and pointless sex scenes ever which does little for the audience unless they wanted to see the bare ass of Luke Goss which is put on full display here. The film does atleast try to fill in some of the blanks left by the first film, such as why all the navigators are female and how the races were created while the ending clearly has been done to set up the events of the first film, something which is essentially undone by the third film which is something of a shame when it perfectly explains how Frankenstein came to be.

Essentially the sequel you’d expect it to be especially considering the release type, its only the made the more frustrating when the film constantly hints at a better film lurking underneath that could have made this a more memorable sequel had the direction been tighter and the action scenes more traditionally shot as such this is really worth giving a miss or for the completists only.

Arena

Title:  Arena

Director:  Peter Manoogian

Released:  1989
Starring: Paul Satterfield, Hamilton Camp, Claudia Christian, Marc Alaimo, Shari Shattuck, Armin Shimerman, Michael Deak, Ken Clark

Plot: In the year 4038 an intergalactic boxing style sport simply known as “The Arena” takes place on an isolated space station. Now short order cook Steve (Satterfield) prepares to compete as the first human in 50 years to enter the contest.  

 

Review:  Back when the “Rocky” franchise was in its death throws following the abysmal “Rocky 5” there was an enduring rumour that the next film would see Rocky sent into space for some intergalactic boxing. I mean it worked for Muhammad Ali Vs. Superman so why not for the Italian stallion aswell? Thankfully this idea never happened but for those who felt it was a good idea, unsurprisingly via Charles Brand who ran with the idea for this DTV release which would be one of the last films to be distributed by his “Empire International Pictures” label a few years before it folded, with Band going on to form the now legendry “Full Moon Pictures”. Its also a film which I remember originally watching as a kid when my dad rented it for me from the video shop, based just on the fact I thought the cover was cool.

Paul Satterfield here plays the aspiring fighter Steve Armstrong who dreams of fighting in “The Arena” were humans have been essentially counted out as lesser fighters unable to compete with the more dominate races which it attracts. However after he unwittingly knocks out an arena fighter he finds himself being given a shot via Quinn (Christian) whose fighter he left unable to compete. At the same time his six armed best friend Shorty manages to land them both on the radar of the underworld boss Rogor (Alaimo) who is also the manager of the current champion Horn (Deak).

Encase its not clear already, this film honestly could not be more of a Rocky clone if it tried as here we get the underdog fighter aiming for the title and battling against the heavily stacked odds to make it. We even get a number of bizarre training sequences including one where Steve spars with a T-rex looking alien called Stitches who has tiny arms and essentially is there just to be punched by Steve. At the same time it’s also a film when there’s not a fight happening the film starts to drag.

It’s a shame that this film doesn’t have a tighter script as there really is something here with Manoogian creating a believable “Star Wars” inspired world full of interesting character / alien designs who inhabit the station and who are brought to life via practical effects, with some elements of stop motion for some of the bigger creatures. Instead due to the hit and miss script the film is left to try and carry itself on the entertaining fight sequences with questionable results.

Satterfield is a likeable lead and here receives strong support from the rest of the cast who include cult sci-fi legend Claudia Christian who brings her usual sultry charms to this film several years before she got her breakout role on “Babylon 5”. Marc Alaimo makes for a decent if subtle villain which is hardly surprising that he chooses to play it this way when he comes with his sneaky and appropriately henchman Weezil played by the legendry character actor Armin Shimerman as well as his fighter Horn, a monosyllable monitor who seemingly can’t say anything without turning it into a brag about his abilities.
 

The fight scenes are pretty varied while at the same time are equally varied in their quality, with the setup of the arena meaning that Steve can essentially put up against any fantastical creation that Manoogian could cram into the film. What only adds to this is that while in the arena, both fighters are balanced via a handicap system so that neither fighter has an advantage over the other while also meaning that we get to see such fun scenes as Steve taking on the towering Sloth with some sense of believability, even if the matches frequently seems to be wildly one sided even with this supposed handicap in place.  The fact that the film is using practical effects though only helps these scenes as they have the sense of presence that you just don’t get with CGI effects.
 

