Taking a look back at 2018 and after a bit of research, asking around various forums for peoples favourite martial arts movie of 2018 there was one name that kept coming up. The votes were in and The Night Comes for Us was the best martial arts movie of 2018 and I’m inclined to agree. Not just 2018 but quite possibly a contender for best martial arts movie of the past 5 years.
For those that are yet to see it. The Night Comes for Us is an Indonesian film directed by Timo Tjahjanto. Iko Uwais of The Raid fame stars in typically brutal fashion. Our main protagonist Ito (Joe Tasim also of The Raid) is a Triads boss sent to massacre a village for undercutting the them. After completing the massacre, a small girl remains sat in front of her dead mum but instead of completing the job, Ito takes pity, kills his own men instead and goes on the run with the girl. Protecting her with his life. He looks on it as his personal redemption for the acts of evil he’s committed in the name of the triads.
He goes into hiding and links up with some of his old crew during his pre-Triad days. As youcan imagine the Triads are not pleased so send people out to complete the job and take out Ito. His old friend from his former crew Arian (Iko Uwais) now also a triad is amongst the people sent out to kill him.
What follows is among the most painful and brutal fights scenes I ever saw. Bone breaking moves, plenty of blood and gore to go with, this movie is not for the faint of heart. There’re heads getting smashed like watermelons, decapitations, fingers getting sliced off, throats getting cut open with none of that CGI blood either. Director Tjahjanto is a horror fan so is little wonder there is so much gory brutality. After an army of triad grunts are sent out to take them out you soon see his old crew are no slouches themselves and dispatch many people in brutal fashion.
By the end of it all, you wonder how Ito is even still walking with the number of fights and punishment he has taken. Tassim really owns the role and looks generally unhinged at times, you come to see why everyone knows who he is and why most are scared of him.
The film’s many fight scenes are wonderfully choreographed and executed flawlessly, the breath-taking direction employing techniques that are guaranteed to astound and provide maximum impact. I can only hazard a guess the amount of time the fight choreography, re-takes and angles took to get them as perfect as they are.
Without giving too much away for those that haven’t seen it the end fight is partically brutal and well-choreographed. You feel every punch and bump they take and wonder by the end how both are even still moving. Well if it wasn’t a movie they probably wouldn’t be. If you haven’t seen it yet and don’t mind a bit of gore then watch it now on Netflix, it’s one of them martial arts flick you can watch over and over again.
I’d also like to give an honourable mention to Scott Adkins Accident Man. Based on a comic book of the same name, Mike Fallon (Adkins) is a top of his game assassin who makes every hit look like an accident but when and ex loved one is killed and made to look like an accident he smells a rat and seeks revenge. It has some great martial arts talent. Michael Jai White, Ray Park (Darth Maul) and Amy Johnston (Dragon Ball Z: Light of Hope)
Adkins is his usually highly skilled martial arts self with spectacular moves and effortless high kicks. It has some truly brutal gory kills but also some light-hearted comedy moments, not to be taken too seriously, this black comedy is a very entertaining watch for martial arts fans.
