Bet On The Underdog - BLOOD AND BONE

Apologies to Sam Jackson, but Michael Jai White is the baddest motherfucker on the planet.  No one can rock a fight scene quite like him.  He doesn’t need wires or CGI or editing tricks to kick four dudes in the face all at once, he just does it.  He's more than just a great martial artist, though. He also has serious acting chops. The man can project gravitas like nobody’s business, and he has great comedic timing (see BLACK DYNAMITE, no seriously, see it).  And if you are looking for a purely heroic, fighting for the underdog kind of badass, and who isn´t these days, look no further than 2009 DTV masterpiece, BLOOD AND BONE.   

The Capsule:

A mysterious stranger named Bone (Michael Jai White) rolls into L.A. like a storm; his mind on a mission.  With the help of Pinball (Dante Basco), a small time promoter with a big mouth, he starts working his way up the underground fighting circuit, one pulverized opponent at a time.  Or in some cases, several at a time.  It’s not money or fame he is after, though.  Bone is working his way up the ladder to get to James (Eamonn Walker), a hotheaded crime boss with aspirations of the big leagues.  James wants into the Consortium, an organization controlling the multimillion dollar illegal fight racket.  He’ll need Bone’s skills to do it.  What James doesn’t know is that Bone has a promise to keep, and he's going to take down James piece by piece in order to honor it.

I prefer my action heroes to be flawed, in most circumstances.  I like them in the mold of DIE HARD’s John McClane; fallible but determined.  They make mistakes, they get scared, they get hurt.  Invincible characters just aren’t compelling, generally.  It’s hard to invest in a character who does everything right.  There are no stakes, no fear –realistic or otherwise—that the character won’t come out on top.  Ultimately, they are just boring. 

Now, forget all the shit I just said, because it in no way describes Bone.  Michael Jai White plays Bone with such confidence, presence, and charisma it doesn’t matter that he outclasses ever single chump in this movie.  His unwavering confidence is what makes him captivating. He’s like a precision machine.  You want to see what he can do.  It’s not just the confidence, though.  Bone is also thoughtful, observant, and most importantly, humble.  Mixing arrogance with confidence makes someone you want to see fall (or at least get taken down a bit).  You root for the quietly self-assured type.  That character deserves to win. 

It also helps that he is constantly underestimated by his enemies.  Now, Michael Jai White is an intimidating guy. He’s big and clearly in great shape.  Some of his opponents are mountains, though.  And as imposing as Bone is, he’s still only one guy.  Part of the joy in this movie is in knowing these cocky bastards have no idea what they are getting themselves into.  

The opening scene sets things up perfectly.  It starts in prison, with a whole crew of mean ass inmates surrounding Bone when he’s in the bathroom.  They taunt him about the unpleasant things they plan to do to his person.  Bone reacts like they are a bunch of rambunctious kids running around the living room.  He gives them to the count of 5 to get the hell out of there.  The half dozen knuckleheads, all with shanks, cannot believe what this guy is saying.  They don’t even let him get to five before rushing him.  Bone proceeds to absolutely destroy the entire group before they can lay a finger on him.  It’s a perfect Sergio Leone style introduction to a character who best not be fucked with.

Another nod to Leone is that Bone is kept mysterious.  He’s like the Man With No Name, except, you know, with a name.  We learn a small amount of backstory in a flashback (Bone had a twin brother who died, because the world is not awesome enough to contain two Michael Jai Whites), but that’s it.  The movie never reveals where he came from, why he was in prison, how he got out, or how he became such an amazing fighter.  Combined with his almost inhuman skill, it gives him an almost mystic presence.  He’s like a spirit of justice, materializing out of nowhere to right wrongs.  Except that spirits of justice don’t hang out in prison playing chess and beating the hell out of gang rapists, so there’s probably nothing supernatural going on.  

The movie isn’t all grim and face punchy. There is a nice amount of humor to lighten things up.  Dante Basco’s Pinball is introduced at the bottom of the street fighting heap, promoting novelty fighters like a huge brute in curlers going by Mommy Dearest.  Pinball is the kind of over the top character that would easily become grating after a few minutes, except that he and MJW play off each other so well.  Bone is always looking irritated and slightly embarrassed whenever Pinball is doing his smack talking promotion thing.  He breaks his intense, brooding stare at just the right moment to give Pinball a quick and disapproving sideways glance.  Bone warms up to him as the movie goes on, and Pinball gets more self-reflective and learns to turn it down a little.  Just a little.

