JOHAN FALK-SERIES PART 18: WAR DIAMONDS

Previously on Johan Falk:

Things has gotten darker for GSI as Johan Falk has been framed for murder and is being extorted by the Russian mafia to help them. At the same time GSI learns they have  a mole in their midst.


Seth and Jack are now open enemies and both crews are desperatly trying their luck on  a diamond heist. At the same time has a new  player emerged; a Caucasian mob that has its base in an MMA club where they recruit talent ( reminds me of how Mr Han operates in Enter The Dragon but he had a kung fu island instead of a puny club.)

Seth gets involved with a woman he might regret as she might be doing someone elses biddings.

The plot:

This one has an undercover suspense story built into it this time.  Niklas ( Alexander Karim) is infiltrating an MMA club run by a Caucasian mob ( the Russian kind of Caucasian) as they are mixed up in the diamond heist. But the heist goes awry and everyone involved , including Niklas, are being holed up on an unknown location as the mob boss wants to find out which of them ratted him out.

Johans wife starts to take an active role in the proceedings, and shit gets serious as brother goes against brother in an all out struggle for control between Seth and Jack

Jibber jabber:

This bring brings back a lot of suspense that I felt Silent Diplomacy lacked, as one of the characters we actually care for is in jeopardy. I´m sorry , but I never really cared for Pernilla in any of the films she was in, She never had a personality to her, but Niklas has developed  throughout the course of the series, given some quirky character traits and comes across as a likeable dude. And we learn that he is capable in the mystical ways of Mixed Martial Arts, which brings me to a trope a I highly miss in todays action-cinema: The Kung Fu Cop. I love it!

I miss seeing movies about cops that are well versed in martial arts, cutting the red tape and go straight to the throat punch instead. We used to get a ton of those in the early 90´s starring Cynthia Rothrock, Thomas Ian Griffith and Don "The Dragon " Wilson. All Academy Award-worthy performances, believe me.  And Niklas follows a fine tradition of Kung Fu Cops in the newer MMA tradition that Donnie Yen may have started  in Flashpoint for instance.  I did not expect to see this in a Swedish action film, but I am happy to. The world need more cinematic kung fu cops who can get the job done, one kick to the throat at the time!

We get to see Niklas do some sparring against Seth in the club. Seth does not rat him out, as Niklas also knows who he is,  They both know their true identities. It is a Catch 22. They are both informers, and again says a lot about the overall theme of the story of how the real world is more diffuse, harder to grasp on a deeper level than what we are being told in simplified newspaper narratives where there is simply room for black/white points of view.

Later when Niklas is trapped with a few others. , unlike Frank,  he is not above above suspicion. We do see early on that he has built up some credibility amongst the crew, but there is still suspicion and therefore has he found himself in this nightmarish situation in which no undercover  cops want find themselves in. See The Textbook  of Undercover Nightmares, chapter 1, page 9.
                                                       
This is the type of situation a cop can finds himself into, whereas someone who has had time to build a street rep outside a police force, outside the boundaries and restrictions of procedural police work can do much better. We learn how capable he is in situations which are strainous  to say the very least. He keeps his calm and use his wits when he notices perhaps some of the others holed up with him might be easily influenced.

It is nice to see Niklas get some more screentime. Which is a good idea to bring him up, so he can shine in Falkology as well. At first in the very first film of the second season ( see Rules of the game) he is as freshbaked member  of GSI we can see  how he has problems with Johans methods. Now he finds himself in a position in which he has to take matters in his own hands. We see him as a pro active guy, expert in martial arts, talking to people, feeling them out ,a sense of who they are and such.  He should have a spin off series, I feel; Humanistic MMA Cop.

Meanwhile  Johan starts to get squeezed by the Russian Mob who wants him to do a few favors for them. Johan starts to act irrationally violent towards them and is using a gun, threatening them to back off his family.  It almost seems like his PTSD or whatever he has has gotten to him,

Zooms in on Johan, cut to Helen in the kitchen...

