District 13 Ultimatum

[Philleh]

Couldn't agree more SD! Those films all rock my socks... hard! And are the only worthwhile, pure, action films made this decade in my opinion (not forgetting Born to Fight!).

But the thing about B13U and more recently Ong Bak 2, is that they do seem to have Hollywood-ised themselves a little too much for my liking. They're all very glossy and the editing in B13U is VERY MTV, still some of the set-pieces are worth the watch but I wouldn't get too excited about them.

[Splatterdragon73]

Originally Posted by Philleh

Couldn't agree more SD! Those films all rock my socks... hard! And are the only worthwhile, pure, action films made this decade in my opinion (not forgetting Born to Fight!).

But the thing about B13U and more recently Ong Bak 2, is that they do seem to have Hollywood-ised themselves a little too much for my liking. They're all very glossy and the editing in B13U is VERY MTV, still some of the set-pieces are worth the watch but I wouldn't get too excited about them.

Born To Fight is superb! How could i forget this terrific Thai title?!

Maybe i've been suckered in by the trailers for D13U and OB2 so i'll bare in mind what you've said.
There's nothing worse than an outstanding foreign talent sanitised by Stateside studio stipulations.
Just look at the Hollywood version of Jackie Chan.
Watchable to be sure but a pale imitation of the action trailblazer he is over in Asia. Sad but true.

[Philleh]

But fret not dude, for every Ong Bak 2 there is a Fireball! This is the Thai film action fans have been waiting for

There's also the new film from the lass from Chocolate - Burning Pheonix I think it's called?

[Splatterdragon73]

I'll check out the trailer for Fireball a.s.a.p.

Imo Chocolate was watchable but not a patch on Tony Jaa's outstanding outings.
That said i'll see if Burning Phoenix looks any good and if the fight choreography and stuntwork gets the old adrenalin rushing then i'll certainly fancy catching the film.

Going back to both D13 offerings it's nice to see Cyril Raffaelli getting the chance to shine in a semi-lead role after small parts in the likes of Kiss Of The Dragon (Jet Li's best Hollywood actioner imo), The Transporter, Die Hard 4.0 and also doing motion capture work for The Incredible Hulk.

[Sam@Cult Labs]

Slicker it might be, but D13U takes the higher budget and spends it on upping the action stakes rather than spending the cash on sweetening the film for a mainstream audience. Luc Besson's involvement means that the film has a highly stylized feel (See Leon, Nikita, Fifth Element et al) that sets it apart from Big Hollywood hack work or Eastern European shot cheapies.

[Sam@Cult Labs]

I've just updated the Cult Labs Myspace Blog with a District 13 Ultimatum clip show, so head over to see the trailer and more...

http://su.pr/1650wT

[Philleh]

Originally Posted by Sam@Cult Labs

Slicker it might be, but D13U takes the higher budget and spends it on upping the action stakes rather than spending the cash on sweetening the film for a mainstream audience. Luc Besson's involvement means that the film has a highly stylized feel (See Leon, Nikita, Fifth Element et al) that sets it apart from Big Hollywood hack work or Eastern European shot cheapies.

To be honest, aside from the fight with the painting all I can remember is Dave running through what looked like a load of boxes at the start. I also remember gettin angry at the directors choice of cutting a simple scene (a man jumping) with 3 different takes! I know Dave can jump - far - so why take away from his skill by mixing various different takes? Get it in one!

[Sam@Cult Labs]

Head over to the Cult Labs Myspace blog to read a new piece on the stunts of D13:U.

District 13 Ultimatum - Totally New Stunts : http://su.pr/1FoQkG

[Splatterdragon73]

Originally Posted by Philleh

I also remember gettin angry at the directors choice of cutting a simple scene (a man jumping) with 3 different takes! I know Dave can jump - far - so why take away from his skill by mixing various different takes? Get it in one!

Yeah, i also hate it when scenes are shot that way. There's just no need for it sometimes.

If a performer has a physical talent (be it martial arts or Parkour etc.) said skill doesn't need to be sanitised by several director-sanctioned cuts simply to make things look a little more MTV. We're not talking recent Madonna music videos here!

[Sam@Cult Labs]

I like the earthy stuff as well, but I didn't mind the more comic book elements of the film and tricksy editing is a part of that.

I loved the fact that people were complaining about the action being unrealistic or that the stunts are overly edited. It's essentially a post-apocalyptic action moving about nuking Paris and features some very broad characters, so I reckon the brash, OTT style compliments that.

Anyway...

Fly over to Myspace blog for a new clip...

http://su.pr/2Ozr0L