It frustrating when the fight scenes are so fun that the scenes inbetween are frequently so tedious with Steve lusting over Rogor’s girlfriend or the unfocused direction of his character who whines about coming to the station to compete, only to turn down the shot when its offered to him. We also have him wanting to head back to Earth only again to change his mind as soon as he gets enough for a ticket. As such it drags things down and really stalls the pacing of the film, especially when it leaves you hankering for the next fight scene.

While a flaws film it’s still watchable enough to give it a casual glance even if its to say you’ve seen “Rocky in Space”!

Dawg Fight

Title: Dawg Fight
Director: Billy Corben
Released: 2015

Plot: Documentary looking at the highly illegal world of backyard fighting

 

Review: West Perrine, Florida is a ghetto in the Southwest Miami-Dade County, whose population is 73% African-American, with more than a third unemployed, while most of the male population are expected to end up either dead or in prison before their 30^th birthday. It is also home to Dhafir “Dada 5000” Harris, who runs from his mother’s backyard, highly illegal let alone brutal bare knuckle fights which are filmed and put onto youtube, with the fighters hoping that it will provide a gateway into the big leagues of MMA.

Directed by Billy Corben (Cocaine Cowboys, The U, Broke) who spent two years following Dada who prior to becoming the Don King of Backyard fighting, spent a year as MMA fighter and former fellow backyard fighter Kimbo Slice’s bodyguard and whose manager refused to release footage of Dada’s fight for fear of overshadowing Kimbo’s career. Now he organises fights were the winners fight for as little as $200 and were the fights take place in a homemade 12”x12” ring, with fighters having no protection other than a mouth guard and fights using ending in knockout or a fighter quitting. Unquestionably this is brutal world which Corben chooses to focus his lense on as he fully immerses himself in this ultra-violent world, which from the outside might seem like just senseless violence, but to Dada he see’s it as a way for the fighters to support themselves and help the failing local economy. More so when a large percentage of the fighters have criminal records which prevent them from finding more traditional means of income.
It’s a belief that the local police also seem to share as they continue to allow these the fights to continue as despite the basic setup still manage to attract large crowds of not just fight fans, but also equally fired up groups of mothers and children, who climb the surrounding trees and buildings when they can’t afford the entrance fee. The fights unintentionally perhaps serving as moral boosts for the local community as they get behind their favourite fighters, while strangely unfazed by the brutality of these fights. Meanwhile grudges which might have previously have been settled on the streets are now settled in the ring, while for many the fights give them a purpose to aim for and a reason to stay away from the temptations of crime or gang life which so many fall into.

Despite his imposing size at 6’3”, 270lbs, Dada is very much a gentle giant, that’s of course as long as you’re not facing him in the ring. At the same time he is probably the last person you’d expect to be a community leader, as he commands respect from everyone around him, while proving himself a natural showman with his funny and charismatic attitude, though more surprisingly he isn’t making large amounts of money from these fights as most of the money being made is given back to the fighters, while he is shown even ensuring that an injured fighter gets paid despite not being able to finish his fight.  Of course Dada eventually by the end of the documentary he has to decide if he is to take his own shot at a professional MMA career when it is offered or to stick with his current path of running his backyard fights which appear to benefit everyone bar himself.

While Dada might be the main focus here, as the documentary progresses, several fighters also work their way into the narrative, such as the brash Treon “Trees” Johnson who are all looking to go pro though as we see the threats of the world which they come from remain ever present as seen when two of these fighters are tragically killed.

Shot with a gritty eye for detail, the fights are shot from multiple angles while Corben frequently adds artistic elements to emphases the damage these fighters inflict on each other, while even slowing down the noise of the crowd during some of the more intense moments, so that it almost seems like they are speaking in tongues, as they shout on their encouragement. Even outside of the fights there is a wealth of interesting scenes, from a group of ladies excitedly talking about their favourite fighters, kids singing along to the profanity heavy rap music which soundtracks the events through to Dada and his team giving pep talks to fighters here he manages to truly emerse the viewer inside this world.

