Excess action sequences of the 1990's

[Pau Diaz]

I'm an avid film buff and goer. I've been into cinema since I was sixteen and now, at the age of thirty one, I've had the pleasure of getting to learn about many different time periods, the 30's, 40's until the 21st century. I've seen hundreds of films in my lifetime. I might even get to thousands by the time I'm forty.

 

Now, in my opinion, the 90's had action films that went over the top in certain action scenes. One example is the end of the first half between Guile and Bison. In short, at 2:37, Guile performs a spinning hook kick to the back of Bison's head. Now, I've studied Karate, Kickboxing and Muay Thai, so I both know how effect such a technique can can have. In this instant, what happens as a result of this technique is a bit too much in my estimate. Bison is sent running off the platform, where he crashes face first into a bank of computer hard drives, which electrocute him to death, a rather glorified way to overly punish the villain.

 

Okay, a complex apparatus revives him, but I didn't like this part of the scene, because it deliberately made Bison suffer the rather cruel insult of getting kicked in the back of his head, as well as the injury of getting thrown into the hard drives and getting mortally wounded, even if he was brought back.

 

There's more to this scene that I want to comment on, but for now, this is enough. Here's a link to the fight, so everyone can take equal part in the discussion...

 

[r0eladn]

So what are we talking about? Over the top action scenes?

 

I kind of like those.

[Pau Diaz]

So what are we talking about? Over the top action scenes?

 

I kind of like those.

 

Well, I don't know what there is to like about them. Let's consider the example I gave in more detail. In the seconds before 2:37, Guile delivers a spinning heel kick to Bison's face, a move that Bison saw coming and could have ducked or blocked, but he let it connect with him. Next, Guile fully lands two flipping kicks, on Bison. The first he caught him by surprise, that's understandable, but then, Bison tries to move and Guile hits him again with the same move, a rather glorified way of dishing out extra punishment to the bad guy, which I don't think is likely, given that in most fights, people don't let the same technique hit them a second time in a row.

 

Anything else? Yeah, how about this: after taking that kick, Bison yells, running forward, with the intent of hitting Guile with a rather obvious punch that Guile manages to easily telegraph, before executing the said spinning hook kick at 2:37.

 

I'm sorry, but I've done enough sparring and seen enough fights, choreographed, or otherwise in my time, to tell you that the end of the first half of the fight was not at all likely and a very blatant way to promote the hero. Bison wouldn't have been as reckless or awkward, had the fight been a properly filmed sequence.