Two years since the creators of the hit series Gangs Of London brought forth the fire and tumult with an explosive and pulsating first season, they’re back with a new round of episodes that now looks to ante things up with even more compelling story progression that puts our characters to a test of their wills and gumption.
Patrick Hughes (The Expendables 3, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, upcoming The Man From Toronto) is circling back once more for an opp to direct a new take on the 2011 hit Indonesian crime thriller, The Raid.
GANGS OF LONDON, the hit television series from Sky and AMC+, has been rightfully praised for setting a new high watermark for cinematic-style action and mayhem on the small screen. The bulk of that praise has gone to the series creator, writer/director Gareth Evans (THE RAID). This tale of the violent power struggle that occurs when one of the heads of the London underworld is mysteriously gunned down was not solely shepherded through production by Evans though. He shared directing duties equally on the series with two other men, one of those two was French filmmaker Xavier Gens (COLD SKIN).
Director Gareth Evans (Apostle) shot his shot earlier this year with Netflix, scoring a major deal to produce several projects in a creative partnership with the streamer.
Trades are reporting this week that Forest Whitaker (Marvel’s Black Panther), will join actor Tom Hardy in new Netflix thriller, Havoc, from celebrated director Gareth Evans. The film was announced with Hardy last month, a few years after Evans teased its development in an Instagram post.
Film critic Roger Ebert once eloquently said, “It’s not what a movie is about, it’s how it is about it.” The idea that the execution is ultimately more important than the actual elements of the story is one that has been illustrated time and time again throughout the history of cinema. Whether it’s the more than thirty loose adaptations of the 1929 novel “Red Harvest”, that includes such drastically different films (in content and quality) as Akira Kurosawa’s classic samurai tale YOJIMBO and Albert Pyun’s sci-fi schlockfest OMEGA DOOM, or the seemingly endless interpretations of Bram Stoker’s horror novel “Dracula” to name just a couple of examples, different artists have always looked for ways to reinterpret ideas for their respective audiences.
Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons
Den Of Geek‘s Friday report on The Raid franchise director Gareth Evans details hints on a new action thriller which he hopes to begin advancing toward the summer. Evans will be partnering with Ed Telfan along with XYZ Films’s Aram Tertzakian for its current development.
The bell has officially rung as of Wednesday for Sky Original series, Gangs Of London. The series marks the latest foray for filmmaker Gareth Evans (Apostle) since his cult ascension among the action fandom proliferating then-burgeoning star Iko Uwais ten years ago.
Gareth Evans will return to the director’s chair this August for action thriller, Havoc. Todd Brown, XYZ Films’ Head of International Acquisitions, made the announcement a few weeks ago during a shared panel at the Danish Film Institute with Alexander Brøndsted, co-producer on Lorcan Finnegan’s sci-fi thriller, Vivarium.
Indonesian action thrillers, Merantau, and the current dual-part installments of The Raid were all director Gareth Huw Evans needed to all but cement his name in the history of martial arts film fandom. Going into 2018, his most recent work will soon start stirring in the news cycle and film fest circuit with Dan Stevens thriller, Apostle, but that won’t be all we hear from Evans who is also in line to executive produce a reinstallation of his 2011 hit, The Raid, for helmer Joe Carnahan to direct.
Going forward, it just so happens the cult favorite is in line to helm a potential comic book spin-off in the form of Deathstroke, with actor Joe Manganiello (True Blood, upcoming Rampage) attached to the role as of last Fall. The brainchild of Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, Deathstroke is the alterego of Slade Wilson, a soldier since the age of sixteen and later the product of a military experiment that would induce him with abilities central to superior strength, fighting prowess, cerebral function and healing.
The character has been a mainstay in the DC comic book universe since debuting in 1980 and recurring in print, as well as in animation, video games, and live-action television on the CW’s Arrow and its spin-off, DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow. The archenemy of hero ensemble, “Teen Titans”, became the center of his own titular comic book, “Deathstroke The Terminator”, in the early 1990s.
As The Wrap reported on Wednesday, it was Evans’s own pitch impressed DC Entertainment executives enough to go forward with the film. The character made headlines late last year as actor Ben Affleck, currently set to star in a 2019 iteration of The Batman for Warner Bros., teased a role for the villain in a cryptic tweet long ahead of next month’s release of Justice League.
This month’s leaked X-Spatial Media footage from CineAsia of action star Iko Uwais’s performance in Liam O’Donnell’s upcoming sci-fi thriller, Beyond Skyline is nothing short of a riproaring tease for what could be a delightful thrillride considering the technology on hand. This, accompanied by his upcoming appearance in the 2017 wide release of his current Indonesian theatrical run, Headshot, certainly lends even more appeal to the fans, especially amid the long and winded expectations for a third outing in the electric crime saga, The Raid.