The documentary comes with perfect timing, especially with these fights now being cracked down on let alone heavily frowned upon by the MMA world as they risk the sport being banned as a by-product of these fights, despite a number of fighters such as Kimbo Slice and Tank Abbot being recruited from the backyards leagues after their fights caught the interest of fight promoters.

An engaging documentary which limits its audience due to its gritty violence, while perhaps not looking at the conflict between the professional MMA leagues and the backyards they frequently pooled talent from. Still for MMA fans they may find much to enjoy here, while the training montages and dedication these fighters show is nothing short of inspiring, much like their fight to escape the streets which they come from and for that it is worth giving it a watch for an alternative to the usual tales of life on the streets.

**Author Note: Review originally published on The Armchair Sociologist

Streets of Fire

Title: Streets of Fire

Director: Walter Hill
Released: 1984

Starring: Michael Pare, Diane Lane, Rick Moranis, Amy Madigan, Willem Dafoe, Elizabeth Daily, Van Valkenburgh

Plot: When Tom’s (Pare) ex-girlfriend and singer Ellen (Lane) is kidnapped by the biker gang the Bombers, he sets out to get her back putting him on a collision course with Raven (Dafoe) the leader of the Bombers

Review: While director Walter Hill will no doubt always be best remembered for “The Warriors”, alongside Joe Dante he has probably one of the most underrated back catalogues of any director, which is something this film only further emphasises. This film also is another example of what happens when a director is given free reign to make exactly the film as we’ve seen with the likes of Darren Aronofsky’s “The Fountain” and Zack Snyder’s “Sucker Punch” and well pretty much every movie that Quentin Tarantino has made it would seem.

So for Hill these loves would seemingly be fast cars, motorcycles, wisecracking tough guys, neon signs and brawling  in the street, while mixing up elements of 1950’s Americana within an 80’s setting with the results being certainly interesting to say the least, much like the shooting style which Hill brings to the film. Shot like a neo-noir while breaking off frequently on music video style tangents he also includes extended performance footage throughout the film, often seemingly dropped in at random or so it would certainly seem at the points these moments appear throughout the film making it almost a forerunner to “Sin City” only with added music video elements.

Much like “The Warriors” this film pretty seems to be set in its own enclosed world, were the police don’t seem to care to much about spontaneous street brawls or even bikers randomly walking into a concert and kidnapping the lead singer. This is unquestionably a world which runs to Hill’s unique set of rules. Perhaps though because the film is played with such a sense of fun that these frequently random things are never questioned. Still as random as the film might be with its shooting style (never mind the plotting) it is certainly hard to fault the unique mixure of eclectic characters that Hill populates his unnamed city with, with Tom making for a great lead. A soldier of fortune, he is essentially a stone cold badass who is mere minutes in town before he is shown throwing bikers through a diner window. Thankfully Pare knows his way around a one liner which helps to separate him from the line of disposable one shot action heroes that 80’s cinema was littered with, only making it more of a shame that Hill never got to make the intended trilogy he had planned for his character, with sequels being set in snow and desert settings. Ultimately though the closest we have got to a sequel is the unofficial one “Road to Hell” via cult favourite Albert Pyun which saw Pare reprising the role of Cody.

Its not only the unique setting which Hill plays around here, as he plays actors against type a he memorably makes Rick Moranis a foul mouthed tough guy wannabe, rather than having him rerun through his usual bumbling goofball style of characters and while it’s the polar opposite than what we’ve grown used to seeing him play it is a risk which plays off, especially as Moranis brings the right amount of sleaze as he manager and current boyfriend of Ellen who frequently seems to care more about getting his investment and scoring points off Cody than he does about Ellen. The real standout though is the tomboy ex-soldier and mechanic McCoy a part fought for by Madigan who despite originally being brought in to read for the role of Cody’s sister Reva (eventually played by Valenburgh) ended up fighting for the role of McCoy which Hill ended up changing from being the more traditional portly sidekick to her current form here which ultimately pays off as Madigan makes for the perfect counter to Pare’s Cody with the two making such a fun team it only makes it only the more sadder that the intended trilogy never happened.

