This movie is kind of awkward... It seemed like a very good, martial arts, flick to watch, but there's something weird in it.
Well, first thing's first, the casting is awesome. Scott Adkins in the lead role, Marko Zaror as the "strongest villain", and Cung Le as the guards' official. I expected fantastic choreography, from high flying strikes, as well as fast paced combats... but that's the main problem with the movie itself...
This movie has an "In Hell" feeling to it... if you recall, "In Hell", starred by Van Damme, was one of the few where Van Damme didn't showcase his skills, as usual... it had a more "real fight" feeling, into it...
"Savage Dog" has this feeling... Adkins, here, is not a martial artist, but a bare knuckle fighter... and so, his skills are limited to some punching work, and a few loose kicks, here and there.
So anyone, like me, that were expecting the second round of "Undisputed III - Redemption", between Adkins and Zaror, will be a bit disappointed, since both actor limited their skills to knuckle fighting and few kicks, when we would expect high kicks, and flying strikes.
The fight between Cung Le and Adkins was very very strange... first, Le beat the hell out of Adkins... only to throw him to an arms reach of a machine gun, and then, Adkins ended the fight.
OK, it's plausible, that in a real fight, the one being beaten to a pulp, if managing to get a hold on a weapon, would use it, and end the fight... but in a movie, we don't expect this... we expect fighting with honor, man-on-man, hand-on-hand... but that, never happened...
After my first disappointment, I had to re-watch the movie, once more... it felt weird, but no THAT bad... so I re-watched once more... So, the bad part is the limitations regarding the fighting choreography... but the movie itself, is entertaining... it has lots of action, bloody action, to be correct, and a nice story into it.
So, if you are planning to watch it, do it, without expecting spectacular flights, or over-the-top strikes... expect a very nice action movie...
Only that... and you'll be good.
Well, first thing's first, the casting is awesome. Scott Adkins in the lead role, Marko Zaror as the "strongest villain", and Cung Le as the guards' official. I expected fantastic choreography, from high flying strikes, as well as fast paced combats... but that's the main problem with the movie itself...
This movie has an "In Hell" feeling to it... if you recall, "In Hell", starred by Van Damme, was one of the few where Van Damme didn't showcase his skills, as usual... it had a more "real fight" feeling, into it...
"Savage Dog" has this feeling... Adkins, here, is not a martial artist, but a bare knuckle fighter... and so, his skills are limited to some punching work, and a few loose kicks, here and there.
So anyone, like me, that were expecting the second round of "Undisputed III - Redemption", between Adkins and Zaror, will be a bit disappointed, since both actor limited their skills to knuckle fighting and few kicks, when we would expect high kicks, and flying strikes.
The fight between Cung Le and Adkins was very very strange... first, Le beat the hell out of Adkins... only to throw him to an arms reach of a machine gun, and then, Adkins ended the fight.
OK, it's plausible, that in a real fight, the one being beaten to a pulp, if managing to get a hold on a weapon, would use it, and end the fight... but in a movie, we don't expect this... we expect fighting with honor, man-on-man, hand-on-hand... but that, never happened...
After my first disappointment, I had to re-watch the movie, once more... it felt weird, but no THAT bad... so I re-watched once more... So, the bad part is the limitations regarding the fighting choreography... but the movie itself, is entertaining... it has lots of action, bloody action, to be correct, and a nice story into it.
So, if you are planning to watch it, do it, without expecting spectacular flights, or over-the-top strikes... expect a very nice action movie...
Only that... and you'll be good.