He hasnt even finished The Expendables 3, but red-hot Australian director Patrick Hughes is already prepping his follow-up feature: the US remake of Indonesian (albeit directed by Welshman Gareth Evans) action masterpiece The Raid.
Action aficionados surely know this already, but The Raid came seemingly out of nowhere in 2012. The tale of a S.W.A.T. team sent into a Jakarta high-rise to take out a vicious mobster, only to get trapped and have to shoot, stab, punch and kick their way out, it blew fans away with its epic and inventive, fast and furious fight scenes. Its success, though modest by US box-office standards, means that even more ambitious sequel The Raid 2 is already assaulting audiences as we speak.
As with Hong Kong action cinema, however, The Raid had a very specific and proud national identity. Fans of the original could be forgiven for considering a Westernized version a betrayal; but Hughes take on why and what he wants his film to be may reassure them.
Its a phenomenal action film but unfortunately not enough people went and saw it, says Hughes, buzzing with enthusiasm down the line from Bulgaria where he's still working on Expendables 3. So what were doing with this [remake], its got a broader landscape to it and revolves around the world of the DEA FAST [Foreign-Deployed Advisory and Support Teams] Teams, which is a really interesting take on it.
For the uninitiated, the Drug Enforcement Administration details its elite FAST tactical units as follows: FAST units provide immediate tactical responses to emerging threats around the globe. Using training methods reserved for the nations most elite special operations forces, FAST units can rapidly deploy and bring to bear enormous firepower and tactical skill to eliminate or apprehend narcotics kingpins or terrorist leaders. Uh-oh.
This potentially explains the issue of how an action movie firmly rooted in Indonesian martial artistry can translate to Hollywood. Because its an American take, continues Hughes, in terms of the martial arts, youre looking at a clash of cultures and also a clash of fighting styles.
But even with a culture clash established, which US stars could legitimately perform to the level of Raid star Iko Uwais and his crew? Despite it being so early in pre-production Hughes seems very confident with the talent hes scouting.
Its an ensemble piece but were looking at training [the actors] up, he reveals. Obviously I cant name names yet but there are certain people that bring a skill set and there are certain people who are about to go into six months of training before we shoot.
Lest anyone get the idea that Hughes is bringing the same expansive blockbuster tone required for an Expendables movie, hes quick to flag up both his credentials previous low-budget feature Red Hill was a much more intimate, character-based shoot-em-up and what he wants to keep from the original Raid.
Expendables 3 is a big fun popcorn movie, he says, and this will be a really nitty-gritty action movie. It has such a wonderful premise, its so simple and so raw and at the end of the day its a survival movie. Once the lights go out it becomes war and thats certainly what appealed to me about it. My hope with the aesthetics and action set pieces aside, is to elevate it by matching the emotional ride and the action ride. Buckle up.
