Headshot (2016)
Gareth Jones
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Starring Iko Uwais, Chelsea Islan, Sunny Pang, Julie Estelle, David Hendrawan
Directed by Kimo Stamboel, Timo Tjahjanto
Screened at Mayhem 2016
When a young man (Uwais) washes up on the shore, comatose and sporting a devastating head wound, it takes some time for small town nurse Ailin (Islan) to bring him back to health at the local hospital. Finally awakening, the man is stricken with amnesia – with little but brief flashes to remind him of his past.
Given the name Ishmael, after a character in Ailin’s current choice of book, “Moby Dick”, the man forms a strong bond with his saviour – who eventually insists he accompany her to Jakarta, where the medical facilities are greater and can remove remaining metal fragments lodged dangerously close to his brain.
Alas, things aren’t going to be that easy as Ishmael is, in fact, an ex-member of a deadly band of outlaws led by the monstrous Lee (Pang). Shot in the head following his betrayal of the gang and presumed dead, Ishmael’s return sees recent prison escapee Lee order his foot-soldiers to finish the job once and for all… but not before taking Ailin hostage – igniting Ishmael’s rage and, in turn, the muscle memory of his formidable combat skills.
Yeah, the Mo Brothers’ Headshot certainly isn’t Shakespeare when it comes to the story, but the lack of a convoluted power structure or micro-politics makes for a thoroughly fun, old-school style of action flick. Genuine twists and turns are few, but once the action starts it tends to come thick and fast as Ishmael carves his way through his former buddies whilst struggling to reconcile the killer he was with the man he now considers himself to be.
Like a kind of video game progression, Uwais’ bone-crunching avenger works from set piece to set piece, battle to battle, as he climbs the ranks of his old crew toward head honcho Lee. So far, so basic, but writer Tjahjanto is wise to infuse each battle with dramatic gravitas – the recognition of past friendships (or rivalries), shared tragedy and barely contained desires to offer the olive branch instead of a blade – and it makes for a few surprisingly deep moments that the cast handle very well indeed.
Whilst the action sequences are impressively choreographed, edited and shot with skill, Headshot does suffer from an over-reliance on cartoonish CGI blood spray during its many (MANY) instances of over-the-top gunplay, and the Mo Brothers struggle with ramping up the excitement factor as the encounters progress – the film pretty much retaining a balls-to-the-wall outlook from the first fight to the last.
Is that a bad thing? Given the sense of progression and escalation that makes some of the best action films the rollercoaster experiences they are, yes it is. On the other hand, it doesn’t stop Headshot from being a thrilling, adrenaline-fuelled experience. There are more than enough broken limbs, shattered bodies, kicked faces, impalements, elbows to the skull, slicing and dicing and everything in between to keep action fans pumped up for the duration. It just doesn’t quite pull off the gradual climb and cheer-inducing topper of a climax the formula demands – a victim of its own ambitions to out-shoot, out-kick and out-punch the rest, perhaps.
But nobody can argue that Headshot doesn’t get the job done. Old-school action fans – and especially fans of Iko Uwais’ bombastic martial arts skills – should get their hands on this one immediately. Relentless violence, high-impact hand to hand combat and some surprisingly warped secrets await.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
