Wu Assassin's: Iko Uwais, JuJu Chan, Mark Dacascos, Kathryn Winnick (2019)

[ShaOW!linDude]

Okay, me and the wife finished this series up a couple of nights ago. Overall, we were both pretty disappointed with it as a whole.

***OVERVIEW WARNING: I'M NOT GOING TO MAKE THESE HIDDEN. IF YOU'RE STILL WATCHING THIS OR HAVEN'T YET BUT PLAN TO, JUST SCROLL PAST THIS POST.***

 

The Negatives:

The plot was goofy. I knew with "Wu" in the title it would be cheesy, but sheesh! They should have changed the title and made this more of a gritty crime action series. It's like they couldn't decide what this show was going to do or be.

The special f/x were not good in many instances. They were barely above SyFy network standards. Another reason they should have avoided the fantasy aspect of this series. 

There is some really bad casting. I mean, like, really bad.

The dialogue was trite and boring. Very cliched. So was the language. Somebody get the writers a dictionary.

The soundtrack is obnoxious as all get out. Do we really need a blast of rap music every ten minutes?

The Scottish villain with the touches of a "Highlander" style backstory was just lazy and lame.

There was not near enough action. The action that was there was very uneven from episode to episode. You just never knew what you were going to get. It was like a crap shoot. Iko's fights were very hit and miss. There was nothing you haven't seen him perform before, and it seemed very repetitive in places. Look, I wasn't expecting movie grade stuntwork/choreography, but I was really hoping with Iko handling that we would get better than standard fare. And I don't think Lewis Tan was used in fight scenes to his full potential. 

Where the devil was Mark Dacascos? Throughout the entire series he might rate about 5 minutes worth of screen time once you put his scenes altogether. And not one fight scene in the mix except where he appears inter-cut into the scene for a moment or two. That doesn't count, people. He was the main reason me and the Mrs. were watching this. It's just another travesty of a production that has failed to make proper use of his skill set when it comes to martial arts.

And finally, Juju Chan's hair. She should kill the set hairdresser. Who thought this was a good look on her?

 

The Positives

Byron Mann. Always loved that guy. He is an asset to the cast.

Juju Chan's fight scenes were some of the best. I was impressed with her skill.

Katheryn Winnick was a definite asset, even though the writers didn't do a very good job with her character. Her fight scenes were some of the best in the series, maybe not always in their execution, but certainly in the creativity that went into the choreography. And she sells her fights. Always thought she should take over for Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow character. (

Spoiler

Until Marvel, you know, killed her off

.) She would be ideal. She's got the look. She can act. And she's got the chops.

Iko is really good as an actor here. And you can tell he's put a lot of effort into his English. 

Iko is at his best action-wise the last couple of episodes. Sadly, it requires a lot of patience to reach them.

 

Conclusion

The series is left with a plot line to pursue for continuation. I don't know that I could sit through any more of it, especially if they keep the "Wu" aspect. It's just stupid. Morbid curiosity would force me to watch another season solely to see if they learn from their mistakes. I'm betting they don't. But honestly, I'm betting Netflix doesn't extend it either. I didn't rate it a thumbs up, but I didn't rate it thumbs down because I like Iko, so I didn't rate the show at all. I'm figuring not a lot of viewers bothered to either. If another season does come about, it needs a serious overhaul and a reduction in episodes to gain viewership traction.

But that's me. 

Edited October 26, 2019 by KUNG FU BOB
hiding spoiler for non-WU ASSASSINS film

[massa_yoda]

Yeah this show has some problems.  The mythos wasn’t very well explained and I’m still not quite sure I understood why certain things happened. The dialogue at times was atrocious.  Example from the last episode:

Lewis Tan: (laughing)

Iko: what’s so funny?

Tan: Just thinking of the time at school when kids called you jungle rat

Iko: you told them to say that

Tan: well, I’m not laughing anymore

Dude, you were literally just laughing 15 seconds ago.  I know he meant he wasn’t laughing at Iko anymore, but what a stupid way to make that point.  When you say you aren’t laughing anymore, don’t start the convo by laughing.  IMO.

Something else disappointing, they introduce the awesome Summer Glau in episode 9 and hardly use her.  She gets a brief fight in the finale,  but it’s a horribly edited mess.  Summer has a background as a dancer and she showed in Serenity that she can learn fight choreography.  I would have loved to have seen more of her.  JuJu Chan was great,  but she didn’t get as much screen time as I had hoped.  Maybe if I get drunk enough some day, I’ll ask the barber to give me the JuJu haircut and see what happens.  

