His Chinese gun smuggling ring dismantled, Triad
gangster Lee has designs on moving his operation stateside. He’s even found a gwailo benefactor to help
make this dream a reality. Alas, old
demons come back to haunt him, preventing his plans from truly coming to fruition.
John Woo’s action classic Hard Boiled will be celebrating its 20th anniversary
this year. Hollywood has long since appropriated
all the hallmarks of Woo’s signature style.
Nevertheless, those who remember what action cinema was like pre-John
Woo have a deep appreciation for his contribution to the form. In tribute to that aesthetic, director Rich
Wolgemuth (with the help of Emmanuel Manzanares) has crafted Ruthless.
Ruthless was originally
an entry in 2007’s "True to John Woo” film contest." Though it didn’t
win, it came in runner up and received a favorable review from John Woo
himself. What’s amazing about it is that
it actually captures the feel of Hard Boiled with considerably less to work
with than that film. It also manages to
be sly parody of the John Woo aesthetic that only a true fan could appreciate.
IBP Stunts Chicago regular Shawn Bernal plays the heroic
Yuen, who is obviously a stand in for the Chow Yun Fat character Tequila from Hard Boiled. He even wears similar tactical gear and
perfectly mimics Chow’s two fisted shooting style. His impression is helped by cinematographer
Mike Bove, who appears to have studied Hard
Boiled to the nth degree. The camera
roams and zooms restlessly. The pans are
sometimes jarring, and slow motion is used at choice moments.
Norman Yap is a parody of the kinds of villains often found
in prototypical “Heroic Bloodshed” films.
He sports a gaudy gold chain and a Fu-Manchu goatee that comes right out
of a Shaw Brothers production. In
another hilarious touch, there’s even a stand in for Philip Kwok’s eye-patched
henchmen Mad Dog. It’s clear that the
makers of Ruthless want viewers to
know exactly what they are paying tribute to.
Ruthless has
nowhere near the massive body count of a classic John Woo flick, but director Rich
Wolgemuth compensates for this by going for impact instead over quantity. Actual squibs are used instead of the obviously
fake digital variant. Ironically, that decision
works against the film at a key moment. Blood
spatters hit the inside of a window in close up. The stage blood used has such a thick
consistency that it calls attention to itself.
Ruthless is an
essentially an extended inside joke. It
almost plays like a well-executed Saturday
Night Live sketch. It actually looks
like one of the many “Heroic Bloodshed” films that emerged in the wake of John
Woo’s early success. In any other case
that would be an insult. In this case it’s meant as a compliment. Rich Wolgemuth obviously knows the work of
John Woo well, and manages to craft a lovingly self-aware homage.
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