Bone also develops a sweet relationship with Tamara (Nona Gaye), who he’s renting a room from.  She is just as mysterious as Bone, but in a nurturing way, not an arm snapping way.  She looks after a house full of kids who were either abandoned or lost their family.  It’s never established that she is officially a foster parent, though, so it’s kind of like she’s an outlaw caregiver.  The Nanny With No Name.  Although, again, with a name.  Everyone has names, I should just leave that one alone.

I should also note that there is a cameo fight staring Gina Carano of HAYWIRE fame.  The director had to limit the shared screen time between her and MJW to avoid people going blind from the sheer awesomeness.

Eamonn Walker’s James is a fantastic villain, and the perfect counterpoint to Bone.  He’s the definition of arrogance, a man who thinks of himself as more important than those around him.  He doesn’t drink, smoke, or swear.  He puts on the air of refinement, quoting the Art of War, and Genghis Khan.  No matter how hard he tries, though, he cannot escape his own crippling insecurity that deep down, he’s nothing but a lowlife thug.  That self-hatred is always seething just below his cool exterior, waiting to explode in violence and cruelty.  One second he is talking casually, the next he is running down a prostitute for no reason at all.  Even his right hand man is constantly nervous around him, especially when James makes him hold up the raw meat to feed his vicious attack dogs. 

There is a amazing scene where James is having a relaxed dinner with a colleague, an oblivious jerk named Daryl.  We know he’s a jerk because he has a sweater draped over his shoulders and is going on and on about golf.  He gets embarrassed when his girlfriend turns on the stereo and it plays “Dance Hall Days”.  James asks “You think the brothers aren’t down with Wang Chung?” and starts to sing along.  Daryl and his girlfriend get all excited, like it’s karaoke night, but James’ crew start looking nervous.  They know what’s coming.  Just before the chorus, James pulls out his sword cane and runs Daryl through.  It was a completely psychotic move, but in his defense, the guy would not shut up about golf.

James’ big dream is to leave the streets behind and join The Consortium, a group of super rich, elitist criminals who setup the big fights.  It’s just the kind of vaguely ominous title that a bunch of self-aggrandizing assholes would call themselves.  You know, like The Syndicate, or The Cabal, or The Trump Organization.  Normally these guys wouldn’t have anything to do with the likes of James, but he has an in with one of the members.  Franklin (Julian Sands, at his aristocratic, racist best) is willing to vouch for him, if he can come up with a five million dollar wager and a fighter that can stand up against Franklin’s top man. 

The climax of the movie is Bone pitted up against Franklin’s fighter, who is unfortunately not named Blood, but Pretty Boy Price (Matt Mullins).  Again, there is no doubt who the winner will be, but the fun comes from watching this cocky jackass, who doesn’t even bother to take off his suit jacket before the fight, strut around like he isn’t going to break a sweat.  He does break a sweat, along with other body parts.  It’s the longest single fight of the movie, and Bone does take a few serious hits, but it’s all about wearing Price down, taking the pride out of his step.  The fight is filmed with the same wide angle, long take style as all the others, allowing for a serious appreciation of the choreography and the athleticism. 

For Bone, it isn’t about the fight, it’s about completely ruining James.  [Spoiler] Just when he has Price pinned, poised to break his arm, Bone glares at James and taps out, forfeiting the match.  James’ five million and any chance of getting into the Consortium is gone.  Infuriated, he rushes Bone with a katana.  Franklin, being a sport, throws Bone a sword, too.  But because he is so supremely badass, Bone throws away the sword and just keeps the scabbard.  Now at this point, any sane person would have dropped the katana and said “fuck it, I’m done.”  James, as we know, is not a sane man.  It does not go well for him.  Bone is too noble to kill the chump, so he leaves him to an even worse fate.  Franklin is not as noble.  

It is one of the greatest crimes of cinema that BLOOD AND BONE didn’t get a sequel.  The adventures of Bone, going town to town providing justice for the underdog, could easily have become a franchise.  Director Ben Ramsey had only done one feature before this (LOVE AND A BULLET), but he showed himself more than capable of creating a lean, focused action movie, and he works well with MJW.  But the forces of evil keep us deprived of a BLOOD AND BONE II.  And as long as we are talking conspiracy theories, who can explain how this movie, along with the majority of MJW’s other starring features, is only available on DVD, not Blu Ray?  That is some bullshit.  Why are we being denied hi-def Michael Jai White?  We can take it.  I blame the Consortium.

