Headshot (2016)

While having your fill of the classic Jackie Chan and Jet Li martial arts fests from the 90's can be pleasing for genre nerds, this sleeper cult classic delivers on all levels. The plot is complex and nuanced (as much as possible for this style of cinema) and the editing helps keep up the pace. The main takeaway here is the incredible action choreography. Perfectly choreographed fight sequences happen at a blinding pace with enough classic marital art tropes to keep the purists happy while also providing a new, fresh zing to engage the uninitiated. There is incredible attention to detail in the choreography and every single sequence shines. There is not one dull moment here.

Iko Uwais really comes into his own here. You might have seen him in The Raid movies, enjoyed his cameo in The Man of Tai Chi, or had good fun watching his slow burn performance in Mile 22. However, this is his magnum opus. Supported by an excellent cast, Iko really pours in all of himself here, choreographing and executing action sequences that would be fresh and exciting decades from now. The chaos builds up fast into an excellent climax that serves the narrative well and puts the stamp of marital arts superstardom on Iko. It will be exciting to see his future work.

Whether you are a marital arts cinema nerd or a newcomer to the genre, this is a must watch.

Fmovies: Iko uwais is the best martial artist in the world. This is the best action in 2016.

Iko Uwais is amazing. If you've seen him in other movies, you already know this and don't need me to try to sell you on this one.

This movie is pretty much non stop action, with some scenes being very brutal and even a little difficult to watch. (I'm generally not the one to look away, unless it's something like *that* scene from "American History X".) The choreography is beautiful to watch and I found myself rewinding and rewatching multiple scenes several times. I really, really liked the way the movie was shot as well, from fast to slow motion, to many different angles used.

The rest of the major characters were also great, with Very Tri Yulisman really blowing me away.

Sure, the movie is maybe a little predictable, but there's still a good story there - much better than I expected for this type of movie. There's also just enough of drama and romance to add substance, without being cheesy or annoying. (We're here for the action, after all. If we want romance, we'll go watch "The Notebook" or "La La Land" - both of which are great movies, BTW.)

Some of my favorite scenes are around the 29m, 1h11m, and 1h42m marks.

Just do yourself a favor and watch this movie. :)

Headshot fmovies. I'm not sure if it's as good as the 'Raid' movies and as you expect so much, it can be a bit disappointing in places. Kind of like the Tony Jaa pictures, it's increasingly difficult to top former films, especially when you start to age. The same will go for Iko Uwais and these incredibly hot Indonesian, action movies. I mean where do you go after this and how do they raise the bar, any further? Despite the great action, the plot did seem to wonder a little. Also I did not care for the sentimental ending, though it does not distract from the graphic violence we all love to watch.

Great action, quite bloody though. Lead actors did an excellent job.

Short review: Nicely plotted, acted, little action thriller. The two hours go by fairly quickly.

Longer review: Some have suggested that this is Bourne with "more violence." And especially after the sorry mess that was the last Bourne film (see my IMDb review) such a feat would have been welcome. But no it is not. The Bourne story -- the top professional with a slight memory problem -- was much more subtle, This is more like Tony Jaa from Ong Bak (who actually looks like the star here!) waking up with a migraine and then everyone on the planet tries to kill him.

The action scenes are wonderful, except for the very first scene in the prison, which features too many automatic weapons going off at once. Some are especially memorable. For example -- just a tease -- this film will teach you how the very same bullet can kill a man twice. Once when you fire it. And again when you get your hands on the spent cartridge.

Recommended.