While comedies and romance rule in Indonesia, there hasnt been a major Southeast Asian action franchise since ThailandsOng Bak. ButRaidmight be the breakthrough franchise for a global market for Indonesia.
I love the continuous flowing movement of Chan; it is really an art form, says Uwais.
We wanted to show realistic fight scenes, stuff that you can use in everyday life, says the compact, wiry star, talking with the aid of an interpreter in a Toronto hotel room during last Septembers Toronto International Film Festival. Really, everything can be a weapon. It can be a pen, it can be a shoe; everything is usable.
But even some respected action stars such as Li have relied more heavily on CGI as they capitulate to Hollywood.
The scenes were punishing to shoot. Uwais injured his leg during practice and needed extensive physiotherapy.
Uwais co-star, Joe Taslim, who plays a captain in the movie, grimaces when films such as LisThe Oneare mentioned. The movie, laden with cartoony special effects, was r removed from the roots of traditional martial arts.
It will be 10 times more brutal, he says with a smile. Really.
The star of Indonesian martial-arts movieThe Raid: Redemption, opening Friday, could well be the next big thing in the martial arts world.
Too much wirework. People are flying all over the place. Totally unbelievable, says Taslim. Its for kids.
The partnership came about by accident. Evans was a documentary on silat when he met Uwais, who was driving a truck for a cell phone company at the time. Uwais had been training in silat at his uncles academy since he was 10 years old, and the director was impressed with the young mans work ethic.
Mar 23, 2012
The actor, like Chan ← Older posts, does all his own stunts.
Uwais and Evans are already collaborating on a third movie for which Uwais has just completed the choreography.
Certainly, his gritty, realistic work inRaid, an IndonesianAssault on Precinct 13, has been the antidote to ns tired of wirework and overly abused CGI in modern martial-arts films.
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I dont know why it has taken so long. Thailand makes great movies, but we are still behind,EVE Isk. says Taslim, a former national Judo champion in Indonesia.
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Although Uwais is recognized at home, he is r from a household name. ButThe Raid: Redemptionwill likely be a big step forward.
Uwais, who does double duty as the star and fight choreographer, has taken martial arts back to its roots free from gimmickry and pretence.
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This is the second collaboration between Wales-born director Gareth Evans and Uwais, since their well-received debut featureMerantauin 2009.
The feature, which had its debut atTIFF, introduced global audiences tosilat, the traditional Indo-Malay style of combat. Hardcore martial-arts ns will find the action convincing and free from sentiment. UwaisMartial Heroes Is The Raids Iko Uwais the next great martial arts plays a police officer trapped in a gang lords apartment building, and must fight his way out to survive.
While the actor is a huge n of Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan, their styles couldnt be more different. Chan is balletic Titan Gold, the Buster Keaton of martial artists. Uwais is all business, his moves requiring little stylistic embellishment.
In an era when 100-pound supermodels can be made to look like action heroes thanks to special effects,Raidis a throwback, even as many of the international stars are either long in the tooth, such as Li or Jackie Chan, or have llen into irrelevance, such as Steven Seagal.
The ct that the neighbouring and much smaller Thailand has a successful martial arts movie scene headed by starTony Jaa, while Indonesia with a population of more than 230 million has virtually nMartial Heroesone, is a bone of contention for Taslim, who plays the stars commanding officer.
ButRaidups the action level significantly from the first feature.
Is Iko Uwais the next Jet Li?
I really hate the movies that you can see the stunt double. You can tell we are out there, that its us getting hurt, he says.
