Amber Sainsbury, Cecily Fay, Charlie Creed-Miles

A gang of young skilled practitioners of taekwondo must defend themselves against the armies of the night.

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35% liked it

971 ratings

R, 1 hr. 25 min.

Directed by: Richard Jobson

Release Date: December 31, 2004

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DVD Release Date: August 30, 2005

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Flixster Reviews (67)


  • March 25, 2009
    Never really got the plot but the cast
  • February 2, 2009
    I liked it. It starts right in with the "look at me I'm a martial arts movie" and just keeps on going. It stuck in just enough Bladerunner-esque stylings to establish itself as being futuristic without getting too caught up in making things different and technologiucally advanced...( read more). If you've visited Milton Keynes then you'll recognise much of the outdoor locations as clearly not Glasgow, it was the interiors where Glasgow popped it's head in more with a couple of scenes filmed in the Arches and in the underground system. The plot is simple and they keep it simple, the best plan in a pretty short action movie (85 mins). There are a couple of dubiously explained moments where someone is called upon to do something stupid like wander off on their own in order to better set up the next fight sequence but on the whole it's a simple 'these people want to beat up these people cause they won't play along'.

    The Purifiers themselves are a straight split of three men and three women, we get a little background on one (Moz?) and subplot on Dom's character Sol and John's love-interest Frances. The hero and leader of the gang, John, is played fairly straight, his main plot point being his previous friendship with the now bad-guy who wants to take over the city, Moses (played by Trainspotting's Kevin McKidd) and the ubiquitous honor and refusal to compromise of most hero's.

    The fighting is very nicely done, most of the cast are very experienced martial artists excepting Kevin McKidd (the only one who was occasionally body doubled iirc) and Dom (who gets his ass kicked mostly by women). It's not a very violent movie, there are only a couple of moments that might make you cringe a little. For the most part the fight sequences are stylish and very dance-like with lot's of back flips and interesting high kicks. All of which were performed as is, there was no wire work.

    The acting was for the most part fine, a few shaky moments; the lead was strong, the bad guy was strong, Dom was Dom, some of the more minor players were a little akward on occassion.

    In summary. I scored it excellent on the little card they gave us, but that was influenced by Dom's presence. It's always easier to get into a movie in which you have an existing interest. Without Dom I still would have liked the movie but it would only have been good. It's an easy watch, attractively filmed, the score is good, the editing is just interesting enough without becoming gimmicky. Worth a cinema visit but not so big and flashy it won't work fine on video or DVD. Go and see it, lie back and enjoy it, don't ask too much of it. It is what it is and it does it well.
  • June 11, 2008
    I only wanted to see this because Dominic Monoghan, plays Charlie in lost, was in it.. It is so funny. It's a british kung-fu movie. HAHA. It was so bad, it was good. The acting was good, they just took themselves so seriously it was cheesy.
  • August 11, 2007
    OK...I love Dominic Monaghan - I fell in love with him as an actor in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and on the TV show LOST. And now he died on Lost! UGH! don't get me weeping....but He is truly the only really good actor on this movie! He reacts, he does his lines really great....( read more)..but he has no one to play off of. And you can tell he doesn't know much about martial arts like the other actors. And you can tell that most of these people were hired because of their martial arts expertise. And I don't want to put down Indie films if this is one. I am a big supporter of them. And I know its hard for low budget stuff....but come on. There were a few scenes that were good. But most were like "LOL!!!"... This movie must have been really low budget. I felt like I was watching a cheap 80's flick from like "USA UP ALL NIGHT" but without the bimbo's! Its all about Martial Arts. And its TOTAL sci-fi....It has a good story...but it just needed to be done better. Slow motion fighting?? And the guy being killed by the ice skaters?? WHAT??? LAME!!! And the director/producer/whoever must have been nuts about martial arts. That is all this movie is about and its choreographed and staged really good for martial arts. I mean you could teach your kids if you knew martial arts cause of all the slow motion and fights. I truly am or must be a dirty fighter. I found that out from watching this movie. Someone grabs my arm - I am wiggling and punching all over the place. Not stopping, making a face, and then trying some back flip kick...Oh, no guns - that was a plus. And only one weapon....a knife...wait - hockey sticks and numb chucks! OH.... I did like the girl that the head guy Joe was in love with - the cop girl. She was actually good. And beautiful. I would need to look at their pictures to see what their names are. I am sorry it would have been a better movie with a bigger budget. Something needed to be changed. What the HECK is Dom doing this movie for after Lord of the Rings?? Or LOST?? He is way too good for this. Maybe he knew the director or someone in it or something?? He is SOOO talented. This was just not a good movie. PERIOD.
  • June 25, 2007
    Want to see it badly. Can't find it anywhere.
  • June 3, 2007
    its alright, i only watched it cos im a hardcore dominic monaghan fan, but its not the easiest film to understand or the best film you will ever see!

Critic Reviews


Comments


  • alemagico
    September 17, 2008
    DOMINIC ROCKS!
    This movie kick ass!
    I know indi films are low budget films, but we need to support this films, cause you wont like to make a film and have people say it sucks, right? I support indi films cause I dont know when its my turn to be on one. I love Dom, and all the cast. The fighting scenes were amazing. I wish to be flexible as the girl who beats with a scorpion kick Dom...to bad it was a movie, so, HES ALIVE! HAha...so cute.

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