A martial artist must battle many of the world’s most dangerous assassins and fighters in order to protect a historical book of deadly Incan fighting techniques from falling onto the wrong hands in The Fist of the Condor.
Nobody really goes into any action movie expecting the best acting or story. We go for the fight choreography, the explosions, the special effects, and the spectacular finale. That’s why it’s always such a welcomed treat when you get all of those things and more, which is exactly what you get from The Fist of the Condor. It’s well acted, with a unique spin on a formulaic story, and it manages to bring a breath of fresh new air to martial arts films, a genre that hasn’t felt truly revitalized in quite some time. Unfortunately, where it excels in most areas, it can sometimes fall flat in other areas, and those flaws hooks it back from achieving true greatness rather than adding to its charm.
Coming from the prolific mind of writer and director Ernesto Diaz Espinoza, who has quickly become one of the most reliable voices in Chilean filmmaking, The Fist of the Condor is a glimpse of what could be accomplished with a bigger budget and less restraint, because what we got was an absolute blast. It’s fun and entertaining with intense direction and fight sequences filmed in a way that almost feels like a live action spin on anime. I just find it to be disappointing that some of the sequences fall victim to what feels like a lack of budget, holding back from what could be hugely wild action moments that are talked about for centuries to come and emulated in every wannabe film going forward. It’s almost like we’re held back from it during certain moments, but outside of those scenes, it’s still a really good time.
And this is largely thanks to our lead, Marko Zaror, who is not only a phenomenal talent as a natural artist, but as an actor. His work here is indicative of his prowess, and I cannot wait to see him in more stuff that utilizes his unique brand of skill. Backed up by a really powerful performance from Fernanda Urrejola, who is one of the most underrated actresses around, and with a fully fleshed out cast of characters who all work together exceptionally well, The Fist of the Condor is as much about the fighting as it is about the story and the characters. Everybody is cast perfectly and does a wonderful job.
But the whole film would be a bunch of boring nothing without the choreography from Zaror, as well as the crew of stunt performers who worked so hard to make everything appear seamless and enthralling. Even without massive effects and set pieces of other action films, the fight sequences alone are worth the watch.
Utilizing stylization from some of the greats of the 70s and 80s, The Fist of the Condor takes all that is old and makes it feel fresh and new, while just barely falling short of greatness. Still, it’s a wonderful work of film that any fan of action and martial arts should check out.