By Brent Snyder (2/24/2022)
Who doesn't love the age old tale a of a young martial artist battling his evil crime lord father with mystical super powers? Especially with comedic sidekicks and portals into fantasy dimensions? But before Marvel tapped into such fantastical family feuding for the 2021 blockbuster "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings," Netflix offered a similar premise in the 2019 martial arts action series "Wu Assassins," which continues with the 2022 follow up movie "Fistful of Vengeance."
The "Wu Assassins" series stood out from other superhero shows with a predominantly Asian-American cast - Indonesian action star Iko Uwais ("The Raid") is joined by Lewis Tan ("Mortal Kombat"), Lawrence Kao ("The Purge"), Bryon Mann ("The Expanse," "Altered Carbon"), Li Jun Li ("The Exorcist"), Celia Au ("Iron Fist") and JuJu Chan ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny").
Uwais stars as Kai Jin, the Wu Assassin of the title, an otherwise mild-mannered Asian food truck chef who is gifted magical martial arts powers to protect the world from the five evil elemental Wu Warlords - Fire, Earth, Water, Wood and Metal. Guest stars portraying various allies and the Wu Warlords include a who's who of genre favorites - Katheryn Winnick ("Vikings"), Mark Dacascos ("John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum"), Tommy Flanagan ("Sons of Anarchy"), Jeff Fahey ("Grindhouse: Planet Terror/Machete"), Summer Glau ("Firefly/Serenity") and Kevin Durand ("The Strain").
"Fistful of Vengeance" - dropping the original "Wu Assassins" from the title - picks up a few months after the events in the series, when the death of a family member leads our heroes to Thailand. Once in Bangkok, team Wu Assassins discover the nightclubs - and party vans - are filled with Chi Vampires, Jiangshi and other mythological creatures. Things go from supernatural to apocalyptic when twins Yin and Yang - the embodiments of power over mind and body - attempt to harness enough energy to resurrect Pangu, the ancient being believed to have created Heaven and Earth. Once unleashed, all life will be destroyed and then recreated anew.
Helping our heroes prevent the villains from giving our world this cosmic do-over are new cast members Francesca Corney as the mysterious fixer Preeya and Pearl Thusi ("Tremors 5: Bloodlines") as ass-kicking Interpol Agent Zama Zulu. The evil twins representing Yin and Yang are portrayed by Rhatha Phongam and Jason Tobin ("F9," "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift").
Thankfully the mystical baddies have an army of mind-controlled foot soldiers that Kai and his friends must furiously battle in a series of epic hand-to-hand (and feet) showdowns all over Thailand. Like the series, the fight choreography and stunt coordination are first rate, the musically diverse soundtrack is slamming, and the set pieces are inventive and fun. Ninja smoke bombs? Check - and we'll throw 007 style flashbang cuff links in on top of that. And in my favorite scene, street food stands provide cutlery and cooking oil as weapons in a blistering Bangkok brawl.
The language, bloodletting and love scenes are all turned up a notch - as is the humor. Each of the different team members get their moments to shine as action heroes and the charming cast appears to be having fun saving the world. The settings are gorgeous - everything is lushly lit in vibrant greens and golds - and the cinematography by director Roel Reine ("Dead in Tombstone," "Dead Again in Tombstone") is at times simply beautiful. Even the costumes are cool. It really is one of the best looking action films I've seen in a long time.
Jessica Chou ("Wu Assassins," "The Boys") wrote the screenplay with Yalun Tu ("Wu Assassins," "NCIS: Hawaii") and Cameron Litvack ("Charmed," "Ugly Betty," "V," "Grimm"). The excellent film score is composed by Toby Chu ("Bao").
By film's end Kai mentions to his friends that he has to go on another mission - this time against a necromancer - but there is no hint as to where the journey will take them. Please, please, please have a "fighting a horde of zombies while on a speeding bullet train" sequence be in the Wu Assassins future. And add "Wu Assassins" back to the title. Please.
Four stars
Comments