The internet is full of movie-inspired fan fights created by some of the most aspiring content creators throughout the world. I have seen my fair share of these fan fights over the years and a pretty good handful of them are able to do the trick of replicating much the same excitement based a particular fight scene, be it through the choreography or overall pacing and tone. And the latest contribution to such creativity comes with the return of the EMC Monkeys film crew for a Donnie Yen-infused tribute to Special ID (by way of SPL and Flash Point) featuring principal performances by EMC member Malay Kim and guest actor Michael Lehr.
When I learned of this project from Kim last month, I was surprised to find out that he had not yet seen Special ID, which really re-drew my idea of what we would see here. And based on the footage now made public, clearly Kim and the folks at EMC know just how to capture the essence of a Donnie Yen-stylized fight sequence, which already adds to their experience as a longstanding martial arts performance and filmmaking group as a whole, that knows how to showcase original ideas and apply them to film.
On top of EMC, Lehr has been a continually growing favorite of mine after first discovering him for myself throughout last year. Since then, he’s been featured in a some pretty impressive online gems I’ve spotted-including a few I have had the pleasure of writing about. I recently had the opportunity to talk to Lehr about his latest performance opposite Kim, where he expanded on his experience in mixed martial arts and working with Kim for this latest piece.
“I’ve always been kind of an MMA guy and I’ve always said it was my root style.” says Lehr. “I have high ranks in other martial arts but MMA is normally where I go; I’m mostly at home doing takedowns and boxing and firing off Muay Thai techniques. So when Malay gave me the choreography I just did whatever felt natural to me, and thankfully it didn’t suck so much that Malay had to get someone else to do it. [laughs] He was very, very giving and very gracious in terms of kind of letting me do what I do, as well as giving me subtle directions and redirections here and there to make it all fit. But I think Donnie Yen and especially films like Flashpoint are an influence for me and my pacing as well.”.
Anyone who is not yet familar with Kim and the EMC Monkeys can feel free at any given time to take notice at what this amazing group has achieved so far in its existence. It’s groups like this that bring a lot of us together at the movies or the DVD store, or fan communities such as this one. And I sincerely hope big things continue to come for EMC, as well as Lehr who his well on his way to releasing his reel for the new year, in which case, I humbly ask you to stay tuned to Film Combat Syndicate for more content and exciting new updates.
Enjoy the video below, as well as the behind-the-scenes footage at the bottom of the page.