Jino Kang's follow-up to Fist2Fist does a good job of building on lessons learnt and providing some decent kick-ass action. What it doesn't provide, and cannot provide due to its budget constraints, is the sort of high-production polish that a lot of people seem to expect. I find a lot of low budget films being criticised for their lack of budget rather than being given credit where it's due.
Having said that, Weapon of Choice is a bigger production than its predecessor, with a larger cast, more locations, overhead aerial shots and more elaborate set-pieces.
Director Jino Kang stars as Jack Lee, a recently retired assassin whose speciality was to walk into a room unarmed and utilise the weapons of his opponents - as can be seen in the opening action sequence. Unfortunately for him, his old boss Banducci (Douglas Olssen) isn't going to let him retire so easily, and kidnaps his niece Jaime. This home-invasion scene is really well done with some nice little moments. For example, When Jack enters and sees these masked men abducting Jaime, he squares off against one of them, only for the masked man to turn and walk away. Why? because one of his henchmen is sneaking up behind Jack and he feels he doesn't need to waste his time on him.
The characters are well-fleshed out and given proper personalities. Douglas Olsson gives Banducci a wry sense of humour and Machiavellian business sense. You may think his plan is over- complicated to begin with (i.e. starting a feud with Jack whilst at the same time trying to sell his criminal empire to a third party) but it all makes sense later on in the film. Jaime (Kelly Lou Dennis) might have been a damsel in distress in other movies of this type, but here she is brave and resourceful with her own agency. Similarly jaded cop Ashlee Jordan (Katherine Celio) starts off a bit brash but comes into her own, especially with a brutal fight scene.
The action is well put together and Jino makes sure to make each encounter different. The film builds to a strong climax where Jack has to run a gauntlet of bad guys, each with different weapons - hand to hand, knives, swords, even assault rifles. My personal favourite part of this sequence is the sword fight. Jino Kang is a very experienced martial artist and pushes himself here with developing fight scenes utilising many different styles of combat.
For me, Weapon of Choice exceeds its budgetary limitations. Its an ambitious film which works a lot more often than it doesn't.
Having said that, Weapon of Choice is a bigger production than its predecessor, with a larger cast, more locations, overhead aerial shots and more elaborate set-pieces.
Director Jino Kang stars as Jack Lee, a recently retired assassin whose speciality was to walk into a room unarmed and utilise the weapons of his opponents - as can be seen in the opening action sequence. Unfortunately for him, his old boss Banducci (Douglas Olssen) isn't going to let him retire so easily, and kidnaps his niece Jaime. This home-invasion scene is really well done with some nice little moments. For example, When Jack enters and sees these masked men abducting Jaime, he squares off against one of them, only for the masked man to turn and walk away. Why? because one of his henchmen is sneaking up behind Jack and he feels he doesn't need to waste his time on him.
The characters are well-fleshed out and given proper personalities. Douglas Olsson gives Banducci a wry sense of humour and Machiavellian business sense. You may think his plan is over- complicated to begin with (i.e. starting a feud with Jack whilst at the same time trying to sell his criminal empire to a third party) but it all makes sense later on in the film. Jaime (Kelly Lou Dennis) might have been a damsel in distress in other movies of this type, but here she is brave and resourceful with her own agency. Similarly jaded cop Ashlee Jordan (Katherine Celio) starts off a bit brash but comes into her own, especially with a brutal fight scene.
The action is well put together and Jino makes sure to make each encounter different. The film builds to a strong climax where Jack has to run a gauntlet of bad guys, each with different weapons - hand to hand, knives, swords, even assault rifles. My personal favourite part of this sequence is the sword fight. Jino Kang is a very experienced martial artist and pushes himself here with developing fight scenes utilising many different styles of combat.
For me, Weapon of Choice exceeds its budgetary limitations. Its an ambitious film which works a lot more often than it doesn't.