Shot on the family

Zooms in on Johan as whirring internal sounds keep escalating

The internal whirring  sound stops suddenly as Helen walks into the frame in the next shot

When Johan comes home to his family after the confrontation we experience his perspective. There is great use of a whirring sound as we finds ourselves in Johans pont of view that is suddenly interrupted as Helen approaches him. We have seen similar techniques employed where we are shut out from the external world to get a sense of Johans isolated position... Once in Executive Protection, when Johan is andering aimlessly around the cemetary  all caught up with the consequences of his action, and clueless on what to do next.  And in both those sequences, Helen shows up and interrupt his internal state which leads him to actually  become pro active again  and to start solve the problem at hand.

Helen is crucial to Johan, she  is the one person that dragged Johan back into the world and made him a family man again. I think these scenes are quite important to understand Johan, and for understanding Falkology.  They are  ways for us to get inside Johans  head and perhaps glimpses of someone who is used to shut the outside world out from him. But now , more than ever, is in dire need of people to help him.

 Good shit.


Next time on Johan Falk: Shit gets real. For real!

RATCHET AND CLANK (2016)

Oversized weapons that could devastate an entire planet, explosions, witty dialogue, some sexual innuendo, upgradable gadgets,groovy soundtracks and high quality animation and voice acting. man I love the Ratchet & Clank videogames and has a guranteed place in The Explodable World of  Action as they deliver carnage, mayhem and destruction on a level that makes Rambo look like a pussy.

Too bad this film has none of that. 

I mean, it´s not...tahat bad. It is just very very ordinary. And in this climate where Disney/Pixar and Dreamworks deliver high quality animated entertainment , this does not cut it. It needs to be far better to make an impact.This is simply not good enough for a mainstream audience. And not even enough for a fan like me. A shame.

Ratchet is a lombax ( a cat like creature), but also a mechanic who dreams of joining the Galactic Rangers, as his hero Captain Qwark is part of it. Qwark is a narcassistic douche who likes to come across as heroic even though he is not. War is brewing in the galaxy as evil Chairman Drek is destroying planets , since he is evil. And now GalacticRangers are looking for recruits. Ratchet is optimistic of joining the fight. Ratchet also comes across a small robot, a defect from a war robot producing plant who also joins up to combat Drek. And this is basically the plot. It sounds generic. Because it is. It has very  little of the wit and charm of the games.

I don´t know. I don´t want to be snarky about it, but Ratchet and Clank- The Movie is the Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace of Ratchet and Clank videogames.  Which means, it is perhaps the worst possible way to be introduced to what made this series successful in the first place. It´s not really that bad, it´s just feels like Cutscene-The Movie while removing the fun, addictive gameplay that made the Ratchet and Clank experience great.

You should be alarmed by the production history from what you can learn from Imdb. A lot of talented people was actually involved with it from time to time, during the ten year process of bringing this franchise to the screen, Edgar Wright and  Guillermo Del Toro are two, but left because of “creative differences”, which translates to; this movie is gonna suck. Creative differences means, they wanted to infuse creativity into the project, but Sony said; No creativity! Obey!

Add to that that they replaced some of the voice actors from the games with Hollywood celebrities and you can smell the cynical attitude towards maknig this film. Mind you, it is still James Arnold Taylor and David Kaye who voices the main protagonists and they do a great job with what there is to be done. 

Also, apparently, some of the scenes in the film are actually cutscenes in the new R&C-game which came out around  the same time as the film was released. I mean, that is kind of shocking.

Ratchets character  has  changed from the game and anything originally interesting in the dynamic relationship from the original game is gone. Ratchet was the reluctant hero, and Clank , who wants to do the right thing, was also incredibly naïve. That dynamic led to some fun bickering between the two. In this film, they already establishes as friends. And there is no growth to the characters..

In other words,  less interesting story telling than the videogame had. Ouch.

