hanshotfirst1138

Doing the plot synopsis for this for Sight and Sound will be easy for whomever gets it. "Keanu kicks somebody, Keanu punches somebody, somebody gets shot, a car goes fast, something explodes, someone gets shot, someone gets stabbed, someone gets punched, someone gets kicked," you can just randomly reshuffle them in any order .

Why So Blu?

In the coolest ways possible no less. This was the #2 best action film of 2014 behind The Raid 2.

Solid Snake

hrmmm.

Yeah. You're right. Jesus. What good action films came out last year?

I guess you can lump Cap 2 in there maybe. I dunno.

Why So Blu?

Yeah, that one is Top-5, but doesn't compare to the brutality of these two.

Solid Snake

That's for sure. Hammer Girl and Bat Boy alone add up more brutality than Cap 2 and John Wick combined. So unhappy that the BD for Raid 2 didn't go lower

RocShemp

Cap 2 is a great spy thriller with really solid action. A top class movie all around. However, for pure action and slick cool style, John Wick has it beat.

Solid Snake

What movies did come out last year that could be lumped into the genre? The Raid 2, John Wick.... what else? Jesus. Are we that much in a lull in quality action? I didn't think it was that goddamn low. Low...sure but...wow.

Why So Blu?

Actionwise?

Sabotage
300: Rise of an Empire
Expendables 3
Sin City 2
Equalizer

RocShemp

The Equalizer was awesome but it's really a slow burn thriller and rather lite on the action. Heck, the final showdown (although really cool) is really "quiet" and restrained, despite the bloodshed. I felt like I was watching the finale to a Michael Mann movie, given the vibe and music chosen for that sequence.

robin2099

Different strokes. I thought this was the best action movie of last year and found Raid 2 to be kind of boring until the last forty minutes.

fumanstan

I thought the Raid 2 was disappointing as well, as a huge fan of the first movie. I wouldn't call Wick the best action movie, as I found others like Captain America and Edge of Tomorrow better, but still enjoyed the hell out of it and looking forward to watching it again.

d2cheer

This might be my first blind buy in years...

RichC2

fwiw, I found it boring through the last 40 minutes, it just did nothing for me.

Ash Ketchum

I didn't weigh in on this here after I saw it because the thread had vanished, but this was the latest example of internet fanboy hype that suckered me in. When am I gonna learn? I never once bought Keanu in the role. He's supposed to be such a badass yet when the Russian thugs come to steal his car, they easily beat him up and kill his dog. Yet the boss of their gang gets really scared when he learns who they robbed. Does not compute.

And later on he takes enough punishment to kill Schwarzenegger ten times over yet he prevails. E.g. the doc patches him up and says his wounds will open up if he exerts himself, so what does Keanu do? He exerts himself--repeatedly--yet the wound doesn't open up. To me, this is just stupid filmmaking.

And that whole premise of a hotel for assassins might have worked just fine in anime (something out of "Noir" or "Golgo 13") but just came off as ludicrous in live-action. Maybe if the whole thing had been more stylized and set in some fictional alternate universe version of NYC (kind of like PUNISHER: WAR ZONE), I might have had less trouble suspending my disbelief.

RichC2

Now I want to know your opinion of The Guest

Solid Snake

That's so cute. You don't remember how a lot of action movies were and, to a degree, still are.

RocShemp

Actually, a fictional alternate reality is exactly how it felt. This totally felt like a comic book or anime based movie except the "source material" doesn't exist.

fumanstan

I thought Lucy was dumb as shit, so I guess we're complete opposites

slop101

Lucy was one of the dumbest movies I've ever seen.

RichC2

... I liked Lucy, it was like a dumbed down Serial Experiments Lain with goofy action sequences mixed in.

Solid Snake

Lucy was dumb but damnit... Besson made it fun.

islandclaws

Yep. Watched Lucy on a flight last week and while it was ludicrous and ridiculous as fuck, it was also sort of fun. Who cares how jacked the science is? It isn't a documentary.

fumanstan

Lucy was so stupid that I couldn't even have fun with it. Plus, the action wasn't even particularly great. Unlike Wick, where the action is excellent

Solid Snake

Are we calling Lucy an action flick? It was promoted as one but... it wasn't.

Why So Blu?

Correct.