C Chaka

 

Highbrow Ass Kicking: HAYWIRE

Action movies are often, unjustly, looked down upon for two things.  One is that they are generally thought of as lowbrow.  Just set the camera up, throw a bunch of guns, fist fights, car chases, and explosions in its direction, and call it a day.  Rarely are they applauded for their wit, composition, design, or style.  Action is also often thought of as a guy’s movie, the diametric opposite of a chick flick.  If there are women involved, they are there to be rescued or swept off their feet by the testosterone-pumped hero.  Or if you are still thinking lowbrow, they are just there for the sex scenes.  Then George Miller dropped a little wake-call in the form of MAD MAX: FURY ROAD and blew away those preconceived notions with style, a female centered plot, and yes, car chases and explosions.  Before FURY ROAD, though, there was another prime example that action movies could rise above the stereotypes.  Steven Soderburgh’s HAYWIRE (2007) is the quieter, low key alternative to Miller’s epic, a luscious, sexy world of intrigue, brutal fight scenes, and an absolutely indomitably female lead.

The Capsule:

Mallory Kane (champion MMA fighter Gina Carano) is a 100% badass independent contractor (the kind that rescues people, not the kind that remodels your kitchen).  Just before she can cut ties with her smarmy boss, Kenneth (Ewan McGregor), she accepts one last job from him.  It should be a friendly information exchange in Dublin, but after a double cross she finds herself framed for murder and targeted by her teammate (Michael Fassbender).  Kenneth seriously underestimates Ms. Kane, though.  After taking out her would be assassin and eluding an army of cops, Mallory makes it back to the States.  To clear her name, Mallory will have to keep one step ahead of Kenneth, her ex-associate Aaron (Channing Tatum), and the authorities, while unraveling a multinational conspiracy.  Before it is over, she will introduce her foot to many a face.

HAYWIRE is a very rare beast, a full-on action movie that is dripping with style.  It is gorgeously shot, with graceful tracking shots following our heroine as she slips in and out of trouble.  The editing gives you room to breathe without sacrificing any of the kinetic flow.  The score harkens back to a silky ‘60’s spy movie, giving it a glamorous feel.  There is just enough humor peppered throughout to keep the serious script from getting grim.  Under all the elegance, though, is a thoroughly badass action flick.  There are all the things you would expect, car chases, shootouts, near death escapes, and absolutely bone crunching fights.  Soderbergh mixes everything together in one sexy, smooth package that subtly messes with your expectations.

The movie open sets the tone perfectly.  Mallory, looking cold and disheveled, is nursing a cup of coffee in a snow covered upstate NY diner. A car pulls up.  She recognizes the man in the car and is not happy about it.  Aaron drops into the seat in front of her, impatient and hung-over.  He wants her to get in the car, she’s adamant about not going.  Everything is civil until, without warning, he splashes hot coffee in her face and begins beating the shit out of her.  His actions are sudden and shocking; it feels like a scene of brutal domestic violence.  Except that the second Aaron’s assault is interrupted by the diner patrons, Mallory comes back at him just as fast and even more viciously.  She disarms him, overpowers him, and breaks his arm.  The take down is precise and unemotional.  Aaron isn’t the abusive boyfriend, he’s the guy who should have brought backup.  Even with a sucker punch and gun, he’s not in her league.

Soderbergh then flips another gender trope by having Mallory (politely) kidnap the wide-eyed good-Samaritan Scott (Michael Angarano) in order to get away.  She guides him through fixing the gunshot wound in her arm while she high tails it in his new car.  She assures him he’s going to be fine and tries to keep him calm, all while effortlessly evading the police.  She even saves him during an ambush shootout.  There’s no time for him to return the favor or kindle any romance, she dumps him off as soon as it is safe.  Slam, bam, thank you sir.  Her time with Scott is also used as a clever framing device for the story.  The movie slips back and forth in time as she drills him on all the pertinent details of her last few days so he can get her side of the story out.  

One of the cool things about the movie is that for the most part, the fact that Mallory is a woman is kind of irrelevant.  She’s a professional, first and foremost.  When her team comes together for her first mission, she confidently takes control right out of the gate.  She is the most experienced and capable member of the team, and no one bucks it just because she’s a girl.  Aaron tries to give her a little shit, but it’s more about tactics than her leadership and Mallory is quick to shut it down.  The mission goes off successfully, and she personally takes care of the loose ends (by way of a beat down).  After the mission, as Aaron clumsily tries to flirt with her, she grabs him by the belt and takes charge of that situation, too.  When Kenneth wants her for one last job, going undercover as the wife of British operative Paul (Fassbender), she balks.  “I don’t wear the dress.”  Only his pleading and the promise of a substantial paycheck for an easy job convinces her.

