andiallan
"the Purifiers" is a movie with practically nothing to recommend it.The direction is sloppy and it never overcomes its low budget. The script is derivative of other more successful films without any understanding of the elements which made the originals successful.Performances are pretty amateurish,with Dominic Monaghan phoning in his performance.Editing is awful.All of these faults could be overlooked if the martial arts were any good but the fight scenes ( which if I recall correctly all take place in slow motion) being ineptly staged and filmed.There are better movies than this in any genre you care to name.Avoid.
misbegotten
'The Purifiers' may be a very low budget film, but it's slick, polished and professional, with a surprising number of overhead crane shots, which can be quite pricey. It was filmed mostly in various Scottish cities, but I also recognised some locations as being in Milton Keynes.The main storyline is an unashamed copy of 'The Warriors', transplanted to an unnamed city in the UK, in a near-future where the overstretched and undermanned police are never seen (although the opening scene has a would-be rapist being left tied up for the authorities to find, with camcorder-filmed evidence of his guilt taped to his mouth). However, this near-lawless future is also set in a fantasy world where hardened criminals and streetwise vigilantes never use guns and only rarely possess knives. Instead, they prefer to beat opponents' faces in with bare fists and well placed kicks.The city has been split up into zones; each vigilante group is responsible for their designated area, and nobody strays from their zone into somebody else's. Our heroes are The Purifiers, a gang led by John (Gordon Alexander), with members that include Frances (Amber Sainsbury) and Li (Rachel Grant). Moses (Kevin McKidd), a former associate of John's who now controls a zone of his own and is running for local office, calls a meeting proposing that the groups unite. This doesn't sit well with John, who believes that some of the other gangs - having run the criminal element out of their respective zones - have filled the resulting vacuums by taking over the drug trade and protection rackets themselves. However, refusing Moses' proposal isn't an option, and The Purifiers find themselves on the run through the city, pursued by the other gangs.The film features a lot of familiar British faces. In addition to 'Hex' actress Sainsbury, 'Sci-Fright' presenter and Bond girl Grant, and McKidd (star of 'Rome' and 'Dog Soldiers'), there's also Dominic Monaghan (from 'Lost' and the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy), plus glamour model Catherine McQueen appears as a member of all-female biker gang The Pumas. The strongest performances are from Sainsbury and McKidd, and the latter's portrayal (together with some powerful dialogue provided by writer/director Richard Jobson) ensures that Moses is more than a typical two-dimensional villain. In his own cynical way, Moses passionately believes in what he's doing, and it's hard to fault his logic when he accuses John (who's merely trying to stay true to his principles) of being an unrealistic dreamer who expects the entire world to change just to accommodate him.Most of the action scenes are very impressive, and filmed so that you can see it's actually the actors getting physical, instead of anonymous fight doubles. It's no coincidence that Rachel Grant and leading man Alexander are both trained marital artists, as are many of those playing the members of the rival gangs. Especially worthy of mention is Chloe Bruce, playing one of The Eels, who has a dazzling exhibition fight against Monaghan in an early scene, and whose character returns to trade kicks and punches with Alexander later in the film. The climatic confrontation between John and Moses also doesn't disappoint.However, because there are so many professional fighters in the cast, 'The Purifiers' is one of those action films where seemingly everybody (and their dog) knows martial acts, as witnessed by an extremely daft scene in which one of The Purifiers seeks shelter in an all-night cafe, only to find herself under attack from a high-kicking, back-flipping waitress!! Also on the downside, there's a very pretentious voice-over, a few unnecessary camera tricks, and some annoying and distracting use of split-screen in a couple of key sequences. The incredibly gorgeous Grant is unforgivably under-used, plus a final twist regarding Frances arrives out of nowhere and lacks any kind of explanation.Ultimately though, The Purifiers is an enjoyable effort, and a highly likable little film.
Quintablo
Alright, here it goes. Just in case someone doesn't know it already,*SPOILER* Dominic Monaghan is a bad guy. I don't know how it was in the UK, but in the US (North Carolina to be exact) the cover of the DVD has a picture of Dom, and makes him out to be this awesome kung-fu dude. I didn't buy this movie to see Dominic Monaghan be a stupid freak. He's the awesomest hobbit ever. So I buy this movie (like an idiot, tricked by the nonsensical DVD case) so I can see sweet hilarious Dominic Monaghan kick butt summer fun, and am seriously saddened by the betrayal and, hence, wasted $10. Otherwise, the fighting was sorta cool, but the story wasn't, and who cares 'cuz Dom sucked.
Ryan Burch (rburch20)
The plot isn't without a few holes, and the acting was so-so in some scenes, but it's still a fun film. The fights are some of the best i've seen as far as real martial arts go. They are stylized enough to show off the fighters' talent, but are also simple enough to be performed on the streets. The scene with the nunchaku was one of the coolest things i've ever seen.The sets, and cinematography are incredible, the lighting is awesome. It doesn't look like a low budget film.Well put together little film, only problem I have with it is the plot is a lot like the screenplay I am currently writing.
