2018 martial arts movies to look forward to…
2018 looks like a pretty good year for martial arts films, assuming the films that are
supposed to come out, actually see the light of the day. Here are a few that I’m personally looking forward to:
The Brink - Max Zhang is slowly but surely becoming the new hot name in kung fu cinema and this is the first of his new projects to get a release in 2018. Reviews have been positive and the on-a-boat-during-a-storm fight looks positively bonkers. Trailer
here.
Invincible Dragon - Another Max Zhang film. This time alongside UFC legend, Anderson Silva. Admittedly, not much footage has been released from this one, but the premise seems interesting. Trailer
here.
Master Z: Ip Man Legacy - This is the big one for me. Firstly, it’s an Ip Man spin-off with Max Zhang (again) reprising his role from “Ip Man 3″. Secondly, it’s directed and choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping. Lastly, it co-stars Michelle Yeoh, Dave Bautista
and Tony Jaa. My nipples are hard. No trailer yet.
Bleeding Steel - Jackie Can’s newest. Granted, reviews have not been kind for this one but it looks like a big, silly throwback to 90′s Hong Kong action. Rumors are it doesn’t actually feature a lot of action, but I’m still going to give it a go. Trailer
here.
Triple Threat - Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Tiger Chen, Jeeja Yanin, Michael Jai White, Scott Adkins. This one has the potential to be the martial arts film of the decade. The star-studded cast has be
very interested. Sadly, the trailer didn’t impress me at all. I’m hoping we’ll see more action from the film in early 2018. Trailer
here.
Kung Fu Big League aka Kung Fu Alliance - Again, this could be a big one/. For those that don’t know, it’s basically the Chinese folklore version of “The Expendables”. You’ve got Chen Zen, Ip Man, Wong Fei Hung
and Huo Yuan Jia all in one film. Then you’ve got Vincent Zhao, Danny Chen, Dennis To and Andy On playing them. The choreographer, Xiong Xin Xin, is a bit hit and miss but I have high hopes for this one. No trailer.
Jailbreak - I have my fingers crossed that this film will finally get some kind of US release in 2018. It’s basically Cambodia’s answer to “The Raid”. It’s done a bunch of festival circuits in 2017 and, apparently, people love it. It’s bare-budget but the action is meant to be stellar. Trailer
here.
Buy Bust - This is a Filipino martial arts film with plenty of talent on board. Again, it seems like The Philippines’ answer to “The Raid”. The funny this is, the fight choreographer for this film absolutely
slammed “The Raid” and “The Raid 2″ in a recent interview, saying the films’ fight scenes were boring and repetitive. Ironically, a teaser for this one just got released and while it looks good, the teaser features no martial arts whatsoever. But apparently there will be a bunch of fight scenes in the actual film. Trailer
here.
Big Brother - Donnie Yen’s new one. Apparently it’s going to be an MMA martial arts film. Plot details are scant at the moment but Donnie is starring and serving as action director on this one. He’s promised some great fight scenes on his Facebook page, but no footage has been released yet. I typically don’t like MMA films save for “Warrior” but I have faith in Donnie. No trailer yet.
Enter the Fat Dragon - This
might be a 2019 film as it literally started filming this week, but there’s a possibility it’ll see the light of day in 2018. What more do you want? It’s Donnie Yen, in a fat suit, remaking a Sammo Hung film in which he impersonates Bruce Lee. Now, I don’t know if they’re going for a flat-out comedy with this one but, again, Donnie’s on choreography duties. I’m skeptical but I’m massively intrigued. No trailer.
Accident Man - I run hot and cold when it comes to Scott Adkins. I enjoyed “Undisputed 4″ but this year’s “Savage Dog”, while brutal, just didn’t do it for me. This one looks…”eh” to me. I’m hoping it’s good but the trailer doesn’t really inspire much. Then again, it does have Amy Johnston in it. I haven’t seen her debut (the allegedly terrible “Lady Bloodfight”) but I really like the YouTube fight scenes she’s been in. This one’s based on a seldom read comic book, it seems. Trailer
here.
Re:Born - Technically a 2017 film, but it’s only gotten a Japanese DVD release so far. It’s getting a UK DVD release in…March I think. Tak Sakaguchi is back! “Who’s he?” you ask. He’s the dude from “Versus”. “What’s that?” you ask. It doesn’t matter. He’s a pretty good on screen fighter with a brooding acting style.
Reviews for this one haven’t been overly positive. It was marketed as being Japan’s last true martial arts film, with the choreographers inventing a brand new fight system for the film. Well, it sounds like the action scenes are badly edited (much like
most modern martial arts cinema). I’ll still give it a purchase once it gets released. Trailer
here.
I think that’s about it. I’m sure others will pop up here and there but these are the ones I know of. I’m pretty excited for 2018 when it comes to action cinema. I’m just hoping that at least fifty percent of these projects deliver.
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