When it comes to filling the bad guy quota Dafoe makes for a suitably creepy villain which seems to always be the way with these early roles, were he generally just seemed to be creepy and constantly giving toothy shark like grins which is pretty much what we get here only with the added bonus of PVC overalls which hardly seem to be the most biker of outfits and perhaps more of a kinky redneck look, yet for some reason it seems to strangely work here, even if the rest of the Bombers look like they have been torn straight out of the “The Wild One”. As Raven though he frequently rides the fringe of psychosis, though constantly seems to be able to keep things under control until the finale were he finally lets loose challenging Cody to a sledgehammer street fight.  This finale though does ultimately feel slightly anticlimactic when compared to the rest of the film, maybe due to studio tinkering guiding it more towards a more ratings friendly ending, rather than the ending that Hill had planned. Unquestionably though the journey which Hill takes us on is such a fun one that it’s easy to overlook, especially when  he once again crafts some great set pieces including Cody leading an attack on the Bombers clubhouse, were he gets to showcase his crack shot skills to great effect.

Despite being a box office flop on its release this film has since gone onto become a cult favourite and its easy to understand why, especially as its such a fun and fast paced film with some fun retro dialogue which perfectly matches this head on collision of styles and ideas. Unquestionably this is a unique film to say the least and like so many film in Hill's back catalogue it is certainly worth hunting down, if only to check out Dafoe in PVC overalls!

Part of "Forgotten Films" 1984 Blogathon, so why not check out the site for more 80's madness

Goon

Title: Goon

Director: Michael Dowse

Released: 2011
Starring:  Seann William Scott, Live Schreiber, Jay Baruchel, Marc-Andre Grondin, Alison Pill, Eugene Levy, David Paetkau, Kim Coates, Jonathan Cherry

Plot: Doug (Scott) a simple bouncer blessed with remarkable fighting skills and a thick skull suddenly finds himself drafted to his local hockey team as an enforcer (aka Goon) as he suddenly finds a new use for his unique skill set.

Review: For whatever reason soon after this film was released it seemingly sank without trace, more so here in the UK were honestly we don’t exactly have a vibrant Ice Hockey scene and which might have had a lot to do with its current under the radar status, despite receiving a fair amount of praise from the critics on its release.

Playing like “Raging Bull” meets “Slap Shot” it is strange mixture of black humour and extreme violence which forms the back bone of this film, which might go a way to explaining why it’s become such an overlooked film as like a John Water’s film it is an acquired taste and one which really won’t sit with everyone especially as most moviegoers prefer to either be amused or shocked with violence but ideally not at the same time. Still when you consider that ice hockey is a sport renown for its spontaneous fights it is hardly surprisingly that they is the mixture that director Dowse choose to go with.

While Williams might be best known for playing the loud mouth jerk and general pervert Stiffler in the “American Pie” films, he has actually done quite a few decent movies outside of this franchise which have frequently shown him to have more range than expected with key examples being “Final Destination” and my personal favourite “Southland Tales” which saw him playing the polar opposite of the characters we have come to expect from him. This again is another of those kinds of roles as despite the fact that here he is playing a guy whose sole purpose in life is to beat the snot out of rival hockey players, it is played with such heart that you really feel for the guy, even more so when all he ultimately wants is to viewed as being more than the black sheep of the family, especially when both his father (Levy) and brother are doctors a family field which it seems alluded him somewhere on the path to his current situation.

Despite not knowing how to skate, which is kind of a major setback when you’ve been drafted to an ice hockey team, it is of course via montage that Doug is soon brought up to standard in record time. Not that this really matters as Doug is frequently advised to worry less about playing the game and to focus more on beating up members of the rival team, a job which he certainly has no problem adapting to and one which soon sees him being drafted to protect the star player of the Halifax Highlander Xavier Laflamme (Grondin) who following a run in three years prior with the notorious enforcer (aswell as Doug’s idol) Ross “The Boss” Rhea” (Schreiber) has found his career in a specular nose dive of drugs, sex tapes and general bad behaviour a spiral that they hope Doug can snap him out of by defending him on the ice. Of course it goes without saying that the outcome of this situation is pretty predictable as you know how the film will end essentially around the half-way point by which point your focus is no doubt more with the inevitable final showdown between Doug and his idol Rhea.