It turns out that she wears a dress quite well.  She and Paul make an adorable couple, slipping into a fancy soiree at a Dublin mansion to exchange information with a shady contact.  Her unease at being all dolled up and on display works well for her cover, making her seem like a slightly overwhelmed and timid American trespassing into the European high life.  Uncomfortable or not, she is still on the top of her game, and she senses something is up.  Once she is away from Paul, Mallory does a bit of sleuthing on her own and realizes she is actually there to be set up for a murder.  Paul is in on it, and Kenneth is the man pulling the strings.  In order to find out more information, Mallory has to play along and pretend she’s still in the dark.  Until they return to their hotel, when the game changes.

Mallory’s big fight with Paul has to be one of the all-time greatest cinematic fight scenes.  It starts with this amazing sense of anticipation.  Mallory and Paul are returning to their room, chatting casually, trying not to show each other’s hand.  Paul is pretending he’s not about kill her, she is pretending she doesn’t know what he’s up to.  As he gets the door, she is slipping off her shoes.  It’s hard to do a round house kick in high heels (presumably).  Paul isn’t taken chances, either.  He sucker punches her in the back of the neck the second he closes the door.  What follows is an expertly staged, incredibly brutal, no holds barred smack down.  Really well trained actors can make a fight scene believable.  Professional athletes like Carano can make a fight scene feel real.  They seem evenly matched at first, but even though Paul is clearly well trained, Mallory soon dominates.  She comes at him like a lioness.  Paul throws her into a set of glass shelves, Mallory responds with a vase upside Paul’s head (Carano apparently did that for real by accident).   Every hit he lands, she lands two.  He gives it everything he has, but Paul never had a chance.  Once he’s down, she finishes him with a bullet to the head, not giving him a second thought.  Her mind is already on the next move.

Mallory is the only female character in the movie, and the story really boils down to how she deals with the men in her life.  Some, like Scott and her dad (Bill Paxton) want to help, but can’t offer much.  Some, like the high ranking company man, Alex (Michael Douglas), and his associate Rodrigo (Antonio Banderas) say they are sympathetic, but have their own agenda.  It’s even complicated with Kenneth, the man who definitely wants her dead.  He claims the setup was only a business opportunity (“the motive is money, the motive is always money”), but a big factor seems to be that not only is Mallory leaving his employment, she also recently dumped him.  When he’s posing as a government agent to get information from Mallory’s father, he asks him if she’s ever mentioned anyone named Kenneth, and he is clearly upset when her dad says no.  Underneath all his covert schemes and power plays, he’s really just a jilted boyfriend nursing his pride.  Earlier, when he’s briefing Paul about his target, he warns, “Don’t think of her as a woman.  That would be a mistake.”  I got the feeling he was trying to convince himself as much as his hired killer.

Gina Carano was new to acting at this point and caught some flak for her performance.  Some thought it was flat, but I think it’s perfect for her character.  Mallory is a reserved, buttoned down, disciplined person.  She doesn’t make small talk, she doesn’t show her emotions.  Her professional fighting experience gives her an incredible physical presence.  Carano fits right in with stoic action icons like Eastwood and Bronson.  Her best acting is nonverbal.  She has incredibly expressive eyes.  I totally bought her as Mallory.  

Much of the success has to do with the remarkable direction of Steven Soderbergh, well known of movies like SCHIZOPOLIS (1996), BUBBLE (2005), and THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIMENT (2009), among others.  Everything about the film is unbelievably tight, no excess, no filler.  Contrary to the title, Soderbergh is in control the entire time, handling the editing and cinematography himself.  It’s all his vision.  Sound design, art design, costumes, and stunts are all flawless.  The fights are shot wide and clean, allowing you to appreciate what is actually happening.  The movie is essentially a masterpiece.  Tragically, it wasn’t a huge hit.   There is some speculation (by me) that this disappointment was the reason Soderbergh retired from film directing, for three years.  Gina Carano has gone on to other high profile roles in FURIOUS 6 and DEADPOOL, though nothing quite as ass-kicking as Mallory Kane.  In a perfect world, she would have gone on to be the new Bond.  I mean Mallory Kane would have become a franchise like Bond, not that Gina Carano would take over the role of Bond.  That would be silly.  We all know Emily Blunt should play the next Bond.

C. Chaka