The craze began in 2011 with releases in 2012 for the first film, and a sequel that followed two years later, further bolstering Uwais’s stardom and the local talent on hand representing the newest face of the resurgence of Indonesian action cinema. It also earned director Gareth Huw Evans a promising reign as one of the most spolighted filmmakers to date, while his current advancement with the new thriller, Apostle, among other projects, has albeit tentatively driven the conversation away from barely a mention of the Raid trilogy itself.
Still, it’s a conversation worth having given the prominence earned by Evans, the producers and the cast at large, along with the prospects of a remake still currently shelved until further notice; I still would love to see a remake in tow as the concept of The Raid itself will surely grant audiences the deserved opportunity of seeing action acting community echo the demands of the numerous stunts and fight sequences iterated by Uwais and his team under Evans in their films. Yes, the talent is there. All that’s needed is the will to act, and that’s an update I would love to see in the not-too-distant future.
Until then, however, and on the off-chance that you or someone you know hasn’t heard of either The Raid or The Raid 2 and you love sheer, brutal, violent, escapist martial arts action mixed with compelling crime and family drama, you’ve clicked to the right page. The Raid Collection is now available for pre-order at Amazon, following Sony’s announcement via Blu-Ray.com. Read on:
Raid 2, the / Raid, The: Redemption – Set [Blu-ray]
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release on Blu-ray The Raid Collection. The two-disc Blu-ray set will be available for purchase on February 28, 2017.
The Raid Redemption (2011)
Synopsis: Deep in the heart of Jakarta’s slums lies an impenetrable safe house for the world’s most dangerous killers and gangsters. Until now, the rundown apartment block has been considered untouchable. Cloaked under the cover of pre-dawn darkness and silence, an elite swat team is tasked with raiding the safe house in order to take down the notorious drug lord that runs it. But when a chance encounter with a spotter blows their cover and news of their assault reaches the drug lord, they find themselves stranded on the 6th floor with no way out. The unit must fight their way through the city’s worst [criminals] to survive their mission.
Special Features:
●Audio Commentary with writer/director Gareth Evans
●Video blogs:
~Bootcamp
~Set Location, Camera & Lighting, Make-up & Special Effects
~Courtyard, Hole Drop
~Drugs Lab, Tama’s Office
~Machete Gang & Corridor, Jaka vs. Mad Dog
Post Production
●Behind-the-scenes featurettes:
~Behind the Music
~Anatomy of a Scene
~Stunts
~Themes
~Inside the Score
●An Evening with Gareth Evans, Mike Shinoda, and Joe Trapanese conversation
●In Conversation with Gareth Evans and Mike Shinoda feature
~Claycat’s The Raid
~The Raid TV show ad (circa 1994)
The Raid 2 (2014)
Official synopsis: Immediately following the events of The Raid: Redemption, Rama (Iko Uwais) is forced to reinvent himself as an undercover cop in order to provide protection for his wife and child. Working for the anti-corruption taskforce led by the one person he can trust, Bunawar (Cok Simbara), he is given a mission to engage himself as an enforcer for a local mob boss, Bangun (Tio Pakusodewo). Finding a way in through Bangun’s son Uco (Arifin Putra), Rama must hunt for information linking Bangun with police force corruption. All the while, he harbors a dangerous and personal vendetta for revenge and justice that threatens to consume him- and bring both this mission and the organized crime syndicates crashing down.
The film is written and directed by Gareth Evans and produced by Nate Bolotin, Ario Sagantoro and Aram Tertzakian. Executive producers include Rangga Maya Barack-Evans, Todd Brown, Irwan D. Mussry and Nick Spicer.
Special Features:
●Featurettes:
~Ready for a Fight: On Location (Blu-ray exclusive)
~Violent Ballet: Behind the Choreography (Blu-ray exclusive)
●Deleted Scene: Gang War (Blu-ray Exclusive)
●English Dub in addition to the original language version of the film
●Director Commentary with Gareth Huw Evans
●Featurettes:
~The Next Chapter: Shooting a Sequel
~Cinefamily Foundation Q&A with Gareth Huw Evans, Iko Uwais & Joe Trapanese
Nearly two years have passed since news slowly and quietly broke of the shelving of the Joe Taslim-starring action vehicle, The Night Comes For Us, and the real reasons why remain unbeknownst to the public. The film was drawn on the hinges of the recent successes of Indonesian film hits like Gareth Evans’s Merantau, The Raid and The Raid 2, in addition to directing duo Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel’s Macabre and Killers, and as one of two genre films being planned by Merantau and XYZ Films.