Anywho, Iko is great and I thought his fight scenes were mostly quite good.  In the end, I’m glad he did this and I hope it leads to more opportunities.  

[ShaOW!linDude]

3 hours ago, massa_yoda said:

Yeah this show has some problems.  The mythos wasn’t very well explained and I’m still not quite sure I understood why certain things happened. The dialogue at times was atrocious.  Example from the last episode:

Lewis Tan: (laughing)

Iko: what’s so funny?

Tan: Just thinking of the time at school when kids called you jungle rat

Iko: you told them to say that

Tan: well, I’m not laughing anymore

Dude, you were literally just laughing 15 seconds ago.  I know he meant he wasn’t laughing at Iko anymore, but what a stupid way to make that point.  When you say you aren’t laughing anymore, don’t start the convo by laughing.  IMO.

Something else disappointing, they introduce the awesome Summer Glau in episode 9 and hardly use her.  She gets a brief fight in the finale,  but it’s a horribly edited mess.  Summer has a background as a dancer and she showed in Serenity that she can learn fight choreography.  I would have loved to have seen more of her.  JuJu Chan was great,  but she didn’t get as much screen time as I had hoped.  Maybe if I get drunk enough some day, I’ll ask the barber to give me the JuJu haircut and see what happens.  

Anywho, Iko is great and I thought his fight scenes were mostly quite good.  In the end, I’m glad he did this and I hope it leads to more opportunities.  

Excellent post! Your citation of dialogue is a prime example of the problematic writing of the this series.

Doh!!! How could I forget to list the appearance of Summer Glau as a positive? But again you are spot on that her fight scenes were horribly edited. What a waste.

I, too, hope this leads to more opportunities for Iko. I'm just kind of hoping it's not more of this.

[AlbertV]

I started to like it, but then I felt the show took a downhill slide in the second half. I agree, the whole "immortal" story with Alec McGuiness was a bit of a letdown. The series' saving grace was JuJu Chan's Zan. She was badass from the beginning and that kick with the high heel was one of the best things of the show. Katheryn Winnick definitely held her own with her fights, but they could have been edited better (wish Stephen Fung stayed on as action unit director at least even though he directed the 1st two episodes). The big disappointment was the final episode...I mean, a near 15-minute epilogue all set within the restaurant? I was getting bored and wondered...is something going to happen...let's go...when of course that final scene. So it is middle of the road for me ultimately

Now, should there be a season 2...key words: should there be, please give JuJu Chan more action!

[DragonClaws]

 

 

[DragonClaws]

 

 

[Cognoscente]

They're going to continue the story as a movie now. Either way, I hope that someone decides to cast Kathryn Winnick in a movie with Amy Johnston.

[laagi]

After the mostly negative reviews I always steered clear of this one. But since there's not really much out there when it comes to MA series, I decided to finally watch "Wu Assassins".

So far I'm really enjoying it! The action is exactly what I wanted and I don't mind the cheesy effects or story. I think as long as you know what you're getting yourself into and what to expect there's some great fun to be had with this.

Curious how it will play out and if it will manage to taint my rather positive opinion thus far. I'll be back with a final verdict.

[laagi]

Wu Assassins is a deeply flawed but ultimately underappreciated martial arts series. That about sums it up for me.

The creators just wanted too much and in the end offered too little. Wu Assassins is incredibly convoluted and increasingly so as the story progresses. If only they would've focused on their core story this could've been far better. And I'm not even talking about the supernatural aspect which for the most part is just fine.

Also it's painfully evident here that Iko Uwais has some serious issues when it comes to his acting skills! It's pretty bad and that's me putting it nicely.

Not a total surprise this didn't get picked up for a second season. Then again I have to wonder why Kung Fu on CW is already in its third when it could easily pass as Wu Assassins ugly cousin.

But I guess it's extremely difficult to survive a overcrowded (understatement) streaming service as it is. At least we got a movie which I'd argue nobody asked for.

For me the stand out(s) of the series were Lewis Tan and Byron Mann. And as I mentioned earlier there is still some good fun to be had. Especially and that's probably not a surprise with the fights. Shame as overall this could and should have been much better. Still for what it's worth I didn't feel like I wasted my time entirely.