What far too many Hollywood productions forget is that for a fight scene to work, the audience has to care about the characters first.
The reason all the fight scenes is “Enter the Dragon” work is in part due to how charismatic Bruce Lee is. It’s why “Die Hard” is the greatest action film ever because the audience is rooting for John McClane.
The examples you brought up are full of unlikable characters. Galadriel is RoP can pull off all the best moves in a fight, but nobody cares because she is an insufferable girl boss.
I will defend the one piece live action series on the grounds that the anime and manga are almost impossible to duplicate in live action, so a choreographed fight that captures the spirit of the anime and manga is very much accepted by fans.
I will also note that, yes, some of the choreography in the one piece live action is highly goofy and doesn't hit the same way the animated version does.
Another great example of how Hollywood choreography is dying is comparing the Netflix Daredevil series with the newer revival of that series, and later marvel series that came after it.
The marvel series Echo tried to duplicate the long take hallway fight that Daredevil had, and it ended up being comedically slow and overly choreographed.
Hollywood has driven out a lot of their old talent and doesn't even understand what good writing is anymore.
yeah you're probably right about One Piece... I included it because I personally hated the fight choreography, but I'm also a fight choreography connoisseur. My wife loved the anime and doesn't care so much about fight sequences so she liked the live action show. In the end, I probably shouldn't have included One Piece because unlike every other show I mentioned, martial arts is a crucial part of the underlying IP.
I think it's fair to point out that the live-action one piece uses fight choreography that is very rehearsed and staged, for lack of a better word.
It's not as realistic or visceral as it could be, but it works in context of the series due to the cartoony nature of it.
Which makes it an exception to the lack of quality choreography seen in so many other shows, but also a good example of unrealistic choreography even if it does work.
yeah and one other thing I didn't have space to discus in the piece is the fact that when directors and showrunners are casting their TV shows, they are generally looking for appealing actors who can sustain a show for five seasons... whether or not they have an aptitude for martial arts is a secondary consideration at best.
Do you know what Star Wars show doesn’t have kung-fu fighting but does have good old fashioned storytelling? ANDOR. To be fair, there are no Jedi Knights in the show but there are some fights. These fights are more about throwing fists than roundhouse kicks. They also work for the characters as established. As for THE ACOLYTE, I watched the pilot episode and afterwards thought, who am I supposed to care about? Who am I supposed to root for? Not a good sign for the story.
Yeah I noticed that and I can't help thinking that Disney needs to give up on the dream of reviving the Star Wars brand as a huge all ages four quadrant franchise machine and lean into the older fans who grew up on the original trilogy and who seem to be the only audience left who still cares about the brand. Kids just don't give a shit, no matter how many movies and shows the studio throws at them.
What far too many Hollywood productions forget is that for a fight scene to work, the audience has to care about the characters first.
The reason all the fight scenes is “Enter the Dragon” work is in part due to how charismatic Bruce Lee is. It’s why “Die Hard” is the greatest action film ever because the audience is rooting for John McClane.
The examples you brought up are full of unlikable characters. Galadriel is RoP can pull off all the best moves in a fight, but nobody cares because she is an insufferable girl boss.
Yes, that’s a great point
" “Rings of Power” a series loosely based on Tolkien"
The word loosely is ...
charitable.
As far as The Acolyte, a hot mess not worth watching. Never mind the kung fu fighting, The Acolyte could be said to be "loosely based" on Star Wars.
Word on the street is that Disney actually did something write with the recent Andor.
That’s what they say
$$ quote: “The problem with much of what’s on TV these days has more to do with unnecessary political messaging and mediocre storytelling. “
Bingo! And many of the “storytellers” are DEI hires, hence the problem.
I will defend the one piece live action series on the grounds that the anime and manga are almost impossible to duplicate in live action, so a choreographed fight that captures the spirit of the anime and manga is very much accepted by fans.
I will also note that, yes, some of the choreography in the one piece live action is highly goofy and doesn't hit the same way the animated version does.
Another great example of how Hollywood choreography is dying is comparing the Netflix Daredevil series with the newer revival of that series, and later marvel series that came after it.
The marvel series Echo tried to duplicate the long take hallway fight that Daredevil had, and it ended up being comedically slow and overly choreographed.
Hollywood has driven out a lot of their old talent and doesn't even understand what good writing is anymore.
yeah you're probably right about One Piece... I included it because I personally hated the fight choreography, but I'm also a fight choreography connoisseur. My wife loved the anime and doesn't care so much about fight sequences so she liked the live action show. In the end, I probably shouldn't have included One Piece because unlike every other show I mentioned, martial arts is a crucial part of the underlying IP.
I think it's fair to point out that the live-action one piece uses fight choreography that is very rehearsed and staged, for lack of a better word.
It's not as realistic or visceral as it could be, but it works in context of the series due to the cartoony nature of it.
Which makes it an exception to the lack of quality choreography seen in so many other shows, but also a good example of unrealistic choreography even if it does work.
yeah and one other thing I didn't have space to discus in the piece is the fact that when directors and showrunners are casting their TV shows, they are generally looking for appealing actors who can sustain a show for five seasons... whether or not they have an aptitude for martial arts is a secondary consideration at best.
How fast are their fists, though?
definitely not "as lighting", I'll tell you that much
Do you know what Star Wars show doesn’t have kung-fu fighting but does have good old fashioned storytelling? ANDOR. To be fair, there are no Jedi Knights in the show but there are some fights. These fights are more about throwing fists than roundhouse kicks. They also work for the characters as established. As for THE ACOLYTE, I watched the pilot episode and afterwards thought, who am I supposed to care about? Who am I supposed to root for? Not a good sign for the story.
Yeah I noticed that and I can't help thinking that Disney needs to give up on the dream of reviving the Star Wars brand as a huge all ages four quadrant franchise machine and lean into the older fans who grew up on the original trilogy and who seem to be the only audience left who still cares about the brand. Kids just don't give a shit, no matter how many movies and shows the studio throws at them.
What? You never heard of Teras Kasi? (Spelling?)
https://youtube.com/shorts/C19RFB4TMHM?si=XUmehyTjklfgDj5H
XD
Must’ve missed that one 🤣
I have complaints about the Prequels, but not in regards to the actors and how much effort and work they put in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6q2N2jLS7A
lol semi seriously, I enjoy several youtubers who discuss stage vs real fighting.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/g0U0PG4MI1g
The core though, as you and RLM's Mr. Plinkett both put it - the fighting doesn't matter if the audience doesn't care about the characters.
Right, and that’s the most important aspect