The decline and fall of martial arts movies and the rise of blockbuster action movies

Comparison of 1970s martial arts movies with 2009/10 action blockbusters

Red Cliff, Ip Man Y true legend They are already iconic of early 21st century “martial arts movies”, though many may argue that they are more of an action spectacle than true “kung fu” movies. The 1970s, on the other hand, was not built on flashy effects and was defined more by the true worth of its martial arts actors: Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, the Five Poisons, Tomisaburo Wakayama, Jimmy Wong, and other real actors. fighters trained in authentic kung fu, karate and other arts.

Martial arts go mainstream Purpose evolves into spectacle

cult classics like Enter the Dragon helped change Hollywood. Its growing popularity forced filmmakers to embrace martial arts in the “action movie” formula. During the 1980s and 1990s, show thrillers were expected to deliver “the wrestling moves,” even if it was just a few basic moves backed up by some stuntmen and wires. Action movies became spectacles that required equal mixes of story, drama, pacing, “kung fu,” special effects, and unlikely plot twists.

In the 21st century, this became less “egalitarian” with movies relying first on special effects, then plot twists (surprise is important, right?), followed by pacing, martial arts skills , the drama, and last but not least, the story. . This trend even extended to the latest fashion movies, including Kung Fu Panda, Forbidden Kingdom, GI Joe and even the Transformers.

Asian film industry threatens to overtake Hollywood

With the full support and weight of China’s cultural industries, Asian cinema has become mainstream shows in high demand, headlined by CGI giveaways like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, House of Flying Daggers and other instant classics. Asian cinema arguably surpassed Hollywood in imagination long ago, with Western producers buying up the rights to several blockbuster Asian films. With the largest population demographic in the world, there is no doubt that Chinese films will dominate the film industry for years to come.

red cliff Y ip man are perhaps the best known of these classic new hits, but the rumor mills and fan sites are abuzz with the latest “coming soon” gossip. The big movies of 2010 are True Legend (Su Qi Er), starring Zhao Wen-Zho as the historical Begger Su, the creator of drunken kung fu. Donnie Yen returns in both parts 2 of the ip man saga and in the long-awaited 14 blades. Chow Yun-Fat breaks the mold and surprises everyone in his role as Confucius.

Both Hollywood and Asia rely on CGI and special effects

The growing spectacle and importance of the “action movie” is enjoyable for the escapist and annoying for the true martial arts aficionado. While the actors in many of the films, particularly the Asian films, are true martial artists (Donnie Yen, Jet Li, and Chow Yun-Fat, for example), the over-reliance on CGI and elaborate choreography makes the adventure an adventure. comic. With notable exceptions, such as Ip Man and Tony Jaa in Ong Bak (and to a lesser extent ong-bak 2 Y 3), most action movies rely on the “wow” factor of jaw-dropping camera angles and computer-aided “enhancements.”

Ninja Assassin and the Cross-Over

There are, without a doubt, crossover movies like Ninja assassin, where actor Rain trained 14-hour days for months to perfect actual martial arts moves (though only a handful of repeat moves), combined with Matrix-like special effects. For some, the beauty of the realistic CGI takes away the pleasure of seeing real, well-choreographed martial arts.

Ong Bak, on the other hand, directed by genuine martial arts expert Tony Jaa, got by with solid martial arts and good choreography. No double, thanks. Tony Jaa was hailed as the “next Bruce Lee” for this reason, to much uproar and enthusiasm in the martial arts community and on martial arts movie fan sites.

There is no escape Escapism

Action movies are, by design, escapist entertainment. They’ve become something of a comic (excuse me, graphic novel), but that’s what the majority of the public wants. We want to forget reality.

kill bill Y kill bill 2 It was probably closer to the ideal combination for both the escapist fan and the martial arts fan. While not “real” by any means, and contained a brilliant and tasty mix of satire, comic, parody, and choreography, it was nonetheless nostalgically reminiscent of the wonderful days of Enter the Dragon and the Samarai classic Japanese movies of the 1980s. 70.

Does the Japanese film stay true to martial arts traditions?

Perhaps the film industry most closely aligned with the oldest traditions of martial arts filmmaking is Japan. Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman, was a low-budget movie, which instantly became a cult classic. Zatoichi brought audiences back to the classic real sword skills of the old Samarai movies from the previous decades, spawning video games and an entire industry.

Less is more? Where is the true martial arts skill?

Genuine martial arts actors still abound, led by superstars like Donnie Yen and Jet Li, and most Chinese martial arts actors are competent. In Hollywood, filmmakers opt for four-move choreography (two kicks, one block, and one punch), multiple camera angles (particularly close-ups when the martial artist’s skills aren’t genuine), loud music, special effects, and stunt performers. . Now that the old Hollywood big-screen hopefuls (Chuck Norris, Jean Claude Van Damme and the other up-and-coming real martial artists) are gone, there’s a world of difference between Asian movie actors, working in freezing cold, fourteen hours a day in often primitive environments. conditions, crafting genuinely complex martial arts moves for relatively paltry paychecks, and Hollywood movies that now rely on computers and stand-in actors.

Batman now does Kung Fu

bat Man now he does kung fu, and also G.I. Joeand even hell boy. They’re fun, but the martial arts fan misses the great luminaries of martial arts movies who built their careers on the “real thing”: Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, David Chiang, Sonny Chiba, Chen Kuan-tai, Tomisaburo Wkayama, Jimmy Wong Yu, Ti Lung and the Liu brothers.