Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Iko Uwais-whose latest project "Expend4bles" releases today.
Iko Uwais' Filmography Ranked:
11.Beyond Skyline (C-)
10.Man of Tai-Chi (C+)
9.Triple Threat (C+)
8.Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins (B)
7.Headshot (B)
6.Stuber (B)
5.Mile 22 (B)
4.Star Wars: The Force Awakens (A-)
3.The Night Comes for Us (A)
2.The Raid: Redemption (A)
1.The Raid 2: Berandal (A)
Top Dog: The Raid 2: Berandal (2014)
The biggest sin The Raid 2: Berandal commits is trading in the tight, simple plotting of the original for a sprawling gangster tale that doesn't have the narrative focus or character-building chops to pull off the Scorsese/Coppoloa crime epic Gareth Evans is aiming to make. That being said, its storytelling woes are no match for the massive scale and dazzling execution of its action sequences. Evans upped the ante from the humble martial arts of the first film by adding shootouts and car chases alongside the absurd penak silat fights and the results are just magic for fans of the genre. Alongside John Wick, The Raid is the gold standard for modern action and its influence will unquestionably be felt for decades to come.
Bottom Feeder: Beyond Skyline (2017)
Is Beyond Skyline a significant improvement over its much-maligned 2010 predecessor? Absolutely but that is a hall-of-fame-caliber backhanded complement considering the quality of Skyline. Is it a good movie? Not particularly. While it does feature some impressively detailed practical creature efforts/CG for a low-budget, direct-to-VOD movie and have no shortage of ambition as it combines alien invasion, body horror, sentimental family drama and martial arts elements into one big B-movie stew, Beyond Skyline's approach to tight budget maximalist camp isn't playful or wild enough to be anything more than intermittently entertaining.
Most Underrated: The Night Comes for Us (2018)
Loaded with jaw-dropping silat fights, brutal gore and just enough story to provide justification for its heaping helping of action, The Night Comes for Us might as well be an honorary 3rd entry in The Raid series.
Most Overrated: None
It's as simple as this: I believe both Raid films are beyond deserving of their reputations as action/martial arts classics and everything else Uwais has been in hasn't been particularly revered or widely-seen, making it impossible for me to view any of his films as overrated
The "Better Than Its Reputation" Award: Mile 22 (2018)
Look, I completely understand hating on Mile 22. The plot is a silly, convoluted mess with some really dumb final act plot twists and Uwais' presence as a co-lead/fight choreographer isn't as welcome as it should be due to Peter Berg's puzzling decision to utilize shaky cam and choppy, quick cut editing during the film's many action sequences. Despite its many flaws, I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. Berg fills this tight 94-minute affair with an unrelentingly propulsive energy, Mark Wahlberg does some great scenery-chewing as the hardass leader of the mercenary protagonists and the fight scenes are so brutal and intricate that they are able to overcome the sizable flaws with their presentation.
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