vithaya pansringarm
THE PREY: ‘Jailbreak’ Director Teases A Bigger, Haunting Battlefield In The First Teaser Poster
Principal photography wrapped in early April so things are still early for footage. Rest assured, local fans who’ve followed Henderson since Hanuman and the 2017 release of Jailbreak from its box office success in Cambodia to its high-end film festival reception will be in for a great treat when it comes to the action; Jailbreak star Jean-Paul Ly served strictly as action director coordinating and choreographing the demanding fight scenery pivotal to the vision that Henderson teased for us in our own interview in March:
The Team Behind ‘Jailbreak’ Announces THE PREY From Altered Vision And Kongchak Pictures
Kongchak
2017 was something of a banner year for the good folks at Kongchak Pictures. The festival run for martial arts action comedy, Jailbreak, spawned a huge calling from fans much to the favor of producer Loy Te and director, Jimmy Henderson whose regional action feature debut, Hanuman, essentially illuminated some of the best Cambodia offers nowadays in screenfighting talent.
For this, it should be of no suprise, but just sheer delight that they are back at it again with the new action thriller, The Prey, written by Henderson, Jailbreak scribe Michael Hogdson and newcomer Kai Miller. Andrew Mack’s report at ScreenAnarchy cites a press announcement enlisting five-time Chinese national boxing, dual arms champion Gu Sheng Wei (Bloody Destiny) as Xin, a do-gooder undercover cop who finds himself fighting for his life when a surprise raid lands him in a remote jungle prison host to a game for affluent hunters targeting inmates.
Think Hard Target meets Escape Plan/The Raid/The Condemned… I guess either of those last three would suffice.
After years of tracking down international criminals, a trip to a remote jungle prison will force Chinese cop Xin to become human prey to fight for his freedom — and to save his own life.
Undercover Chinese cop Xin is on a secret international mission when a surprise raid puts him in a remote jungle prison that plays by its own rules.Here, the visitors are wealthy thrill seekers. The guards are hostile puppet masters. And the prisoners are simply pawns in a high stakes game of human hunting human.
It started as just another bad day for the do-gooder cop. That day gets a whole lot worse when the diabolical Warden singles Xin out for death at the hands of affluent hunters looking for the world’s ultimate kill. After years of hunting down ruthless criminals, Xin suddenly finds himself running for his life.
If Xin manages to survive this sadistic game, he’ll walk out of the jungle the same way he came in: as a freeman. If Xin fails, he’s dead meat… and just another hunting trophy.
Rounding out the cast are a raft of performers from director Nicolas Winding Refn’s
Only God Forgives, namely actor Vithaya Pansringarm who will star as The Warden, along with Byron Bishop, Sahajak Boonthanakit (Bad Genius) and Nophand Boonyai, and Jailbreak talents, actor and martial artist Dara Our (Hanuman) and actress Dy Sonita.
Argentinian cinematographer Lucas Gath (Shortwave and Suspiria 2018) will lens the film with Jailbreak star and action director Jean-Paul Ly reuniting with Henderson behind the scenes to prime the fight choreography. Te will produce the film with Altered Vision Films and with Kongchack Pictures distributing.
“I’ve always been interested in the study of human nature.” says Henderson. “In the exploration of our primal instinct, which is survival. Movies like Quest for Fire, Deliverance and most recently The Revenant explores the roots of it. In The Prey an organized chaos reigns in harmony like a Euonymus Bosch painting, but this harmony is interrupted by the arrival of a man, who, pushed to an extreme situation, will do everything to survive and to bring justice against the creators of this vicious hunting game…
“A few years back I heard rumors that this practice is still happening in certain places around the world. So I decided to create a story around this myth and develop the idea into a script”.
The film especially reads like another top move for Ly who started out in stunts and has since capitalized off his own momentum toward lead action stardom akin to the likes of Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White and Iko Uwais. Ly will next be seen in Marc Price’s UK martial arts thriller, Nightshooters, this summer from Ascendant Releasing.
Read more at ScreenAnarchy.
Review: Silent But Deadly, BRUTAL: A TASTE OF VIOLENCE Is An Acquired One
Freerunning extraordinare and actor David Belle is someone, in all certainty, I can vouch for when it comes to film and TV talent. I do profess, however, that it has been a little frustrating seeing him between phases of his career – at one point he’s leading a hit film and its sequel and at another, he’s being pigeonholed into smaller roles. I expected more than this after first catching him in action for the first time in Pierre Morel’s Banlieue 13 (not so much so in that film’s sorely, and poorly mishandled 2015 remake, Brick Mansions).
At best, one can hope that this particular phase changes as Belle moves onward with his career prospects, especially after spotting two trailers last year, one being for concept project called Jaya which also featured actor and late martial arts star Darren Shahlavi at the time. The other, Brutal: A Taste Of Violence, depending on your own tastes, for that matter, has gladly taken shape as its own series which is currently being streamed via Studio+ for mobile users in France and South America, and with any luck, for consumers overseas in due time with possible availability on platforms such as Blackpills or Netflix.
The series hails from Save Ferris Entertainment with filmmaker Julien Colonna making his series debut, bringing Belle back into the fold as central protagonist Axel Chen, a former solider making a living as a bouncer in France whose life is immediately thrown into lesser-needed chaos following a late night brawl with three thugs, accidently killing one of them in the process. With his name plastered all over the news, he has no choice but to turn to Marcus, an illegal underground fight promoter for his only chance at an escape, only to land in even thicker circumstances with his next destination in Thailand. It is there that Chen’s journey of self-discovery will decidedly either become one of regret, or redemption when a bet goes awry and forces Chen to fight for Marcus in order to save the gym that took him in, and its humble owner.
