While we wait for Gareth Evans to knock out his follow-up to the exemplary, highly underrated RAID 2: BERANDAL, we can enjoy this “Pre Vis Action” that he’s posted online for our viewing pleasure. According to the director, it was created in an attempt to see if his and Yahan Ruhian’s bone-breaking choreography could translate to a toned down, PG-13 setting, as well as giving him an excuse to keep busy in between movies. Read his own intro below:
Like most of you, I prefer my action hard-hitting and no-holds-barred, particularly from someone as expert in bloodletting as Mr. Evans, but even when going soft his action is among the best in the biz. I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that this kinetic swordplay is leagues above what we typically see in studio filmmaking, including the similarly muted, yet completely ineffective 47 RONIN from just over a year ago.
Evans has always been partial to Japanese filmmaking and iconography, and this little clip is proof that he could most definitely do a full-fledged samurai flick if he so desired (even if some of those samurai would probably be Indonesian). I just hope his newfound devotion to making stuff appropriate enough for his daughter doesn’t eventually neuter his extreme, often gasp-inducing violence.
Can you dig it?
