It’s Tuesday again and at Film Fan Dojo that means #TrailerTuesday! This time we got Batman and friends in a 70’s-style animated kung fu flick, Stephen Dorff MMA style and an ambitious action thriller! Welcome to #trailertuesday Film Fan Dojo style.
Knuckledust
Directed by
James Kermack
(click on poster to view trailer)
Starring Moe Dunford, Kate Dickie, Camille Rowe, Jaime Winstone, Alex Ferns, Gethin Anthony, Phil Davis, Amy Bailey, Sebastien Foucan, Olivier Richters
Plot: The police are called to take down the multimillion-pound underground fight den, Club Knuckledust. To their surprise, when the doors are kicked in they find five levels of hell, filled with hundreds of the greatest fighters from around the world — all already dead. And just one beaten and bloodied man, Hard Eight, is left breathing. With a shady Government official en route to take him away, Chief Inspector Katherine Keaton and her team have just ninety minutes to interrogate him and find out if Hard Eight is the lone survivor or a multiple murderer. With lies flying from everyone’s mouth and corruption becoming apparent, Keaton starts to wonder who the real criminal is.
Film Fan Dojo Reaction: Knuckledust takes us into the seedy and weird world of underground fighting complete with hand-to-hand MMA-style fighting, gun play and some S-and-M fighters with spiked bats! This looks like it is going to be a frantic, crazy ride as one man fights his way up the tower of the Knuckledust Fight Club. We get flashes of brutal combat, martial arts tricking and one of the bad guys has a mullet! Lately, I have really been liking the action that British cinema has been putting out (like Tribal: Get Out Alive, I am Vengeance: Retaliation) and I am excited to see the insane brutality Knuckledust promises. Knuckledust is available on VOD December 11th from Samuel Goldwin Films.
Embattled
Directed by
Nick Sarkisov
(click on poster to view trailer)
Starring Elizabeth Reaser, Stephen Dorff, Donald Faison, Karrueche Tran, Saïd Taghmaoui, Donald Cerrone, Darren Mann, Drew Starkey, Drew Scheid, Collin McKenna
Plot: Raised by an abusive father, Cash (Stephen Dorff) channels his aggression to become a World Champion MMA fighter. Now accustomed to wealth, adulation and global popularity, he faces a new challenge when his second son is born with Williams Syndrome. But this time, rather than stand and fight, he runs. While Cash continues to make his fortune in the ring, his eldest son Jett (Darren Mann) becomes the caregiver to his younger brother Quinn (Colin McKenna). When Jett decides to follow his father’s fighting footsteps and take to the fight game, he faces his past head on, embarking on a course inevitably pitting father versus son in a battle which, no matter the outcome, neither can win.
Film Fan Dojo Reaction: The sport of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) continues to soar in popularity and we are being treated to more MMA-inspired movies and TV shows. Embattled seems to tackle some themes we read about real life MMA stars: arrogance, excessive partying and sometimes family drama. We get all of these things in the trailer, but we also get to see the highly underrated (in my opinion) Stephen Dorff as the star. Dorff does his best Conor McGregor impression complete with the lavish lifestyle and larger-than-life walkout to the cage. In terms of fights, we get standard MMA style striking and ground-and-pound, mixed in with some more Hollywood-style spinning crescent and back kicks to spice things up. With that being said, it is an MMA movie and we expect to see MMA. I am really interested in the story and how it will develop between Cash (Dorff), his eldest son Jett (Darren Mann) and Cash’s younger son Quinn(Colin McKenna) who has Williams Syndrome. As stated before, because MMA and the sport’s athletes are so visible now we get headlines about a fighter’s family member who may be battling a disease, an addiction or some other condition, which makes this movie’s plot relevant. Embattled is currently available in select theaters and VOD.
Batman: Soul of the Dragon
Directed by Sam Liu (click on poster to view trailer)
Starring James Hong, Michael Jai White, Mark Dacascos, Kelly Hu, Jaime Chung, David Giuntoli, Josh Keaton, Grey DeLisle
Plot: Set in the midst of the swinging 1970s, this Elseworlds adventure finds Bruce Wayne training under a master sensei. It is here that Bruce, along with other elite students, is forged in the fire of the martial arts discipline. The lifelong bonds they form will be put to the test when a deadly menace arises from their past. It will take the combined efforts of Batman, world-renowned martial artists Richard Dragon, Ben Turner, and Lady Shiva and their mentor O-Sensei to battle the monsters of this world and beyond!
Film Fan Dojo Reaction: Yes, you read it right: Batman in an animated kung fu movie set in the 70’s complete with DC Comics master martial artists Lady Shiva, Ben Turner (Bronze Tiger),and Richard Dragon! This trailer is cool as ice, baby! First, the accompanying 70’s-style soundtrack in the background, a kung fu movie style plot, engaging animated martial arts choreography (each character seems to have their own style) and masked assassin, what more could one ask for? Just check out the voice actors: Mark Dacascos (John Wick: Parabellum), Michael Jai White (who played Ben Turner/Bronze Tiger on CW’s Arrow), legendary extra-prolific actor James Hong, Martial Law’s and CW’s Arrow Kelly Hu and Jamie Chung (Man with the Iron Fists)! Among discussions with friends, I have stated the best thing about DC is their animated features and this seems to be no exception. To sum up my reaction to this trailer: Take my money!
Batman: Soul of the Dragon is scheduled for a January 12, 2021 release on Digital and on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack and Blu-ray on January 26, 2021.
Hope you are excited as I am to see if the hype of the trailers translates in the full film. What trailers are you excited about? Which ones are must-sees for you? Leave your comments below! Film Fan Dojo signing off of another #TrailerTuesday.