Headshot (2016) - Directed by The Mo Brothers starring Iko Uwais

[KUNG FU BOB]

8 hours ago, Karlos said:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Headshot-Blu-ray-Iko-Uwais/dp/B01MRCV6B6/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1495275938&sr=1-1&keywords=headshot

I've looked and there appears to be no Region A BD available at all.

I'm pretty sure the Arrow UK disc will be Region B locked, but not 100% sure as of yet.  Hang fire.

All in all, kinda odd there's no US Blu of this.

This is why, IMHO, every serious fan of this genre in particular should own an All-Region Blu-ray player. And of course they'll play DVDs from any region too.

About a year after DVDs hit the market I bought my first DVD player, and it was an All-Region one. I was always shopping and browsing on HKFlix and another site* and seeing so many DVD releases that I wanted from other countries. So it seemed like a no-brainer to go "All-region" when I purchased my player. Same thing is still going on, so anyone that doesn't own one should make it their next purchase priority.

Yes, it's ridiculous that HEADSHOT doesn't have an R1 Blu-ray release scheduled yet... and neither does SAVAGE DOG nor BOYKA (aka. UNDISPUTED IV)!

* Geez I'm getting old- there was another big place besides HKFlix that was a great on-line seller of Asian films back then. I can't recall the name of the place now (think it might've begun with a "P"?), which is nuts because I ordered from them countless times, got to know some of the very nice people that ran it (Michael and Chris among them), and even drove out to their physical location several times. They were located in New Jersey, and had a comicbook/collectibles/movie shop. They only sold a small sample of their vast on-line movie stock in the store, but they stored everything on the premises, upstairs above the shop. They were cool enough to let me go up there and shop through the DVD-filled shelves and gather big bagfuls of movies to buy. This way I didn't have to pay shipping and I could really take a good look at the photos and info on the packaging. I was like a kid in a candy shop! It was a couple hour round-trip, but totally worth it. Anyone know the company I'm talking about? It's bugging me now that I can't remember.

EDIT: I remember now! Poker Industries.

[laagi]

I went ahead and pre-ordered the german steelbook. I think the cover is pretty sweet

@KUNG FU BOB Any recommendation for a region-free player? I seem to recall a seperate thread for this topic...

[Drunken Monk]

This has just been added to Netflix in the US.

[Karlos]

The German steelbook is nice, but please be aware - there are no English subtitles or dub on this one.

[ShaOW!linDude]

9 hours ago, Drunken Monk said:

This has just been added to Netflix in the US.

Thanks for the heads up!

Really enjoyed this. The story isn't particularly involved and very much along the lines of the first Bourne film. The action was exceptionally brutal with a superb end fight. I found the fight between Julie Estelle and Iko Uwais to be the weakest though still quite good. My only qualm was that some fights had the shaky cam effect, though the camera was held back to actually see the action and it wasn't shaky so bad as to be disorienting. Yes, sir, Iko & his team deliver yet again!

[kingofkungfu2002]

I got the UK bluray the other day.

[mark187]

On 6/7/2017 at 6:20 AM, kingofkungfu2002 said:

I got the UK bluray the other day.

Can you confirm it's locked to Region b?

[Karlos]

It's worth hanging fire on this because Arrow do tend not to lock their Blu Rays. 

So, wait and see what reviews/user comments say, as it might be region free after all.

[kingofkungfu2002]

It is Region B locked.

[KUNG FU BOB]

On 5/20/2017 at 3:01 PM, KUNG FU BOB said:

Yes, it's ridiculous that HEADSHOT doesn't have an R1 Blu-ray release scheduled yet... and neither does SAVAGE DOG nor BOYKA (aka. UNDISPUTED IV)!

BOYKA's R1 Blu-ray has finally been announced, and will be released on August 1st.

 

On 5/21/2017 at 11:39 AM, laagi said:

I went ahead and pre-ordered the german steelbook. I think the cover is pretty sweet

@KUNG FU BOB Any recommendation for a region-free player? I seem to recall a seperate thread for this topic...

Love that cover art. Shame the release is NOT English friendly though.

 

On 6/6/2017 at 1:26 PM, Drunken Monk said:

This has just been added to Netflix in the US.

Finally available for more people to see- nice.

 

On 6/6/2017 at 2:24 PM, Karlos said:

The German steelbook is nice, but please be aware - there are no English subtitles or dub on this one.

Thanks for the info @Karlos.

On 6/6/2017 at 11:22 PM, ShaOW!linDude said:

Thanks for the heads up!

Really enjoyed this. The story isn't particularly involved and very much along the lines of the first Bourne film. The action was exceptionally brutal with a superb end fight. I found the fight between Julie Estelle and Iko Uwais to be the weakest though still quite good. My only qualm was that some fights had the shaky cam effect, though the camera was held back to actually see the action and it wasn't shaky so bad as to be disorienting. Yes, sir, Iko & his team deliver yet again!

Glad you dug it @ShaOW!linDude. I figured there was enough fighting in there to make you smile.

Can we expect a full-on review from you soon?

 

4 hours ago, kingofkungfu2002 said:

It is Region B locked.

Ah... the moral of the story is, as I've stated above... every serious fan of this genre in particular should own an All-Region Blu-ray player.