My weekend started off as a bust on Saturday with that hugely ridic blizzard. The snow here was treacherous and almost impossible and with work in between, I’ve found myself putting this Hit List together late in the evening.
Gladly, it’s here now and all is well and normal. As such, we begin this week’s latest entree of stunt and tricking reels with stellar demonstrations by Matt Emig and his latest quartet for a sync tricking session, followed by Sam Parham, Lee Huang, Steffen Jung, Judd Wild, Krista Jasper and Joe Chacon. The last reel in the list comes from fight coordinator Kazu Patrick Tang with scenes cut from his work on the 2013 action thriller, Dragonwolf – The film itself is no hit, but the action itself is worth every second.
Push play and enjoy!
Next up is an exciting new playlist full of fantastic fight experiments. The first playlist comes courtesy of stuntman and fight choreographer Geo Corvera who managed to get eight folks together for three cool new videos now up and running on his channel.
The playlist beneath features content from Bryan Sloyer in the company of Nick Krawiec and Amy Sturdivant, Christopher J. Robinson and Nate Stalinski, Off The Ground Theatre and JonHallPhoto for their single take action short, followed by Wadi Jones‘s garage brawl with Krystle Martin and Nathan People, Eric Jacobus with a new Tekken testimonial by way of half-human cyborg – Bryan Fury, EMC Monkeys‘s latest Rush Hour “4” spoof and Jared Kirby’s Poker Night courtesy of the Film Fighting students for NYC Combat For Stage And Screen.
The last fight piece in the playlist comes from director favorite, Gareth Evans in a short-but-sweet reunion with fellow film cohorts Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman, along with actress Hannah Al-Rashid. The latter three paid a visit to Evans over in his native Wales last summer where they reportedly spent up to a week together working on an in-house experimental action short that achieves the same level of screenfighting quality Evans is known for shooting whilst staying in the confines of PG-13/12A violence. This, next to three days of filming along with scoring, sound and editing thereafter by Fajar Yuskemal and Aria Prayogi, now culminates for us a special five minute black-and-white tale of a warrior’s epic battle against two assassins to preserve a peacemaking treaty. As you would predict, the scene is nearly everything you would hope for from Evans and it leaves you pining for more in the years since The Raid 2.
Enjoy the playlists!
And now for promotional goodies, and this time from filmmaker Ken Dinh who has slowly been working his way up as a filmmaker along with actor and martial artist Peter Pham from time to time. They’re currently based in Texas where they’ve established their latest production company, IcyBolt Pictures, and they’ve lined up this Spring to host their new short, Xoá (Erased), the story of a woman who ultimately learns the truth about her abusuve husband stemming from a tragic incident ten years earlier.
Kim Nguyen and Peter Pham lead the cast and while despite Dinh’s best intentions toward a feature film, the final cut is tentatively expected to last up to 45 minutes. Alas, that won’t be all we here from Dinh in the months ahead. Pieces are moving, and Xoá (Erased) just happens to be one of them. So, watch this space, and in doing so, the latest action-packed and *very* NSFW trailer.
And now, off to the list of shortfilms going around, and there are a few that stand out this week. First up is Seth Worley whose latest, Go Bag, delightfully caught me by surprise. The project is essentially what happens when a special agent accidently loses her gear and is forced to think fast with the help of a complete stranger’s bag of items. Cammie York stars in this one and it’s easily one of the smartest and most clever shorts you will ever see.
The next and last is a recent installement from The Rocketjump Show and its creatives showcasing their fondness for silent film and vaudeville. Yes, that’s actor Josh Blaylock, a poor bartender in World War II with an empty Tip Jar and all he wants to do is go to the Fun Fair. Well, he’ll have to get past his greedy boss, a spy named actress Ellary Porterfield, and the NAZIs hot on her tail. Whoops!
And last and far from least is Machinima’s newest online re-release of director Joey Ansah’s Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist, a refreshing take on the popular Capcom fighting game franchise starring Ansah opposite Mike Moh, Christian Howard and Akira Koieyama. If you’ve been living under a rock for the last two years with no knowledge about this project, I sincerely hope you devoted yourself to practicing Satsui no Hadou in that same period…otherwise I just feel sorry for you.
Watch it right now ahead of Ansah’s March premiere of Street Fighter: Resurrection on go90, or buy Ansah’s extended feature film cut right now on Blu-Ray and Digitial HD courtesy of FUNimation or wherever movies are sold!
Don’t forget to subscribe to the channels to follow all of their amazing content, and check out last week’s amazing hits if you have some time to spare. In the meantime, if you yourself are a filmmaker with a knack for making fantastic stuntreels, action shorts and concepts in fight choreography, have at it. Shoot something, and if you think it deserves a place in the Hit List, send it to us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com!
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