Meanwhile off the ice things get none the less chaotic especially when Doug find himself falling for “Puck Bunny” Eva (Pill) which also forms some of the sweeter moments of the film, especially when the Doug’s general naivety is none the more the clearer than it is here, especially when he beats himself up for falling for her, even though she is the one cheating on her boyfriend. If anything these scenes equally emphases what a generally nice guy Doug is even though he could be seen as a mindless thug because of his rather unique career path, with the pinnacle of these nice guy moments coming soon after he gets with Eva and forces her ex-boyfriend to repeatedly punch him in the face to make things up.

As the villain (of sorts) Schreiber is once again on great form, while once again posing the question as to why he doesn’t get more villain roles, especially as he is so good in these roles and here it is no exception. Despite being a player nearing the end of his career, it would however seem that his senior years haven’t made him the more mellow in fact it seems that it has made his perfect his antagonising tactics and being a general arsehole to everyone on the ice, while ignoring him seems to only make things worse as Xavier finds out when he gets a hockey stick wrapped across his skull. At the same time though Ross isn’t a psychotic hothead as you’d expect but rather a soft spoken and foul mouth guy who just so happens to love the fight especially if he can get into his opponents head first.

I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised about the level of violence in this film, as after all it a film about Ice Hockey, much less a Canadian film about Ice Hockey so while the passion for the sport is unsurprisingly there, so is the passion for the fighting which tends to go hand in hand with the sport with a multiple of unwritten rule regarding conduct in these seemingly spontaneous fights. These fights though are less about heavily choreographed fights especially when most of the time they seem to have been shot on the fly with Doug pounding on any skater who steps up, but instead are shot with emphasising the violence as blows are show being taken in slow motion to maximise their effect and with the same artistic direction which “Raging Bull” brought to its own fight scenes. The end result though is somewhat refreshing to watch, especially as blood and teeth fall in slow motion onto the ice providing a nice counter to the general crudeness of the rest of the film and only serves to make the final showdown between Ross and Doug only all he more memorable.

While this film is unquestioning one which will appeal to Ice Hockey fans over anyone else might play as a negative to some viewers especially those not overly familiar with the basic workings of the sport, as it seems that Dowse assumes that only fans of the sports would be watching it seeing how there is no real explanation of any of the rules etc. The man issue I had with this film though was the general lack of characterisation for the majority of the characters resulting in most of them being reduced to general caricatures.

True the weird mixture of violence and humour might not be to all tastes this is still a film with its share of great moments, even if at times it can be a frustrating watch as the plot meanders in places, but if you’re in need of a fix of warped humour then you can do worse than giving this a curious watch.

Only God Forgives

Title: Only God Forgives
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Released: 2012
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Tom Burke, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vithaya Pansringarm

Plot: Julian (Gosling) runs a Thai boxing club as a front for his family’s drug business, alongside his brother Billy (Burke). When his brother is killed by the vengeful father of an underage prostitute he murdered. Now with his mother’s (Scott Thomas) sudden arrival, Julian now finds himself dispatched on a mission of vengeance, one which will soon see him on a collision course with Lieutenant Chang (Pansringarm) the “Angel of Vengeance”.

 

Review: Director Refn recently told the LA Film festival

“Drive was like getting the best cocaine and doing it all night long. But Only God Forgives is like doing acid. Not the kind where you sit in a chair and see things – the kind of good acid where you become the chair.”

