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Kill Order (DVD) Review
Loading...Kill Order (DVD) Review
Chris Mark– David Lee
Jessica Clement– May
Denis Akiyama– Shiro Fujitaka
Daniel Park– Andre Chan
Jason Gosbee– Rick Collins
Reuben Langdon– Adam Cross
Jonny Caines– Subject #3
Eric Daniel– Subject #7
Jennifer Li– Subject #6
Eli Martyr– Subject #2
Melee Hutton– Dr. Jenkins
James Mark– Yin
Directed by James Mark
Screenplay by James Mark
Distributed by RLJ Films and RLJ Entertainment
Not Rated
Runtime– 77 minutes
Buy it here
Kill Order, written and directed by James Mark and originally known as Meza (the movie, not James), is a truly badass low budget sci-fi action flick featuring some remarkable stunt and fight scenes. The story is a bit short and it probably engages in a bit too much “franchise set up” for its own good, but Kill Order is something action movie nerds definitely need to see.
Kill Order stars Chris Mark as David Lee, a fairly normal, shy high school student. He lives with his uncle Andre (Daniel Park) and has a crush on fellow high school student May (Jessica Clement). David also suffers from weird seizures that require his uncle (or, really, anyone) to inject him with a special serum that eventually calms his shaking. The seizures don’t happen all of the time, but when they do happen they tend to be debilitating. One day, while in school, a SWAT team shows up in David’s classroom, scaring the crap out of everyone. The heavily armed cops remove everyone from the room except David. Why?
Well, David isn’t as normal as he initially seems. After some yelling and whatnot, David suddenly jumps up, eyes glowing blue, and he takes out damn near every SWAT cop in the room. And when I say he takes them out I mean David goddamn takes them out. David manages to get out of the school, tracking down his uncle at a local grocery store. David needs answers. Why the hell would a SWAT team come after him? Why did his eyes turn blue? And when did he become a kung fu badass? Unfortunately for David, he doesn’t get many answers as Uncle Andre is apprehended by mysterious men in business suits. David heads back home to grab some serum and other supplies. He’ll have to go on the run for a little bit until he figures out what the hell is going on.
And that’s when Davis attacked again. This time, David is attacked by a man wielding a silenced handgun and a sword. Since David’s home has swords in it, and because when he’s in “blue eyes” mode he knows to use a sword, David takes on this killer in a brutal melee that sees people being flung through walls. David eventually kills this assassin, but, once again, he isn’t going to be safe for long. There are other assassins and killers and whatnot after him. Who are they? Where the hell are they coming from?
While all of that is going on, the mysterious Shiro Fujitaka (Denis Akiyama), the head of a major corporation, is in the midst of making a major public announcement about an energy source his company is working on that could revolutionize the world. However, because revolutionary energy research isn’t all Fujitaka’s company deals with, Fujitaka will also have to find a way to deal with this David Lee situation. Fujitaka knows there are multiple teams out looking for the teen, including Rick Collins (Jason Gosbee) and, I believe, Adam Cross (Reuben Langdon). There’s also a guy named Yin (the director hisself) looking for David. If they don’t handle the David Lee situation with a modicum of discretion things will get out of hand quickly. At the same time, David Lee is dangerous as hell and can cause massive damage is provoked. There are no good options in this situation for anyone.
So then some stuff happens, David enlists the help of May in his problems, and the big chase is on. Multiple bad guys are after him, guys in business suits and sword wielding guys like the one in his uncle’s apartment. Will David get out of this alive and intact? Will he ever figure out what the hell is going on? Will we ever figure out what the hell is going on?
The “David on the run” parts of the story are the best because they’re the easiest to understand. David is the hero, he’s on the run from guys who are trying to kill him, and at one point he tries to protect the girl he has a crush on. Anyone can identify with that. The Fujitaka/Yin parts of the story are where the movie drags as they’re pretty confusing. I’m still not sure what it is these people are trying to do outside of capturing or killing David. We know there are scientists working for Fujitaka and “the organization,” like Dr. Jenkins (Melee Hutton), and they’ve done some terrible things to David over the years. David keeps having weird and terrifying flashbacks to when he was a full on test subject, but we never really find out why any of this stuff is happening. I’m assuming there’s some massive conspiracy afoot, but that’s just a guess. And where the hell are the authorities when all of this stuff is happening? I don’t think Fujitaka’s teams are actually the cops. And, hell, man, Fujitaka’s people engage in massive shootouts in full view of the public multiple times throughout the movie, killing random people for no reason beyond they’re in the way. Wouldn’t the local authorities want to know who the hell is shooting people in their city?
The fights and stunt work in this movie are freaking amazing. The hand-to-hand brawls are close quarters, brutal, and only spectacular when they absolutely need to be. And it looks like the movie used as little CGI as possible when people are flung through the air, which is always a plus when it happens and it looks good. There are also seems to be a mix of CGI blood and practical blood and it’s hard to tell the difference between the two, yet another plus. The “slow motion” moments are a tad off putting but they don’t kill the fights. And I want to commend the movie for the wonderful “jumping off the roof” scene that looks like it was a bitch to film. You’ll know the scene when you see it.