I can´t stay mad at this movie for actually existing and some of the jokes are clever and has some funny timing. But it is weird how something as originally looking on a Playstation can come out with suc a generic-looking style to it. And why did the non-gaming audience not took a liking to it? The games are great and they stuck to the games pretty damn close. I have a theory.

Ironically, one of the reasons why people does not seem to care for it, non-gamers I mean, is simply because it looks gamey. The filmmakers did not even bother at least changing the  character models or anything from the games to make it look interesting for cinema goers. This is the same fifteen year old design in 2016.

This is a case in which they actually stuck too close to the source material. I´ve heard people say that Ratchet and Clank has a terrible character design, which is a sentiment  I do not agree with. But this might be a problem as obviously the character design from the games does not seem to translate as easily to movie goers . When R&C was new, 15 years ago, it was revolutionary to see such high level of animation and developed characters with excellent voice acting in a videogame. That has long been a standard in motion picture history , with great animation and voice acting stretching back to Snow White And that was 1934.

That is a problem, the design of the characters belongs to the gamers and not the mainstream audiences with a completely different point of view in contrast with characters from a newer medium transitions poorly to a medium that has had many decades to develop and therefor R&C comes across as not-great in comparisons. I like the characters, but that is because I was there from the start, fifteen years ago. If the animated films had not progressed and delivered so many movies with high quality stories and characters, maybe this one would have made a success. But I don´t think it is an par with say Kung Fu Panda. Not by a mile.. It lacks a distinctiveness, I feel in comparison.

It also does not help that the acton set pieces are not that memorable. The insane level of destruction and seizure inducing mayhem from the games have translated into typical space shit, that belongs in Star Wars The Clone Wars or something. Speaking of Episode 1, there is a sequence reminiscient of that movie; the pod race, of which this is a much worse version of. It´s like the podrace, without the podrace.

Well, this movie was probably made for fans, which certainly explains why this film was given zero marketing in mainstream media. But even as a fan I expected more. I expected wittier writing, more devastating action,exploding cities and more bullet hells. I expected Rambo 3 in space. And got a lamer version of it.- I got Episode 1- The Phantom Menace level of space action with a sporadic laser blast here and there.. At least that movie has a kick ass kung fu fight at the end that almost redeemed the entire thing in my opinion.. This delivers really nothing satisfying. Ther are some fan service here and there, but I never found them enjoying as the film as a whole is pretty boirng..

I´ll stick to the games and I will most likely never revisit this movie ever again.

NINJA CLASS: LESSON 2: REVENGE OF THE NINJA

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NINJA CLASS: LESSON 1: ENTER THE NINJA (1981)

What better way to sheer oneself up by doing a week full of Ninja-movies? Giving yourself a big soothing bath of  shurikens. Jusr slip into the bath of sharp  metal throwing stars and immerse yourself in the increasing pool of your own blood. Ahhh...

Our first lesson starts with Enter the Ninja from 1981 by schlockfactory Cannon Group, the first in a loosely connected series of ninja-movies, which in all honestly was mostly for monetary reasons, not artistically or for any specific ninja reasons, unless those reasons are hidden deep within the shadows of some Ninja-ass or some bullshit like that.

Anyway, this is one of the earlier ninja-movies that started the trend. A trend that unfortunately has died of, or vanished, like Ninja itself. People today seem to laugh at Ninja. They would be wrong. They can appreciate Ninja, if Ninja is lackey to a supervillain in a superhero. But if Ninja happens to be Super nInja, they think Ninja is funny. Ninja is not funny!! Ninja is immortal. Ninja is powerful. Ninja is sneaky. Ninja will fuck you  up, sleep with your wife and leave.

