“I’m still here…and I am coming.”
A high octane thrill ride straight out of the gate, Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto’s Headshot is the type of movie all genre fans crave. A no holds bar thrill ride, the martial arts thriller never lets up on the gas, delivering a constant stream of highly impressive fight sequences that will keep the adrenaline pumping - even if you are covering your eyes with every bone crack and throat slash.
The film centers on Iko Uwais’ unnamed man who washes up on a beach in Indonesia, unaware of who he is or where he is from. Taken in by a young doctor, Ailin, he is given the name Ismael and nursed back to heath. But his unknown past is closing in fast, and when Ailin finds herself kidnapped by a drug lord with a unique connection to our mystery man, Ismael begins a hunt that will pit him face to face with members of his past.
You don’t have to look hard to notice the inspiration taken from Garth Evans’ The Raid and the Bourne franchise. A true to form martial arts masterpiece, Headshot is a unique and ruthless film that makes you question why every action film isn’t shipped overseas. The dynamic combat sequences, shot with clever camerawork by the directing team, pits you in the middle of the action, awarding you a close up shot of all the best moves. Frantic editing only adds to the experience as Stamboel and Tjahjanto offer up a relentlessly paced action film that never holds back in regard to the violence, celebrating every lifeless body as the death toll reaches monstrous levels.
Uwais deserves high praise for his work as our lead protagonist. Though a man of few words, he makes up for his lack of dialogue with his fists as he takes on an outrageous number of foes in an effort to save a girl he met merely days ago. Sunny Pang’s Lee, the drug lord at the center of the conflict, sends chills down your back as the murderous “Father of Hell”. A mentor to his ass-kicking children, Lee is a unique character that relies on intimidation. But his final altercation gives fans the showdown they’ve been waiting for - and neither actor disappoints.
The action, in all its glory, delivers ten-fold as Uwais wittily maneuvers through his past, outwitting and outperforming his rivals with a mixture of bullets, knives and brawn. Though there aren’t any revelations here, you cannot deny the entertainment value. The stories and characters are fine, but they do lack much originality or development. They leave that to the fight sequences, which catapult Headshot into a class all its own. Granted this one doesn’t reach the level of The Raid, fans must understand that it is quite possible that no film ever will. Stamboel and Tjahjanto recognize what the audience wants, and they deliver; forgoing the details to get to the action…and staying there. And who can blame them - I, for one, was disappointed the experience had to end.