Now, Alain Moussi, star of the recent Kickboxer reboot and its sequel, is listed in the credits as being in the movie, but I have no idea who he plays. There’s a character named Captain Williams in the movie, according to imdb, but I don’t remember who that is at all. Perhaps it’s a different Alain Moussi? I don’t know.
Chris Mark is excellent as David. He knows how to project vulnerability when he has to, and he knows how to be a badass killer when he need to be, which is exactly what you need with a character like David. Chris also has an innate charisma that should carry him into the future as an actor in these kinds of movies. Chris Mark has “the stuff.”
Jessica Clement is sweet as May, a girl who gets caught up in a weird ass situation yet somehow manages to get through it. Well, she gets through a good chunk of it until an assassin shows up in the park. Things change for May right after that. However, it’s easy to see what David sees in her.
Denis Akiyama is weird as Shiro Fujitaka, the old businessman who seems to be heavily involved in whatever the hell is going on. Akiyama projects the kind of mysterious authority that one needs to have for this kind of part. I’d imagine we’ll be seeing more from him in the event there’s a Kill Order 2.
The assassins are all terrific martial artist and stunt people. Listed in the credits as “Subjects,” kudos to Jonny Caines, Eric Daniel, Jennifer Li, Eli Martyr, and Adrian Persad, who know how to kick ass and look good and scary doing it. Will they be back for the sequel as different characters? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. And kudos to James Mark for being sleazy and weird as Yin. It’s a performance that needs to be experienced.
Kill Order is a great low budget action flick. I loved almost everything about it. James Mark, Chris Mark, and everyone else in the movie did a great job, and I can’t wait for a Kill Order 2. And there absolutely needs to be a Kill Order 2. It would be wrong if it didn’t happen.
See Kill Order. See it, see it, goddamn see it!
So what do we have here?
Dead bodies: If it’s less than 15 I’d be shocked.
Explosions: A few.
Nudity?: None.
Doobage: A harsh white screen, chair bondage, a flaming human form,, stabbing, multiple neck injections, a guy taking a shower, a photo of a girl, school bullshit, a sudden SWAT team assault, glowing blue eyes, a full on brawl, pen to the neck, assault rifle used a club, knife to the head, an epic desk throw, a one handed full body throw, a skyscraper, a grocery store, magazine throwing, a big ass sword, a guy stops a sword with the meat of his hand, kitchen kung fu, a sweet German suplex into a coffee table, slow motion knife throwing, a wicked sword fight, a guy gets kicked through a wall, another neck injection, double sword attack, major chest carving, sword through the gut, a bloody mouth, sword through the neck, a slow motion roof jump, more flaming guy hallucinations, an I-pod message, face shooting, indiscriminate shooting in public, bridge jumping with the help of a rope, slow motion mega punch to the shoulder, slow motion face kicking, serious picnic table breaking, a tag team kung fu attack, a street sign pole used as a weapon, serious leg breaking, body beating, strangulation via metal pole, a vicious head shot, slow motion smoke grenade throwing, more neck breaking, real time lab bullshit, more chair bondage, a major league off screen beating, another vicious head shot, electroshock treatment, throat slashing, a small cane caused earthquake, glowing red eyes, knife to the back, a wicked sword inside of a cane, some sweet looking acrobatic slow motion fighting, Taser hooey, a slow motion heart punch, chain hanging, an arm bar, a thing where a guy talks to a screen, a major fire, and the prospect of a sequel that absolutely needs to happen.
Kim Richards?: It depends on how you want to look at it.
Gratuitous: Guy looking at an apple, multiple SWAT team assaults, glowing blue eyes, moments of slow motion brutality, the director playing a character that will likely be explored further in a sequel, and the prospect of a sequel that absolutely needs to happen.
Best lines: “Remember the pain,” “Isn’t that right, Mr. Lee?,” “No! Stay away!,” “Mr. Cullins, just do what I told you to do,” “Do something, David!,” “Subject, this is your controller. Awaken,” “Do you recall what happened yesterday?,” “You have no name, only purpose. Remember,” “Isn’t this just touching?,” “Greatness never came without sacrifice. And neither will the sanctity of our planet,” “Tell me, Andre,” “Now I think it’s time we both said goodbye to David,” “Look inside yourself. What do you feel?,” “Remember the pain,” “and “I love you, David.”
Movie rating: 8.5/10.0
DVD Info
Kill Order is being released by the fine folks at RLJ Entertainment. For whatever reason Kill Order the DVD has no special features. There should have been a behind-the-scenes documentary or a commentary track or something. I bet people would love to know about the making of the movie, how it was made, what the makers went through, etc. Perhaps that’s being held for the Kill Order 2-movie set when a sequel gets made?
Audio/Visual Info: Kill Order is presented in 2.35:1 Widescreen and has Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. There is a closed captioning for the hearing impaired option.
Special Features
Trailers: There are trailers for Kickboxer: Vengeance (check out my review of that flick here), the Gary Daniels/Peter Weller underground fighting flick Forced to Fight, and Bushwick (check out my review of that flick here).
