FIGHTING!

AWOL aka Lionheart – 1990, Sheldon Lettich
Fighting – 2009, Dito Montiel

I know that Jean-Claude Van Damme’s films are crap, but I still like them. I don’t feel I have to excuse myself for watching bad films anymore, I’m such a movie optimist that I’ll watch almost anything that I think might have a single redeeming feature. I can always find something to like. This is the attitude that allowed me to watch AWOL and Fighting within a couple of days of each other. Obviously Fighting is about fighting, and any film starring JCVD is going to have a lot of fighting in it, but I was surprised at just how similar these films are.

The following summarises the basic plot of both movies:
The leading tough guy gets involved in a fight whilst trying to make some money. A small time hustler sees him in action and tells him that he could make a lot of dough if he had the right manager. The badass main character is reluctant at first, but his increasingly desperate situation and the lure of a large payday are enough to make him fight ‘Just this one time’. The fight is arranged in a seedy location full of seedy types, yet lots of rich classy folk are there too, betting large sums of money on the outcome of the fights. Looks like there’s some kind of underground bare knuckle boxing taking place. Our hero wins against a seemingly unbeatable foe and pockets the cash, stating ‘No more fighting’. We are lead to the predictable showdown with the ultimate bad guy. Along the way some bird and her young daughter get involved and become the beneficiarys of the main characters underground fighting. The last big fight is surely un-winnable, but with the odds against him, our hero comes out on top, and makes loads of money after betting on himself.

Watching these films it’s clear that Fighting is the least awful (like a low-key Rocky without the training montages), though both have the same basic elements. Fighting benefits from over 30 years of crappy action films; it’s far better informed. Today’s Cheesy Bullshit is far better made than that of the 80s/90s action heyday. But taking AWOL into context as a film that’s now twenty years old, it’s actually no worse then Fighting. The newer film has better developed characters and a (slightly) more believable story (though there’s nothing fantastical taking place in either) but the real difference is aesthetic.

In Fighting almost everyone is stylish and handsome, even when they’re rolling around on the floor fighting in the style of MMA / UFC fighters that has become fashionable in modern films. I know Kung Fu fighting is unrealistic, but it looks better that the real thing. Fighting is dripping with ‘urban chic’ or whatever you call it. The glamorous lifestyle the target audience aspire to is on screen; ‘hoes’ and ‘clubs’ and ‘hip pop’ (far more attention is paid to the soundtrack of such films nowadays). And the hero gets the girl of course, by which I mean he nails her. This is the least noticeable evolution in the action type film; the good guy doesn’t just save the girl, he has sex with her and we get to watch. When did Stallone or Schwarzenegger or JCVD actually get laid in any of their films?

Films like this aren’t supposed to be anything other than entertaining, like all of JCVD’s films (with the exception of JCVD) AWOL isn’t looking for anyone’s respect. Fighting on the other hand is so careful to avoid the slightest hint of ‘goofiness’ that has the air of a film that takes itself too seriously (I’d hate to think the people behind Fighting thought they had another Raging Bull on their hands). Everything about Jean-Claude is goofy, from the lump on his forehead to his incredibly high waistline into which he forever tucks his shirt (necessary for all those crotch defying high kicks). JCVD watch anyone?

Perhaps I just begrudge the fact that the action films I grew up with and so adore have aged badly, and while modern audiences only appreciated them in that ironic post 80’s way, I still hold some of them in the same regard as ‘good’ films, perhaps for all the wrong reasons.

Hmm...I’m suddenly reminded of how long it’s been since I went to the cinema.

Next in line after Fighting and Never Back Down; Warrior.

King of New York

King of New York - 1990, Abel Ferrara



Abel Ferrara films tend to spilt audiences into those who like them a lot and those who really dislike them. When Werner Herzog made Bad Lieutenant Port of Call: New Orleans, he was very clear to distance himself from Abel. Abe’s problem is that his films don’t age very well. The only other Abel Ferrara film I’ve seen is Bad Lieutenant, which along with KONY is very much of its time, but I don’t think that’s such a bad thing, although it means that no Ferrara film will ever be considered a classic.

KONY and BL feature leading actors putting in a lot of effort but ultimately producing unfortunate and misjudged performances, which suggests that Ferrara’s skill as a director is in choosing a story and shooting it in an atmospheric style, rather that getting the best from his cast. By way of compensation he does benefit from excellent casting if KONY is anything to go by; Chris Walken, Laurence (back when he was Larry) Fishbourn, Wesley Snipes and David Caruso.

KONY is one of those ‘gritty’ films where a lot of time is given to the action and the drama and only just enough attention is paid to characterisation. The result is characters whose objectives and goals are obvious, but whose motivation is never quite clear. It actually works well as a technique (assuming it’s intended) as it means the characters can do pretty much anything without behaving out of character.

Something that doesn’t work quite so well is the use of ambient noise. Scenes in restaurants and on the subway and anywhere that might be noisy have very loud background noise. It may be realistic, but it’s slightly annoying to watch, although it does provide stark contrast between these scenes and the quiet parts of the film.

Christopher Walken is down with the homies.
It’s very strange to watch at first, but it’s certainly more original that a film about Italian mobsters. I can’t think of another actor who could have pulled it off. Walken often plays sinister but fun loving characters, non better than his Angel Gabriel in The Prophecy trilogy.

I suppose I liked King of New York as much as Bad Lieutenant. Abel is a director who never really had great success, but the quality of his work allowed him to be quite prolific for a few years.