As many of us head back to work for another year, I’ve put together something to distract them from it – a collection of a dozen sweet as action movies we have on the way.
I’ve avoided the big comic book adaptations – with one very R-rated exception – and the next Star Wars movie too, in favour of films more befitting a blog named Fists, Bullets and Blades. Brutal survival/revenge saga The Revenant is already out, so that doesn’t make the list, despite featuring some of the most amazing action direction you’re likely to see this year (or any other).
Enough preamble, let’s get to it.
John Wick 2
UNDATED, BUT DUE IN 2016
The most exciting action of 2016 is unquestionably the sequel to Keanu Reeves’ greatest recent film. The original was an instant cult classic, mainly thanks to its amazing combat sequences and their emphasis on ridiculously stylistic gun-fu. The sequel promises more of the same, so I’m well on-board, but I’m also excited to learn more about the uber cool assassin underworld they only hinted at in the first one. Alongside Reeves we’ll have Ruby Rose, Bridget Moynahan, Peter Stormare, Ian McShane, Common, John Leguizamo and Laurence Fishburne. So it’s also a little Matrix reunion as well. Mint.
Boyka: Undisputed
UNDATED, BUT DUE IN 2016
The fourth Undisputed film will almost certainly have the best-choreographed and directed unarmed combat scenes of 2016. Delayed by several years after piracy crippled revenue for the last one, the worldwide army of Scott Adkins fans have been crying out for more Boyka and finally they’re going to get it. If you haven’t seen these prison fight tournament films you really should, in particular Undisputed III, as film fights don’t really come any better. There’s only a 15 second teaser out so far, but it features enough dazzling Adkins kicks to ensure Boyka’s return won’t disappoint.
The Nice Guys
IN CINEMAS MAY 26
Shane Black knows a thing or two about buddy action-comedies, being behind greats like Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Long Kiss Goodnight. After the massive success of his Iron Man 3, he’s returning to his primary genre with Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling as the leads. And it looks fucking amazing. Normally I don’t like trailers that give away as much as the red band one for this does (above), but it is just such a wildly entertaining clip I can’t stop watching it. Feels good in this motherfucker!
Green Room
DUE IN CINEMAS MARCH
Jeremy Saulnier’s follow-up to the excellent Blue Ruin blew people away at Cannes and Toronto last year and should be released in New Zealand some time soon. It follows a young punk rock band that find themselves trapped in a secluded venue after stumbling upon a horrific act of violence. The perpetrators – a gang of white power terrorists – don’t want any witnesses, so trouble ensures for our young musicians. Most reviews describe a tremendously intense film with full-on graphic violence. I loved Blue Ruin a lot and sincerely hope Green Room makes the big screen here.
Untitled Bourne Sequel
IN CINEMAS JULY 28
Filmmaker Paul Greengrass has reunited with Matt Damon for their third Bourne film together and we’re getting it this year. Damon has teased a big car chase on the Las Vegas strip in the third act, which sounds terrific, and while plot details are thin it’ll be interesting seeing Bourne in the “post-Snowden world” they’ve mentioned. The Mission: Impossible franchise has been firing on all cylinders with its last two films, both released since the last real Bourne film in 2007. I’m keen to see if Greengrass rises to their challenge and really hope his shaky cam style doesn’t spoil any action thrills, as it occasionally has done in the past.
Close Range
UNDATED, BUT DUE IN 2016
The one film on this list I have actually watched, this is another Scott Adkins vehicle directed by the great Isaac Florentine, although it’s not as satisfying as their Ninja or Undisputed works. A simplistic old-school action throwback, Adkins plays an ex-military outlaw going up against a Mexican cartel and corrupt sheriff’s department. There’s a shitload of gunfights that are generally only mildly entertaining, punctuated by some fistfights that are absolutely brilliant – see the above clip as an example. The film releases on DVD, Blu-ray and digital in early March here and I’ll have some more to say about it closer to the time.
London Has Fallen
IN CINEMAS MARCH 17
I was very pleasantly surprised with how insane and violent Olympus Has Fallen was. It starred Gerard Butler as a John McClane type, wasting hundreds of North Korean terrorists as they tried to take over the White House in glorious R-rated bloodiness. There was some bad CGI and unclear action direction, sure, but there was also several knife-to-skull kills among the gratuitous gun deaths, and the unapologetically ridiculous plot was wickedly amusing. The sequel promises more of the same, only the action will be spread across the UK’s capital rather than confined to Obama’s pad.
The Purge 3
DUE IN CINEMAS JULY
I didn’t bother with the first Purge, but the second was a hell of a lot of fun, evoking films like The Warriors and Escape from New York. A contemporary America with absolutely no laws for an evening is a simple set-up with limitless sequel opportunity and I hope they up the ante in this third film. Frank Grillo is an awesome onscreen action presence and it’s choice as seeing him kick arse for the underdogs. There’s little known about the plot, with some reports of it being a prequel and others refuting that, but writer/director James DeMonaco is back along with Grillo and that’s good enough for me.
Mechanic: Resurrection
DUE IN CINEMAS AUGUST
Jason Statham has developed a hugely respectable action star career, even though there’s not a lot of his films I really love. After Olivier Megaton ruined the Transporter franchise and with no third Crank even being talked about, it’s been a while since we’ve had a great Statham film, aside from his marvelous supporting effort in Fast & Furious 7. That could all change with this. A sequel to the 2011 remake of the Charles Bronson classic, director Dennis Gansel is picking up where Simon West left off, as Statham’s character is coerced into returning to the international hitman game. It’ll be the first film of German Gansel’s I’ve seen and I hope to be impressed.
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
IN CINEMAS OCTOBER 20
Who doesn’t love Tom Cruise? Silly billies, I guess, because he’s one of the coolest dudes ever. He was great as the lead in 2012 film Jack Reacher, a fun Hollywood action flick with a great sense of humour. Christopher McQuarrie isn’t returning as director for this sequel, unfortunately, after his stellar work on Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. He’s replaced by Ed Zwick, who previously worked with Cruise on the The Last Samurai. The New York Times said Never Go Back, Lee Child’s 17th Jack Reacher novel, “may be the best desert island reading in the series”, adding it is “exceptionally well plotted” and “full of wild surprises”.
Deadpool
IN CINEMAS FEBRUARY 11
There’s a fairly interesting, easily googled backstory to how this film came to be, with the end result promising a gleefully over-the-top comic book adaptation. The above red-band trailer teases something similar to greats Kick-Ass and Punisher: Warzone, but the violence as comedy also echoes Shoot ‘Em Up and Crank: High Voltage. The humour doesn’t look to be very good, but the CG-driven ultraviolence looks fantastic. I also really like Ryan Reynolds and was disappointed when his upward career trajectory suddenly took a turn for the worse a few years back, so it’ll be cool seeing him in the lead again.
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
IN CINEMAS FEBRUARY 25
Hilarious douchebag Michael Bay has it in him to make great action films, as well as the horrifically awful trash he’s become better known for in recent years. I imagine he’s watched Peter Berg emulating his work with mixed emotions, and after Lone Survivor came out he wanted to one-up that Bayhem wannabe. Hence we have this rah-rah American propaganda-piece on the way, another modern ‘true’ story about the US military killing its enemies overseas recently. There’s a good chance this will suck, but it could be really good.
I hope the sports car and swimsuit model-loving cokehead [allegedly – Ed.] filmmaker still has it in him, and by the looks of the trailer (above) he may have.
