Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Review: U.S. Seals 2: The Ultimate Force (2001)
Nu Image are the most prolific producers of bland action films for the video market; no question. Following in the footsteps of Cannon films and PM Entertainment, Nu Image emerged in the early 90s with their own stable of stars and distinctive low-budget aesthetics. The identifiable Nu Image style was a result of their reliance on dated methods of filmmaking and their recourse to South African and Eastern European production locations. U.S. Seals 2 is just one of many films made to this formula, but it is the manner in which it exceeds these expectations which causes me to bring it to your attention.
Director Isaac Florentine has shown a great deal of promise in his career so far, despite failing to produce a satisfactory product. His prior work for Nu Image, including a vehicle for British martial artist Gary Daniels and established international star Dolph Lundgren, showed an advanced commitment to the injection of Hong Kong style action choreography present in his entire filmography. U.S. Seals 2 is, at time of writing, his most successful attempt at such a hybrid.
A sequel to a typically dire production, with not even one established star attached, U.S. Seals 2 manages to surprise and amaze with its modest injection of talent and sheer enthusiasm. Courtesy of choreographer Andy Cheng, a member of Jackie Chan’s exemplary stunt team, Nu Image have delivered one of their finest products, one which also ranks as one of the best attempts to infuse balletic martial arts within the American action movie formula, now very much an essential ingredient in mainstream Hollywood productions such as Charlie’s Angels (2000) and DareDevil (2003).
Inevitably the film has its flaws and the action clichés are present in abundance. The story is merely an excuse, the plot being a hybrid of Thunderball (1965), The Rock (1996) and Enter the Dragon (1973). The characters and their actions are all drawn from familiar paradigms; from the hero who re-enters service to face an old adversary to the dying soldier who pleads for a message to be passed to his beloved. And the typically decrepit locations are part of Nu Image’s apparent strategy to make something out of nothing. The illusion of production value. The looped dialogue and cheap computer effects merely reinforce the expectations offered by the mundane visuals and laughable conventions. While some may be unable to stifle laughter during a viewing, it is the way Cheng (co-starring and serving as 2nd unit director) and Florentine unite their creative visions to present awe-inspiring action which counteracts all these negative issues and ultimately turns them to its advantage.
The way the jaw-dropping action scenes rise from within this otherwise trite production demonstrates so well the importance of talent and not money in filmmaking. It’s also great that this is a sequel to a film most people will never even have heard of either; B movie sequels are generally much worse than their predecessors. U.S. Seals 3 (2002) is certainly a testament to this line of thinking. Though there are only three major fight scenes they are all spectacular and far more complex and lengthier in duration than those we were led to expect from the likes of Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme. The first major fight scene, in which the assembled team take on a typically face-less army of mercenaries rivals even the Crazy 88 sequence in Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003).
If you approach the film in the correct frame of mind you will applaud the creativity and forgive the flaws in logic. This is a martial arts film which requires an excuse to unite a team of skilled professionals to perform almost super-human feats. As such the plot is constructed on the premise that the villain is hiding out on an abandoned island, clouded in a methane gas. This means that guns are not permitted, requiring hand-to-hand combat. Genius. Unfortunately the concept is weakened by the fact that chains and bladed weapons are clashed with aplomb. But this is a comic book film, a fantasy. Florentine’s over-the-top use of exaggerated ‘slicing wind’ sound effects is both ludicrous and a great accessory to the film. From the opening he uses these effects for everything from a slight wave of a hand to a turning head.
Clearly influenced as much by John Woo as Jackie Chan, Florentine’s film bears a significant resembelence to both Broken Arrow (1996) and M-1:2 (2000). Before segueing into a purely martial arts film, the plot begins with a typically irrelevant action scene. This serves to establish the tone of the film, the principle characters and to ease the transition from the guns and bombs style of U.S. Seals (1999) and Operation Delta Force (1997). This sequence features no martial arts but does feature some stunning falls from stunt team members and modest wire-work in conjunction with the Woo-esque two pistol action.
Michael Worth and Damien Chapa, as hero and villain respectively, are competent actors and fighters, with youthful looks appropriate to the aesthetically conscious post-1980s action formula, but it is their co-stars who shine most. The most extraordinary thing about U.S. Seals 2 is that it highlights the unsung heroes of the action movie. While many of the stunt performers remain faceless, there are moments in the action which leave us in no doubt that the additional players are suffering like Jackie Chan himself for our entertainment. It is therefore unsurprising to learn that many of these actors are also accomplished stunt-persons, and most notable among these is Sophia Crawford. Not only is Sophia one of (if not the) only British stunt woman in Hollywood, she is also clearly recognisable as the stunt double of "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer" (1997 to 2003). Generally hidden behind rapid cuts, her role here allows her to showcase her talents to the limit.
