Martial Arts Illustrated – January 2018

26

_PDUWLDODUWVLOOXVWUDWHG

Stu Bennett

& Gary

Daniels walk

the road of

Vengeance

for Director

Ross Boyask

I

mpact’s long championed the work

of UK cult director Ross Boyask

(Left for Dead, 10 Dead Men) and

we’ve been excited about his latest

project Vengeance for some time, the

movie stars former WWE legend Stu Bennett

(Eliminators), Gary Daniels (Fist of the North

Star), Keith Allen (The Comic Strip) and

Bryan Larkin (Chasing the Dragon).

Ex-Soldier turned mercenary John Gold

(Stu Bennett) is forced to call upon the very

special set of skills he’s acquired over the

years when his family is brutally murdered.

He must walk the road of vengeance and take

down those responsible.

The ¿ lm made its debut at the 2017 Urban

Action Showcase in New York taking home

three awards including Best Feature Film,

Best Action, and Best Actor and has us very

excited about its upcoming release. Bennett

is pretty much the UK version of the Punisher

in the movie, while Gary Daniels abandons

his good guy persona to deliver a dark turn as

Bennett’s nemesis.

K

oei’s epic video game series

Dynasty Warriors makes the

move to the big screen with the

upcoming live action adaptation

of the project from the husband

and wife team of Director Roy Chow and

screenwriter Christine To (Rise of the Legend,

Nightfall). The ¿ lm has been shooting on

locations in China and now New Zealand with

a cast that includes Louis Koo (Paradox), Ray

Lui (To Be Number One), Justin Cheung,

Tony Yang and Carina Lau as the Master of

the Sword Castle.

To’s previous credits as a screenwriter include

Fearless, Mob Sister, True Legend, as well

as the ¿ lms directed by Chow, Murderer,

Nightfall, Rise of the Legend (which took a

new look at the Wong Fei-hong mythos) and

their upcoming release The Great Detective.

I was always

Cobra Kai

The Karate Kid’s Return

M

ore than 30 years ago the

1984 Hill Valley Karate

Tournament pitted the pride

of Sensei Kreese’s Cobra

Kai Dojo Johnny Lawrence

(William Zabka) against a remarkable young

man named Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio)

whose training came from a very unorthodox

Master named Miyagi. A well timed crane kick

to the face saw Johnny taking a dirt nap and

LaRusso becoming the hero of Hill Valley, all

of which was documented in The Karate Kid

movie.

Time hasn’t treated Johnny well, he’s a

bitter man frustrated with himself and still

haunted by the memories of that defeat

all those years ago, his

personal and professional

life are in chaos.

Meanwhile LaRusso is

a well respected family

man and local

businessman,

running the

number one car

dealership in

town.

But a chance

series of events

will bring the two

men back into each

other’s lives in ways

they never thought possible all those years ago,

and see Johnny trying to return to his martial

arts roots and re-establish the name of the

Cobra Kai dojo. Can Johnny ¿ nd redemption,

can Daniel ¿ nd balance in life without the

guidance of Master Miyagi, and can both men

deal with the responsibilities of family and all

the baggage that brings with it?

That’s the premise for a new 10 episode series

which will debut on YouTubeRed in 2018,

with Josh Heald writing the script with writer/

directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg

who will also exec produce the series alongside

Macchio and Zabka.

Note: the last time Macchio

and Zabka crossed pathes in a

Karate Kid inspired scenario

was for No More King’s

superb Sweep the Leg

music video, directed

by Zabka which also

revisited Johnny’s

current situation as

well as the original

movie.

Music Video:

https://www.

youtube.com/

watch?v=r3iYmg

DJ4FE

Dynasty Warriors

Roy Chow brings the video game to life with Louis Koo

Ò Ralph

Macchio

and William

Zabka