Iko Uwais - A Hero For A Generation

[Sam@Cult Labs]

Iko Uwais - who the more action-oriented among you may have caught in Gareth Evan's first Indonesian action flick Merantau - is a rare find. One of those once a decade stars that comes along to shake up action cinema, becoming - hopefully - an icon on the way.

Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Tony Jaa... I don't think it's too much to say that Iko could attain this kind of fame and in a decades time, when the 10 year anniversary edition of The Raid is released on Bio-chip and inserted into the USB port in your wrist, maybe we'll all remember the excitement of first seeing this breakout hit.

So... this thread is for discussing how seeing a performer who transformed the movies in a game changing role impacted on you.





Did Enter The Dragon blow your mind?

Did Chan's mix of mastery and humour in Drunken Master make you sit up?

Although action movies are the focus, please feel free to widen the net, this is about performers with the physical skills or charisma to bend the industry to them rather than the other way around...

[antmumford]

As most are aware from previous posts and my picture gallery, Jackie Chan is the guy that opened my eyes to Asian action cinema. I've been an adoring fan since I was 10 years old when I watched Police Story on VHS. It blew my mind and working through his repertoire over the years has made me appreciate him even more for the tue star that he is. I can honestly say that he has become my idol.

Iko Uwais I feel has provided me that same feeling of excitement I got with Jackie Chan many years ago, finding a new star for the future of Asian action films.
After watching Merantau Warrior and seeing clips for The Raid I can clearly see that this is the guy that all other action stars will have to aspire too in future, and they may not come close to his ability and style but if they do then it'll only mean we'll have someone else to look forward to watching out for over the years to come (which isn't a bad thing). I'm sure there'll be exciting times ahead for this guy and we are all lucky that we can now witness his rise in cinema over the following years (hopefully decades) to come.

[Sam@Cult Labs]

Thanks for that reply, exactly the point I'm making.

I hope that he and Gareth Evans continue their ongoing collaboration as well. They seem to have created a style that's fresh and new but also returns to a martial arts past where real skill is required because the action is bold and clear rather than edited to a fast ticking metronome.

[Sam@Cult Labs]

Also Antmumford...

I'm going post a blog about the forum tomorrow. Your post is ideal for hooking people in, can I quote you please? Reciprocal links a given.

[antmumford]

Originally Posted by Sam@Cult Labs

Also Antmumford...

I'm going post a blog about the forum tomorrow. Your post is ideal for hooking people in, can I quote you please? Reciprocal links a given.

Of course, be my guest

[Sam@Cult Labs]

Thank you, I'll post a link here tomorrow when it's up.