 

[ShaOW!linDude]

1 hour ago, KUNG FU BOB said:

Glad you dug it @ShaOW!linDude. I figured there was enough fighting in there to make you smile.

Can we expect a full-on review from you soon?

That's a good possibility, what I'll wait until I have the dvd. Trying to rewind & slo-mo stuff on Netflix is a hassle.

[Bus]

I can't wait to get it Tuesday 

[OpiumKungFuCracker]

Dude, I was surprised as fuck this movie is out streaming on netflix? Remember when movies like The Raid and Ip Man came out in overseas first and how long you'd have to wait for sites to buy them? Streaming rules!!! I still buy disc by the way, it's okay!!

[One Armed Boxer]

I got through watching this one today thanks to Arrow’s UK Blu-ray, and it definitely delivered the goods. The best action movies are always the ones were you’re not just waiting for the next action scene to come along, and that was definitely the case here, as I enjoyed watching the relationship between Uwais and Chelsea Islan develop. Speaking of which, Uwais is really developing as an actor. Sure we all know he’s got the moves, so that kind of comes as standard, but here I enjoyed his performance just as much when he was sat on a beach chatting, as when he was forcing a bullet into someones eye socket.

In regards to the action itself, it certainly delivered the brutality we’ve come to expect after ‘The Raid’ movies, and I enjoyed the slant of Uwais being the underdog. I think the criticism of some of the fights being sloppy is an exaggeration, although as some have pointed out certain moves noticeably lack conviction, but it’s a minor gripe. As much as I enjoyed the violence and was definitely invested in it, I do think Uwais and his team need to start thinking about how to add some variety to the choreography of Silat. I confess this was the first movie I’ve seen of his, were I felt some of the sequences were a duplication of the fight work in his other productions. Still, the fact that the story and characters are pulled off so well means that this is easily overlooked.

All in all, with Gareth Evans back on Welsh soil, the Mo Brothers look to be a team that know exactly how to exploit the potential of Indonesia’s action talents, so would happily see them team up with Uwais for a future endeavor.

[ShaOW!linDude]

6 hours ago, One Armed Boxer said:

I confess this was the first movie I’ve seen of his, were I felt some of the sequences were a duplication of the fight work in his other productions.

Maybe that's the case. It seemed to me moves were duplicated either from a previous fight in the film or from the outset of a particular fight. I didn't notice it often, but yeah, that was definitely there. I felt like the fights at the beginning had more of a brawling style to them and then as the film progressed they became more Silat flavored. Didn't notice a whole lot of kicks from Iko in this, but I need to watch it again. I'm hoping in his next starring film (excluding Triple Threat) that he'll incorporate some guys to fight with different combat styles. That would make for some good mix ups.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

This is such a mixed bag of a film. If one is expecting another The Raid (with several of the same actors including Iko Uwais) then you will be probably be disappointed.

Overall the direction is solid, the quality looks quite good and there are some great shots in the film. However, this is an action film and it wastes so much of these great talented performers by moving the camera sometimes aimlessly and shaking the damn thing too much. Argh it is annoying. There is some good gun action and it is bloody and violent, but also suffers from "Paul Greengrass Syndrome." The plot is a combination of Unknown "I didn't forget everything. I remember how to kill you, asshole. " and several martial art films where kids are taken to become assassins (Naked Weapon). It has potential to be better than what it is. Also too much stupid behavior though I'm not sure how much they worked on the plot.

Iko Uwais is good in the action scenes as the main amnesiac, though while his acting is a step above Tony Jaa, sometimes it is below many other martial artists actors. I really like Julie Estelle (The Raid 2: Hammer Girl -- Hammer Time).

It is nice seeing the combination of Silat used, especially by most of the martial artists, but how about the eagle claw Sunny Pang? It is nice to see some traditional MA mixed in. @DrNgor Did you notice the Eagle Claw used here by Sunny Pang?

I love this image, the quote works so well for Twitter (yes I put it on Twitter):

[DrNgor]

I'm pretty darn late for the party, but I finally watched this and reviewed it. Check out my thoughts: https://abeautifulfilm.blogspot.com/2022/06/headshot-2016.html

[WangYu]

Liked this more than the night comes for us. A better plot, good fight set pieces but at times irritating camera work.

[DiP]

The main consensus here seems to be that the sole movie is ok but the action scenes are disappointing. I'll break in somewhere in between and say that the movie is very good.

The story reminds me alot of Legend of the Wolf and Unleashed (both movies being amnesia-themed story-wise), with Iko Uwais giving his best acting performance to date, supported by a lovely inclusion of lead actress Chelsea Islan as well as an intimidating performance by Sunny Pang as the main villain. Also interesting use of the casting; From Julie Estelle and Tri Yulisman to Zack Lee (one of the firearm-wielding henchmen).

People give The Raid movies endless amount of praise for the action but I actually think the action here is superior! And for the simple fact that the fight choreography here is done, captured and put together much differently and therefore more interestingly thanks to the various ideas and approaches for each set-piece. V-A-R-I-E-T-Y. Uwais vs the duo henchmen, and vs Tri Yulisman (using a metal baton ala SPL) are my favorites in the movie showcasing change-ups in separating details.

Two great action movies (the other being The Night Comes For Us) in a row by director Timo Tjahjanto. He's now got my attention. Let's see what and how he does in his next one. Well done!

Edited August 4, 2022 by DiP