Photo Courtesy of Well Go USAter from organ traffickers headed by
the psychotic Queenpin (disturb-
ingly played by Tran Thanh Hoa).
To accomplish that goal, she must
rely on a series of super-intense
vovinam techniques.
Director Le Van Kiet has a good
eye for shooting the fight scenes. He
uses fluid camera tracking that cir-
cles, rises, dips and slithers near the
ground to follow each martial move.
The camera is like a cobra capturing
the intent and path of its prey before
moving in for the kill. Using medium
shots that zoom in and out guaran-
tees that the audience can clearly
see the power, speed and emotional
purpose behind each technique. The
byproduct is that we also can appre-
ciate the effort and hard work of the
actors who did their own fights.
Although sometimes called the
Vietnamese Michelle Yeoh, in Furie,
Ngo exhibits a way of moving and a
take-no-crap-from-anyone demeanor
that mirrors Angela Mao Ying’s role
in Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon
(1973). Furthermore, all the big fights
are shot differently — which keeps
the look and feel fresh.
The three main fights showcase
Ngo’s dedication to the craft: the
chase scene that follows the kidnap-During Larson’s escape from
Kree prison and a chase-bash-run
sequence through the ship, she dem-
onstrates one to three fight skills
per shot. Even worse, a medium shot
snap-pans from behind Larson as she
moves from side to side, almost in
and out of frame. The camera quickly
pans to catch up, and when it looks
like it’s about to catch up, she moves
in the opposite direction. It’s delayed-
response panning as she travels
down a hallway, hitting enemies on
either side.
When physical fights surrender to
CGI, that’s when Captain Marvel’s
energy skyrockets. The movie
becomes soaked in smash-bash-blast
intensity, and we’re treated to the
über-power-oozing CGI spectacles
we’ve grown to expect in a super-
hero flick.
FURIE
Starring the Vietnamese-born and
Norway-raised Veronica Ngo — who
isn’t schooled in martial arts yet
does her own fights and most of her
stunts — this Vietnamese movie is
a violently beautiful and physically
demanding kick-bam-thank-you-
ma’am beatfest. Phuang (Ngo) sets
out to rescue her kidnapped daugh-
pers through alleys, on a motorbike
and on a long-tail motorboat; the
scene in which Phuang finds her
child and faces Queenpin for the first
time and then gets pulverized; and
the scene on the train where fights
take place inside and on the roof.
And there’s the violent round two
with Queenpin, not to mention the
finale involving guards armed with
machine guns. Although the Queen-
pin bout unfolds in a claustrophobic
space and uses tightly shot knife
and empty-hand skills, everything
flows smoothly. There’s no choppy
editing whatsoever. Plus, it’s emo-
tionally charged, especially when
the desperate mother is battling to
save her child.
The finale has two long unedited
takes using John Wick–style shoot-
flip-punch-shoot-body-kick-shoot-
grapple choreography. The weaving
camera clearly captures everything
without losing the rhythm of the
fight. It’s pure combative magic with-
out a wand.Dr. Craig D. Reid’s book The Ultimate
Guide to Martial Arts Movies of
the 1970s: 500+ Films Loaded With
Action, Weapons and Warriors is
available at blackbeltmag.com/store.Furie34 BLACKBELTMAG.COM § AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019