Showdown In Manila
This tail end of the title may have served as a hint as to what was to come.
Alexander Nevsky isthe star of the film and you may know him from his work as a bodybuilder and action star. He now must concentrate on Africa Eye with all of its various tasks and the work of a business owner around it. The work of bodybuilding and cinema is quite gratifying especially the action/syndicate/geekish kind of a storyline that has been thrown into the mix somewhere.
I wish that people were paying enough attention the late 80s and the early 90s had this type of films being produced/shot everywhere and in great numbers. Lew Zipperman and Mareville Nikolov wrote the plot of Showdown in Manila and introduced troops of Filipino Wild Ducks to shoot because Filipins are native to the area and even write on the area.
Showdown In Manila is something I couldn’t resist because there was more than a handful of action movie actors who were supposed to be featured in the Expendables franchise but didn’t make the cut. In fact, for one part of the picture Showdown In Manila, it does appear like an Expendables for the poor where a bunch of action stars who everyone loves come together to fight.
There is also the matter that Mark Dacascos makes his debut as a film director with Showdown In Manila while also having a small part in which he performs the best action sequence of the movie. It all became too much to bear with Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Matthias Hues, Tia Carrere and Casper Van Dien as Nevsky’s partner and Showdown In Manila was like a cross between Ninja Turtles and Universal Soldier.
But it’s all in the execution, isn’t it? That Expendables-lite sequence? As if the entire screenplay had a single battle scene in which action heroes would take part for a day or two. Cynthia Rothrock, Don “The Dragon” Wilson, and Olivier Gruner join Nevsky and Van Dien in an absurdly dull jungle raid before they all literally swift boat off the edge of the screen.
It really is great to see all the figures come out and even being treated with respect, however, the preferred way to honor them should have been constructing a real killer set piece that expertly flaunts their skills. Instead they all crawl over crates and shoot automatic guns off screen at a bunch of unnamed jungle bad guys over and over again before they beat the game, screeching “bro-hug” to their buddy Nevsky and disappearing.
Dacascos’ character serves the role of an “inciting incident.” He’s assaulted by Tagawa and Hues’ henchmen, prompting his wife (Carrere) to seek revenge and employ hapless private investigators, Nevsky and Van Dien, to track them down. By far, Dacascos brings the most grace, fluidity, and presence to the very short role which is generous in the lead time.
Then he moves behind the lens where, in spite of his many years shooting action movies, he cannot, for the life of him, put together anything of interest whatsoever. It’s the type of action film where there is a reasonable amount of gunfire, there is a reasonable amount of punches thrown, and even a reasonable amount of blow-up building type action sequences. But there is no build-up of anxiety or anticipation at any point.
Every so often the viewer is reminded that there is a time and place for comedy in cinema because sometimes you just need to enjoy some silliness, which is precisely what Nevsky and Van Dien bring to the screen, who happen to be wonderful examples of the classic 80s buddy cop films. Van Dien, to his credit, is astonishingly self deprecating in a surprising manner. What is more, dry comedic elements were perfectly emphasized in both the Black Rose and here, and there can be no denying that action films do require the proper screen presence as well as acting abilities, and in this regard Nevsky fails to deliver.
He is a mighty big fella, and that’s it. There’s a consistent sneer on his face that some acting teacher ought to be dealing with right this minute, and apart from his enthusiasm for the material and obvious willingness to back his own claims, he does not show too much of the charm and badassery attributes affected straight into action film depends.
That smirk, though…
One of the positives of Showdown In Manila is how it looks as if everybody is enjoying themselves and, once maligned action stars are somehow regarded with respect. One gets the impression that Nevsky is quite a great admirer of that philosophy. Dacascos was probably able to direct for the very same reasons as well. And when you take a look at the film with that particular vision, it is kind of pleasant that it was made. It also makes it hard to confess that the film is really bad and does not add anything of importance other than the collection of the heroes.
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