Enter the Ninja is about  sucg a Ninja, an american. From Texas. How Ninja can that be? Not very Ninja-sounding to me. But he is Ninja nonetheless. His name is Cole (Franco nero). He graduates from Ninja Academy in Japan and visits his Vietnam warbuddy, helps him out a bit, fucks his wife ,gets him killed and then disappears. That is basically the story. Typical of Texas Ninja to exploit his ninja skills this way. His Seducing Wife-technique is impeccable,  employed without higher morals in my opinion. But then again Ninjas are sneaky fucks. Ninjas can seduce your wives. Ninja can fuck them without you even noticing even when you are in bed with your wife.Ninja vanishes. And Ninja makes her pregnant.  Such are the horny powers of Ninjitsu

Before all that,it is worth mentioning that while he manages to graduate from Ninja Univeristy in Japan, he makes an enemy. A fellow Ninja, a genuine Japanese Ninja ( Sho Kosugi) who sees this hillbilly Texan as a threat to his culture.

If I was in Sho Kosugis shoes ( Ko-shoes?), I would also be upset with having a Texan coming in and stealing my Ninja-thunder from underneath my feet. I mean what the fuck does a cowboy know about being a Ninja? He´s been here one week  and know he totally owned us in our own game?  I can sympathize with him.

In between all that, a  ruthless businessman wants the land that  Cole´s friend has.Why? Because of money. And then when he realizes a Ninja is working against him, he starts yelling "I want my own Ninja" like a spoiled brat, so his lackey will have to go to Japan to interview a few Ninja for the job. And wouldn´t you know it. The enemy of our Texas Ninja gets the job. So you have in the climax a  cultural battle between mystical ninjas from the far west and the far east. And as it is an American production the Far west far exceeds the Far East.

Enter The Ninja is definitely the weakest link in Cannons Ninja-trilogy. It is not as legitimately good as a hardcore Ninja-flick as Revenge of the Ninja. And it is not as weird, crazy, borderline-experimental as Ninja 3-The Domination in its ecclectic mix of Ninja, aerobics and exorcism.. But it is preposterous enough in its earnestness so it is worth a watch at least.  And to learn a trick or two about the Seducing Wife-technique to  create some unexpected and unexplained pregnancies without risking a paternity suit.

HARD TARGET 2 (2016)

Hard Target 2 is no Hard Target. By that I mean it is not called Hard Target, but Hard Target 2. That is the first evidence in my chain of reasoning. But it is also directed by Roel Reine, not John Woo. It also stars Scott Adkins, not Jean Claude Van Damme.

It is also not as good as Hard Target. The ultimate proof on the matter. But it is most certainly worth a watch (and a purchase).

Now that we have established that Hard Target 2 is not Hard Target,  let us start with Hard Target. An in the end quite compromised artistic vision in many ways. John Woo not being able to be John Woo by Universal Studios.Not enough balletic violence to be blunt about it.  But it still managed to have survived as an iconic Van Damme vehicle, known for its excessive mix of martial arts,  poetic gunplay action and  extreme mullets. But also incorporating a bunch of bitchin doves and some nice visual touches, some stunning slow motion shots and perfect rhytmic editing to match  and you have a pretty sweet film.

Great movie. Highly recommended.

Hard Target 2 takes the formula of rich assholes hunting desperate poor people,, switchning locales from vibrant, desolate New Orleans, to not-so-vibrant  but still desolate Burma. It still looks cool with all the jungle shit and all. Jean-Claude Van Damme is no longer part of this dangerous game of man vs man. Instead we have 21st Century´s version; Mr Scott Adkins( Undisputed 2-4, Ninja 1-2, Universal Sodlier Day of Reckoning)  I´m afraid he has no  mullet, but makes it up with a ferocious agility and some deadly legs to kick ass with.

Like previously said, the plot switches the background of poverty in Lousiana, to a more isolated, manfree environment. Surprisingly considerate by these rich assholes,, as there is less chance of collateral damage. Probably also considerate to the restrictions of the budget. It is also a very tired cliche in terms of  thematics. But I am cool with it. We don´t get enough jungle action these days.

Adkins plays Baylor, an MMA -fighter, accidentally killing his best friend in the ring, gives up his career and ends upp pugilizing himself for a few bucks in remote locations. That is when the villain of this piece Robert Knepper ( Prison Break) notices his talent and offers a one-match only deal in which he can cash in half a million dollars. Too late he realizes all they want to do is hunt his ass.

