Action

Kill Order (2018)

Published

5 years ago

February 6, 2018

Steven Brinn

Genre : Action
Country : USA
Director: James Mark

Cast:
Chris Mark
Jessica Clement
Daniel Park

Summary

When David, a troubled high school student who appears to suffer from mental illness, finds himself in a situation where he is about to be taken captive for reasons unknown, a dark power takes over his body opening the doors to a world of superhuman abilities and a past kept secret.

Something that always piques my interest when it comes to a movie is when a stuntman steps behind the camera. While writers or producers eventually sitting in the director’s chair has always been the natural progression, more recently stuntmen and stunt coordinators have been behind some of the biggest movies in action cinema. Dating back to the 70’s the legendary Hal Needham has been behind Southern fried cult classics The Cannonball Run and Smokey and The Bandit. More recently stuntmen Chad Stahelski and David Leitch worked together to create the runaway hit John Wick with Leitch going on to work on Deadpool 2 and Atomic Blonde. No doubt seeing these past successes stuntman and fight choreographer James Mark (Pacific Rim, Jumper) joins the fray writing and directing his own take on the superhero genre, Kill Order. It’s his first feature film and you can tell.

From the beginning he falls into a lot of the problems common in low budget cinema. For example, there is a an over reliance on slow motion effects. It looks good but after awhile it feels like padding the runtime more than anything else. There is also quite a bit of questionable CGI. Smaller effects like glowing eyes are look fine but blood splatter and explosions can’t help but look pretty bad. While not necessarily James Mark’s fault it adds up after awhile. Creatively speaking, Kill Order‘s plot is pretty rudimentary. A basic superhero origin story it hits all the familiar beats including a hero with a mysterious past, his love interest and an evil, secret organization. There is the occasional unsuspected beat (a certain death midway through the movie comes to mind) but for the most part it feels like your average CW comic book show. A lot of this is can be attributed to the film’s run time. Running only 77 minutes nothing really has time to sink in nor do we have a chance to learn about our characters.

Not that the short run time is a complete negative. Despite it’s length Kill Order never feels rushed. The familiarity of the story works well with only 77 minutes, never getting too complicated or becoming hard to follow. And while the story may feel overly familiar as a director James Mark is good on a technical level. More importantly he is able to film an action scene properly. Like most stuntmen-turned-directors he is able to film action perfectly showcasing every hard hitting punch. At no point does the camera have too much shaky cam or stay too sedentary. Collaborating with his brother Chris Mark (Suicide Squad, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World) the two craft action scenes better than some of their direct-to-video contemporaries.

Working together they are able to create some spectacular action scenes.Clearly experienced in the field they blend martial arts, weapons and gun play into some creative and memorable scenes. Even more impressive is how long the scenes run. Typically lasting several minutes not only do they run longer than the typical action scene they are just as impressive as their big screen counterparts. It certainly has some early contenders for best fight choreography of the year.

Kill Order is a James Mark’s first film and it shows. A fairly typical direct-to-video action movie it’s wooden acting, overuse of slow motion and the cliché plot show how new director James Mark is behind the camera. Despite these flaws I can’t help but recommend it. What it lacks in polish or originality it makes up for with some good fight choreography, real knack for filming them and a good sense of pacing. Add the movie’s slim runtime and you have a fun, quick look at a director finding his voice. Kill Order is an assignment worth taking, just make sure you have some friends and a couple of drinks.

Rating 6/10
Links : IMDB

Kill Order is Available on DVD, Blu Ray and VOD on February 6, 2018

FILM RATING

Related Topics:Chris Mark James Mark Kill Order

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Action

Five Reasons To Love ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’

Published

2 months ago

January 22, 2023

Richard Schertzer

Back in 2014, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opened into theaters with a mixed reception from critics and audiences and has been deemed as the least desirable of the Spidey movies. In the film, Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) must face off against another villain who has been given the name Electro. Moreover, our brave hero uncovers some bizarre mysteries surrounding his parents.

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Andrew Garfield

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Electro

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To better understand a villain, you must understand their plight and Electro’s plight is that of a rags-to-riches success story and the visual effects are certainly something to marvel at.

Action Sequences

This article wouldn’t be complete if I decided not to talk about the exhilarating action that embodied the film. Whether we see Spidey chasing down a truck with Oscorp’s product or a massive fight inside a grid that seems like a colossal feat for any Marvel film, the film can take a lot of pride in its action sequences.

One can also never forget the massive and iconic battle sequence between Electro and Spidey in Time Square that seems impossible to be made.

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While he remains a secondary villain, Dane Dehaan’s Green Goblin is still noteworthy. Dehaan portrays Harry Osborne who is left with his dead father Norman’s life work and stumbles upon a Goblin serum that enhances his speed, strength, and intelligence.

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Gwen Stacy Death

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Action

Anthony Hopkins to Lead Peacock Gladiator Drama ‘Those About to Die’

Published

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Action

‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ Adds Oscar-Nominee William H. Macy

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2 months ago

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Darian Scalamoni

The Planet of the Apes trilogy headlined by Andy Serkis from the 2010s can be argued as one of the best trilogies of all-time. The technological advances made from motion capture helped actors completely transform into the apes with their interactions with human characters making the story rawer and more emotional. Now, 20th Century Studios will jump back into the world of apes with their latest, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Deadline reports that William H. Macy (Shameless, Fargo) will round out the cast for the newest chapter of the franchise.

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Macy is coming off his biggest role ever in Showtime’s series, Shameless for which he played Frank Gallagher and was nominated for 6 Emmy Awards for his performance over 11 seasons. Macy is also a former Oscar-nominee for his lead role in the Coen Brothers classic, Fargo. Since then, he’s amassed tons of parts including most recently in Hulu’s The Dropout and a guest spot on the ABC sitcom, The Conners. Macy will next appear in the film, Maybe I Do with Emma Roberts, Diane Keaton, Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon.

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