John Wick killed three guys with a pencil.
In The Night Comes for Us, Ito (Joe Taslim) kills a guy with a cue ball then a crowbar, a table saw, and the list goes on another 50 times. Just about the same list goes for Arian (Iko Uwais, star and choreographer of The Raid series). The movie is glorious, non-stop bloodshed as they both evade and chase death, ultimately finding each other in a showdown of two unstoppable forces.
The action is top-notch and the creativity of the kills and carnage is satisfying enough on its own. However, what does any of this matter beyond enjoying seeing bad buy after bad guy fall down in a pool of blood, or with broken ankles, or in flames?
John Wick is an icon because he’s a legend on the screen. Try as writer-director Timo Tjahjanto might in The Night Comes For Us, there’s no legend to follow here. There are stories told of both Ito and Arian’s expertise as paid mercenaries, opposing forces for an elite Triad known as The Six Seas, but neither have any impact beyond their physicality.
The movie could be read as an ultra-violent Dante’s Inferno, as Ito dives deeper into hell with each skull he cracks, running toward redemption. But with each step, he actually steps away from his deliverance. Philosophically in the large scheme, it presents a host of ideas not much considered in the moment.
But you’re not here for a lesson from Chidi Anagonye. This isn’t The Good Place (it’s probably the bad place if we’re honest). You want to see some action like you’ve never seen before.
For the uninitiated to martial arts specials, the action is on full display. You’ll be hard up to find better action sequences. Save for the latest offerings from Keanu Reeves, this is the cream of the crop.
Tjahajanto pulls off each sequence with great gusto, finding new spaces to elevate the action. There’s something to be said about starting an assassination scene in a pearl-white butcher’s shop, and leaving the place painted red. The same goes for elevating a warehouse standoff, sending a few dozen guys at Ito all at once, only for Ito to come out with hardly a scratch. Tjahajanto lets his actors and stunt team breathe fresh life into already elevated surroundings, only cutting on a punch or kick when absolutely confronted with an impossible stunt. That’s not often.
There are only a couple sequences that don’t land, and sadly, the final showdown between Arian and Ito is one of those moments. Watching the two back each other into a wall with a continuous tracking shot is initially impressive, but its subversion is too much of a task. It’s one of the few moments when you can tell it’s fake fighting with exaggerated reactions to pull off the illusion. It’s a minor complaint, though. It still works and provides a satisfying conclusion to both Ito and Arian’s stories, but after a hundred minutes of flawless action, the direction taken in the closing moments is only slightly noticeable.
Overall, The Night Comes for Us leaves something to be desired despite strong performances and overall direction. But seen as just an action vehicle, it’s one of the definitive action movies of the year. Just don’t expect Mission Impossible: Fallout.
Rating: 7/10