It’s an interesting comparison and one which is probably best used to explain this film, as this eagerly awaited follow up to the critically acclaimed and Oscar overlooked “Drive” is like its predecessor anything but a straightforward film. Still what could you really expect when the film is also dedicated to Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky, the surrealist film maker and midnight movie favourite who equally seems to be a key influence at play here, as Refn plays with revenge movie conventions to craft a truly surreal movie and one which is no doubt going to lead to another round of cinema walkouts which I saw with “Drive”, when the average movie goer realises that the film they have come to see is nothing like the film sold in the trailer, much less the ones drawn in by the prospect of once more seeing a rough and ready Ryan Gosling.

Julian much like Driver in “Drive” is a man of few words, detached from society outside of his crew and the voyeuristic sessions he spends with prostitute Mai (Yayaying Rhatha Phongam), though their relationship never progresses beyond this, despite Refn frequently hinting at deeper feelings between these two characters, such an invitation to an ultimately ill-fated diner with his mother or from the way she watches him during his confrontation with Chang. These are ultimately passing moments which never progress any further as Refn refuses once again to give into convention. Julian’s general nature though can be credited largely to his mother, who sweeps into his life like a whirlwind of spite and foul language, demanding revenge for her lost son from Julian while frequently humiliating him at any given opportunity, especially when drawing comparisons between him and his brother with her praise for Billy frequently verging on incestuous as she even at one point even comments on the size of Billy’s cock. It is a volatile performance which Scott Thomas gives here aswell one which keeps frequently has been compared to that of Ben Kingsley in "Sexy Beast", though I would personally say it would be a more noteworthy comparison if I could remember anything else she had been in.

The real draw here though is Pansringarm who like Christoph Waltz in “Inglorious Basterds” pretty much steals the film away, with his zen like performance of Chang who frequently dishes out his own brand of sword welding vigilante justice, which seems him skipping over the paper work and court system and instead hacking off limbs as he more than lives up to his title as the angel of vengeance, ruling he city unopposed and only putting his unrelenting mission of justice on hold to engage in Karaoke sessions, usually watched with transfixed gazes from his officers.

Reuniting his “Drive” production team, Refn moves the action from grime of LA to the Neon lit sleaze of Bangkok to create a film which while comparable to his previous film is at the same time a very different beast altogether and one which seems to be splitting critics in a way I’ve not since the Richard Kelly’s much discussed “Southland Tales”. Meanwhile its untraditional plotting means it is also a film requiring patience and an open mind, especially when it frequently seems like a disconnected series of vigilantes, even more so when they often seem so detached and self enclosed from each other. The end result is unquestionably dizzying and at time surreal, while one which left me wondering how the hell I was going to review this movie.

The other main issue here is that Refn has chosen to tell his story with a collection of such un-redeeming individuals, that it can be at times be hard to stomach the story we are being sold, especially when it essentially a tale of bad people doing very bad things to each other and more often than not anyone who happens to stumble into their world, while collateral damage frequently seems to be at a premium. For the more established fans of Refn’s work this will no doubt bring back memories of his earlier films such as his “Pusher” trilogy which equally featured its own share of morally questionable characters and like this film chooses not to paint everything in clear cut black and white but rather varying shades of grey.

Like “Drive” violence is never far from these character, however unlike “Drive” which restrained its violent impulses until its final reels, here the violence is spread out while slowly escalating as the film progresses to the showdown between Julian and Chang. This however is not Hollywood violence as Refn instead aims for realistic violence, as Julian is left bloody and bruised after his confrontation with Chang, so much so that it the once good looks of Gosling are reduced to a bloody and bruised mess. Elsewhere a spectacularly failed hit on Chang, only further racks up the collateral damage total, as bullets shred bodies shot in slow motion, as Chang sits with his men completely unfazed by the carnage erupting around him.

This really won’t be a movie which appeals to everyone, but then Refn has continually been a director operating on the fringes of popularity. Still despite the subject matter being often hard to stomach, here he continues to show himself still an exciting film maker aswell as one clearly still playing by his own rules.  Even now looking back at this film several days later it is a film I still find myself still trying to work out, while if like “Southland Tales” it will stand up to repeated viewings is something yet to be seen.