15. The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil (South Korea)
South Korea’s film community is a collection of givers, and one of this year’s gems sees a determined detective and a brick wall of a gangster forced to join forces to take down a serial killer. If that premise doesn’t get you intrigued then I don’t know what to tell you. Fun character work and dialogue, some brutal and efficient brawls, and the great Ma Dong-seok come together to deliver a great time at the movies as the only thing that clashes more brutally than the personalities is the flesh.
14. Il Primo Re (Italy)
Also known as Romulus & Remus: The First King, this brutal and earthy tale following two brothers in the lead up to the founding of Rome is a captivating look into a violent and merciless past. From an early slave revolt that splashes the screen with blood, mud, and pain, to later fights, skirmishes, and battles, this is an epic historical tale told without a note of preciousness. It’s thrilling too as the brothers work together, are pushed apart, and reunite with disastrous consequences, and the whole works as a gritty, dirty glimpse back in time. The action is captured clearly and looks raw in its execution — you’ll find no fancy choreography here — which adds to the overall effect of a story about humanity’s constant struggle up from the dirt.
13. First Love (Japan)
Do we deserve Takashi Miike? Probably not, but happily he doesn’t care and is happy to keep giving us new movies at a fairly impressive rate. His latest is top tier Miike, and while it’s a riff of sorts on Tony Scott’s excellent True Romance (1993) it’s every bit its own thing. It’s the story of a young man falling for a nice sex worker and then trying to help her escape the lifestyle, but Miike enlivens it by respecting the heart at its core and lifting the result through deliriously fun action, blackly comic beats, and a clear affection for all of the weirdos caught up in the bloody madness. The action beats feel heightened at times, but they remain graphic and tangible — although Miike literally shifts into animation for a big car stunt that his budget most certainly wouldn’t allow — as the characters chip away at each in often wince-inducing fashion. See it.
12. Triple Threat (Thailand)
It would be an impossible feat to gather the likes of Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Tiger Chen, Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White, and Jeeja Yanin for a movie only to have it not be among the year’s best action films. Chen, Jaa, and Uwais take the lead of the title here as they stand up to some mean, mustache-twirling mercenaries, and while a lot of the action is focused on gunplay — these people are phenomenal martial artists! put the guns down and fight! — the film ultimately delivers in its back half with some fun face-offs between these ridiculously talented fighters.
11. Nightshooters (UK)
This is going to sound odd, but this indie gem is like Judgment Night (1993) meets One Cut of the Dead (2017) but with some kick-ass fight scenes thrown in for good measure. It’s about an ultra low budget film crew shooting late at a building marked for demolition who witness a murder and then find themselves targeted by the gangsters responsible but in addition to opening with part of their zombie movie it also speaks to the drive and nature of filmmakers struggling in a difficult field. It’s legit funny with characters we come to care about, and the action that breaks out — thanks to Jean-Paul Ly playing the crew’s sole stunt man forced to go toe to toe with some gangsters with black belts — is thrilling and well-choreographed fun. Gunshots, explosions, homemade traps, and more traditional gangster rough-housing round out the action beats making for a helluva good time that’s as effective in its early comedy as it is with later drama.
Related Topics: 2019 Rewind, Action
