One of the Top 10 fantasy television series of the past decade is getting a sequel. As with Firefly, that sequel is coming in the form of a major motion picture. The series was Netflix’s 2019 wuxia series Wu Assassins, and the sequel is Fistful of Vengeance. International world martial arts champ Iko Uwais returns as the chef tapped with the supernatural powers of 1,000 monks, along with series co-star Lewis Tan (Mortal Kombat). Wu Assassins made other action franchises pale in comparison, mixing the best choreographed fight sequences with visual effects, humor, actors we want to see more of. That Chuck Norris-esque movie title doesn’t hurt either. Check out the trailer for Netflix’s Fistful of Vengeance below.
From Netflix:
Super-powered assassin Kai and friends Lu Xin and Tommy track a killer from San Francisco’s Chinatown to Thailand to avenge the death of a loved one. But their hunt soon entangles them with old enemies, a mysterious billionaire and an ancient mystical force bent on taking over the world.
Some negatives? Li Jun Li’s Jenny Wah doesn’t return (but brother Lawrence Kao’s Tommy is back). Neither does Celia Au’s awesome mentor from beyond, Ying Ying (but the badass Juju Chan Szeto returns as Zan Hui). Other actors not returning are Vikings star Katheryn Winnick, Iron Chef’s Mark Dacascos, Altered Carbon, Arrow, and The Expanse actor Byron Mann, and Kung Fu, Mulan, and The Man in the High Castle actor Tzi Ma. Fans of the series would love another entire 10-hour season, but the sequel film we’ve been waiting for is only 90 minutes.
Positives? Fistful of Vengeance is directed by Roel Reiné, a long-time TV director who directed episodes of both Wu Assassins and Knightfall. The movie was scripted by Cameron Litvack, whose work we loved on Grimm, Forever, and Charmed. And it’s filmed on location in Bangkok.
Here’s the trailer:
The trailer looks less supernatural magic and more like Iko Uwais’s earlier films, high octane and action-heavy like The Night Comes for Us and The Raid, but at least we’ll get to see more Uwais in action than his small role in last year’s Snake Eyes (and it’s something to watch while we wait for Uwais in his next movie project, The Expendables 4). What made the series great was the legendary magic and the camaraderie of the large cast. Tommy was always the weak link, and now he and the two male leads will need to carry the film.
We don’t have long to wait for this one. Look for Fistful of Vengeance premiering on Netflix February 17, 2022.
C.J. Bunce / Editor / borg