Nu Image are the most prolific producers of bland action films for the video market; no question. Following in the footsteps of Cannon films and PM Entertainment, Nu Image emerged in the early 90s with their own stable of stars and distinctive low-budget aesthetics. The identifiable Nu Image style was a result of their reliance on dated methods of filmmaking and their recourse to South African and Eastern European production locations. U.S. Seals 2 is just one of many films made to this formula, but it is the manner in which it exceeds these expectations which causes me to bring it to your attention.
Director Isaac Florentine has shown a great deal of promise in his career so far, despite failing to produce a satisfactory product. His prior work for Nu Image, including a vehicle for British martial artist Gary Daniels and established international star Dolph Lundgren, showed an advanced commitment to the injection of Hong Kong style action choreography present in his entire filmography. U.S. Seals 2 is, at time of writing, his most successful attempt at such a hybrid.
A sequel to a typically dire production, with not even one established star attached, U.S. Seals 2 manages to surprise and amaze with its modest injection of talent and sheer enthusiasm. Courtesy of choreographer Andy Cheng, a member of Jackie Chan’s exemplary stunt team, Nu Image have delivered one of their finest products, one which also ranks as one of the best attempts to infuse balletic martial arts within the American action movie formula, now very much an essential ingredient in mainstream Hollywood productions such as Charlie’s Angels (2000) and DareDevil (2003).
Inevitably the film has its flaws and the action clichés are present in abundance. The story is merely an excuse, the plot being a hybrid of Thunderball (1965), The Rock (1996) and Enter the Dragon (1973). The characters and their actions are all drawn from familiar paradigms; from the hero who re-enters service to face an old adversary to the dying soldier who pleads for a message to be passed to his beloved. And the typically decrepit locations are part of Nu Image’s apparent strategy to make something out of nothing. The illusion of production value. The looped dialogue and cheap computer effects merely reinforce the expectations offered by the mundane visuals and laughable conventions. While some may be unable to stifle laughter during a viewing, it is the way Cheng (co-starring and serving as 2nd unit director) and Florentine unite their creative visions to present awe-inspiring action which counteracts all these negative issues and ultimately turns them to its advantage.
The way the jaw-dropping action scenes rise from within this otherwise trite production demonstrates so well the importance of talent and not money in filmmaking. It’s also great that this is a sequel to a film most people will never even have heard of either; B movie sequels are generally much worse than their predecessors. U.S. Seals 3 (2002) is certainly a testament to this line of thinking. Though there are only three major fight scenes they are all spectacular and far more complex and lengthier in duration than those we were led to expect from the likes of Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme. The first major fight scene, in which the assembled team take on a typically face-less army of mercenaries rivals even the Crazy 88 sequence in Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003).
If you approach the film in the correct frame of mind you will applaud the creativity and forgive the flaws in logic. This is a martial arts film which requires an excuse to unite a team of skilled professionals to perform almost super-human feats. As such the plot is constructed on the premise that the villain is hiding out on an abandoned island, clouded in a methane gas. This means that guns are not permitted, requiring hand-to-hand combat. Genius. Unfortunately the concept is weakened by the fact that chains and bladed weapons are clashed with aplomb. But this is a comic book film, a fantasy. Florentine’s over-the-top use of exaggerated ‘slicing wind’ sound effects is both ludicrous and a great accessory to the film. From the opening he uses these effects for everything from a slight wave of a hand to a turning head.
Clearly influenced as much by John Woo as Jackie Chan, Florentine’s film bears a significant resembelence to both Broken Arrow (1996) and M-1:2 (2000). Before segueing into a purely martial arts film, the plot begins with a typically irrelevant action scene. This serves to establish the tone of the film, the principle characters and to ease the transition from the guns and bombs style of U.S. Seals (1999) and Operation Delta Force (1997). This sequence features no martial arts but does feature some stunning falls from stunt team members and modest wire-work in conjunction with the Woo-esque two pistol action.
Michael Worth and Damien Chapa, as hero and villain respectively, are competent actors and fighters, with youthful looks appropriate to the aesthetically conscious post-1980s action formula, but it is their co-stars who shine most. The most extraordinary thing about U.S. Seals 2 is that it highlights the unsung heroes of the action movie. While many of the stunt performers remain faceless, there are moments in the action which leave us in no doubt that the additional players are suffering like Jackie Chan himself for our entertainment. It is therefore unsurprising to learn that many of these actors are also accomplished stunt-persons, and most notable among these is Sophia Crawford. Not only is Sophia one of (if not the) only British stunt woman in Hollywood, she is also clearly recognisable as the stunt double of "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer" (1997 to 2003). Generally hidden behind rapid cuts, her role here allows her to showcase her talents to the limit.
# posted by Richard Hawes @ 4:33 AM 