Compared to the original, this skips to the point fairly fast, like a good exploitation genre mnovie should. But before we get to teh hunt, we also get to know Baylor through several minor fight sequences in which each one makes him progress through the world of underground fighting. His first fight is in a shitty barn and the last fight before the hunt takes place on some rich assholes rooftop  in which Baylor meets the villain.

Besides Robert Knepper, we also have in villainous roles, Temuera Morrison ( Once were Warriors) and Rhona Mitra ( ehhh...) to give the villains at elast some color. Among the hunters is also a douchebag computernerd, claiming himself to be the Mark Zuckerbergs of FPS´s. Jesus, what an ass. There is also a hilariously camp spaniard bullfighter and some dumb hillbillies to round out the villainy.

The film flows along fairly nicely, the action is decent, but the low budget is apparent. They have used some overhead drone shots to give the film more production value, even though it is a bit overused. We don´t need sixty establishing shots of the jungle. But other than that the cinematography is surprisingly nice. The fights could have used some more flair to make it more exciting as there is nothing in the action deppartment that matches Woo´s visceral style from part 1

Roel Reine might not be an auteur, but he is the kind of meat and potatoes-director I can appreciate , as he does not try go beyond  his paygrade but delivers a fairly enjoyable sequel with some nice cinematography, like his previous sequel Man with teh Iron Fists 2. He infuses these type of DTV-sequels with a look that makes the film feel a bit more expensive than it really is and as a whole give it a more roudned presentation than most low budget straight to video actioners.

Adkins proves once again his physical abilities in more ways than in just the fights. He gets to run, climb,swim, and jump around a lot and I am convinced he is doing most of it.

It´s no Turkey Shoot or Hard Target. But it is  Hard Target 2. And that is good enough.

DAYLIGHT´S END (2016)

When I reviewed William Kaufmans gritty cop action flick Sinners and Saints I might have been slightly harsh against it. It had a good beat to it and a lot of competent action built into it. Now that I have seen his latest film; Daylight´s End, I am convinced this is a very solid Genre film director we are dealing with who genuinely delivers what is promised. In this case a generic postapocalyptic zombie/vampire action romp. And does it serviceable in a way that is satisfying. I liked it. Also it has Lance Henriksen in a good role.

What is good about it, is that it goes straight to the point. There is no worldbuilding, as we have seen all these scenarios a thousand times and how different can it be? No, it relies on our knowledge of the genre, it does not need to tell us, we can guess what has happened and go with it. The strength of a pure genrefilm lies in it knowing what it has to do. And we don´t need another sappy backstory, we don´t need dialogue that tells us of "thou  mankind has fallen" or the struggle of the dormant evil that lies within all of us. Fuck that. I want to see some heads poppin´. 

You have the same sort of survivalist group tensions, without sappy melodrama ( The Walking Dead). You have scenes of looting, scavenging and survivalist speeches. You have the Mad Max-protagonist "shell-of-a-man" which is always good to have in one of these and you have that one particular dirtbag who is only out for himself. And you have a trained pilot who can get them out of there if they can find an airplane. Which they do.  The best scene in the film is when the aforementioned asshole  comes dragging with a car that can only room like three out of the forty of the group. He insists that the pilot comes with him. For him it is every man for himself. And according to him, it´s a shame, you can´t save everyone. Tough shit. And just around the corner comes one of the survivors driving a big ass bus, that can room everyone. Wow. He must feel like a complete prick now!

This has plenty of violence. Although all of it is CGI´d and the generic violence that surrounds the film coukd have benefitted with some some beats of gory details, dispensed properly through out the actionscenes. Like in Dawn of the Dead. That type of visual structure usually gives a higher impact on the viewer. As it is now, you are just over whelmed with generic CGI blood. A shame, the film woudl have benefitted more fro some of those beats,  because what is here works phenomenally well.

It has solid acting, decent production values and a lot of action. Highly recommended to genre fans.