'Headshot' is notable for being the first Iko Uwais vehicle after the two 'The Raid' movies. With those, he was established as a major new action hero for the Far East and the pressure must have been on to keep the momentum going. If there was any temptation to make a less violent flick and increase the potential audience though, it doesn't show. 'Headshot' is brutal, matching 'The Raid' in intensity and only surpassed by the frankly insane 'The Night Comes For Us.' This is a martial arts movie that sees bones being splintered, glass bottles and knives being used as weapons and human bodies contorting as they're riddled with bullets.
The story sees Iko washed up on a beach and close to death. After spending two months in a coma, he wakes with no memory of who he is or how he got there. His doctor christens him "Ishmael" and he sets out trying to find out who he is. But the people who hurt him find out he's alive and come looking. He's barely begun to piece his life together before he has to fight for it.
And fight, he does. Ishmael might not remember any of his previous life but like Jason Bourne before him, he's very good at defending himself. As the gangs hunt him down, Ishmael finds himself in the centre of a Police station massacre, a vicious close-quarters fight on a bus and some wince-inducing punch ups in an underground bunker. It's unpleasant, vicious stuff and horribly authentic. Aside from the fact that Ishmael shrugs off multiple knife wounds and is borderline indestructible, when the characters in this movie hit each other, it looks like it really, really hurts.
All of which makes for an enjoyable two hours for action fans. 'Headshot' isn't a cerebral movie; the plot is only wafer thin and it serves as no more than a vehicle for Uwais to dispatch bad guys in increasingly violent ways. It gets by on pure adrenaline and while it does suffer from the final act being marginally less intense than you'd hope, it still ticks all the boxes for a good "beer and pizza" Friday night movie.
The story sees Iko washed up on a beach and close to death. After spending two months in a coma, he wakes with no memory of who he is or how he got there. His doctor christens him "Ishmael" and he sets out trying to find out who he is. But the people who hurt him find out he's alive and come looking. He's barely begun to piece his life together before he has to fight for it.
And fight, he does. Ishmael might not remember any of his previous life but like Jason Bourne before him, he's very good at defending himself. As the gangs hunt him down, Ishmael finds himself in the centre of a Police station massacre, a vicious close-quarters fight on a bus and some wince-inducing punch ups in an underground bunker. It's unpleasant, vicious stuff and horribly authentic. Aside from the fact that Ishmael shrugs off multiple knife wounds and is borderline indestructible, when the characters in this movie hit each other, it looks like it really, really hurts.
All of which makes for an enjoyable two hours for action fans. 'Headshot' isn't a cerebral movie; the plot is only wafer thin and it serves as no more than a vehicle for Uwais to dispatch bad guys in increasingly violent ways. It gets by on pure adrenaline and while it does suffer from the final act being marginally less intense than you'd hope, it still ticks all the boxes for a good "beer and pizza" Friday night movie.