I earlier stated the insistence of one’s own tastes be taken into account for the fact that for most of the show’s run time, clocked in at a little over 58 minutes with ten episodes cut in between, Belle has no speaking lines; An earlier action sequence in the first episode sees his role sustain an injury to his vocal chords rendering him silent and unable to talk. This leaves the weight of the scripted drama and dialogue on the rest of the cast, obligating Belle’s acting range to focus more expressively next to the show’s multiple training sequences.
Actor Vithaya Pansringarm (Only God Forgives, Ninja: Shadow Of A Tear) and actress Pim Bubear (The Man With The Iron Fists 2) who play respective father and daughter roles Lao and Lamai who service the fighters in Lao’s gym where Chen trains. Actor Byron Gibson (Only God Forgives) chews up much of the scenery in the commanding antagonist role of Marcus who also hosts the illegal online bouts where people place bets on their favorite select competitors, streamed through a webcam fitted inside of a skeleton which stands out as one of the show’s most interesting props. Pierre Marie-Mosconi and Charles Perrière stir the pot some throughout the series as France detectives Marcovic and Colbert.
The fight and stunt action directed by Laurent Demianoff and Alain Figlarz serves adequate for webseries standards as each segment is an average of six minutes, give or take. Belle’s action performance is a proven feat to watch while, in the process of filming in the all-too familiar Bourne style with shaky cam and frenetic editing at times, otherwise hampers overall watchability, leaving some parts more pleasant than others; One sequence involving a fighter taking a flying knee to the face from another fighter apparently required about four or five cuts even at high-speed lensing. The fights take place in a single constrained space leaving limited possibilities for camerawork to have an impression. Belle’s only parkour scene with Perrière feels a little less congested and offers something worthwhile to the traceur crowd.
As stated earlier, most of Belle’s portrayal of Chen is comprised of physical invocation and training montages. Fortunately he knows how to translate certain nuanced emotions and feelings and when to observe select moments of intensity, thriving on the remainder of the cast. A feasible love story arises between Chen and Lamai in one of the more heartfelt subplots as the stakes are raised nearing the third act.
Perhaps the one underlying thing worth mentioning here is the albeit experimental nature of Brutal: A Taste Of Violence. For the few scenes in which Belle’s character speaks, his voice is dubbed. It’s the third time I myself have witnessed this in watching Belle on screen which leads me to wonder if directors take issue with the way he sounds when he speaks English. I’ve only ever heard his actual voice once to that affect in an undubbed version of his line in Vin Diesel actioner, Babylon A.D.. I grant directors have their reasons for making these choices, but I rather wish I heard Belle speak more. Perhaps he could emerge more to the fanbase and be less obscured.
Or, maybe I have it wrong and his role was intended to be silent anyway. After all, Belle did co-write the script. I’m not sure. Thus, it really is a matter of opinion to those watching Brutal: A Taste Of Violence, for its story and acting stand strong when they do, and not so much on the action, save for a few moments. Gibson is at his best as the villain, and Pansringarm and Bubear lend some poignancy and meaning to what would have otherwise been a shallow story with a hero whose only means of shining on screen is by fighting his way through questionable fight-filming practices, in which case, some parts work, and other parts simply don’t.
One other upside worth pointing out here is that Brutal: A Taste Of Violence does end on a cliffhanger. If there’s more to come for the story of Axel Chen than I hope we get to see a more commanding presence of Belle by then, among other things.
David Belle Returns In The New Studio + Series, BRUTAL: A TASTE OF VIOLENCE. Watch The Trailer!
Actor, stuntman and parkour extraordinare David Belle has been an outstanding talent for many years now since breaking out with a lead role next to French action talent Cyril Raffaelli in Pierre Morel’s 2004 hit, Banlieue 13 and its Ultimatum sequel. He’s also popped up in a few titles thereafter with credits on both sides of the camera in Babylon A.D. and coordinating stunts in Oliver Megaton’s assassin thriller, Colombiana which is currently up for a sequel (he’s also been my personal pick for a hopeful spot as the lead for Fox’s Gambit movie – though I’ve learned to accept its current star if the film happens at all).
So, with a resumé that’s nothing short of ripe and impressive, Belle has also been rare to hear from and only now are we starting to finally see his name make the rounds once more with projects that have been brewing for the past few years with his involvement. For this, we turn to Studio + where filmmaker Julien Colonna is paving the way for a terrific-looking ten-part series now in the form of Brutal: A Taste Of Violence with Belle leading. Scribes Christophe Tomas and Jean-Charles Felli are producing the show which follows Belle as Alex Chen, a former soldier-turned-nightclub bouncer in Thailand who is forced to fight for his survival in an underground arena after being framed for murder and turning fugitive.
Actress Pim Bubear from The Man With The Iron Fists 2 and Only God Forgives co-stars Byron Gibson and Vithaya Pansringarm join in along with Ron Smoorenburg and Damian Mavis, and features action sequences designed by Laurent Demianoff (Lucy, The Transporter Refueled). A premiere date and platform are yet to be announced but the news isn’t far too off following the most recent trailer which you can now take a look at below.
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