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Welcome back to the history of Gun Fu
Last time, we talked about how John Woo took ideas from wuxia movies
And applied it to gun fights
Single-handedly creating the concept of Gun Fu
John Woo would continue his legacy in Hollywood
But by that point, Gun Fu was already out of his hands
And became a global phenomenon
Films like Desperado and The Replacement Killers
Would continue the "John Woo school" of Gun Fu
South Korea adopted the style with a distinct Korean flair
And French cinema also dabbled in the art
But nowadays, when you think of Gun Fu
You think of only one style
For this video, we'll be looking at, what I considered to be
The main lineage of the "Hollywood style" Gun Fu
The fast, the efficient, and the most influential in our pop culture
From Hong Kong to Hollywood
From Chow Yun-fat to Keanu
Let's see how America adopted this art
And created something new and original
Welcome to the rise of Gun Fu
[The Rise of Gun Fu]
[Chapter One]
It was 1999
Being a big fan of Hong Kong cinema
The Wachowskis incorporated copious amounts of Eastern elements
Into their sci-fi classic
That, of course, includes Gun Fu
... Or does it?
In reality, The Matrix has almost no Gun Fu in it
Even during a gunfight
There is more Kung Fu than Gun Fu
So, why am I talking about this?
Because, while The Matrix did not introduce actual Gun Fu
It introduced a sense of attitude
Long trench coat, dual-wielding pistols
Mass destruction
If John Woo's gunfights are like dynamite
The Matrix is much more a wrecking ball
It's cold and raw
John Woo aims for big muzzle flashes and huge explosions
The Matrix prefers dust and debris
An unobstructed view of the kinetic destruction
John Woo likes the chaotic energy
The Matrix offers a much more coolheaded, tactical style
The lack of sparks and explosions
Would become a major visual distinction Between the John Woo style
And the Hollywood style
It may sound like I'm nitpicking differences
But there is a cultural reason behind the style shift
And it'll all become clear when we look at our next movie
Equilibrium is a 2002 dystopian sci-fi movie
The main character is a law enforcement officer Who practices the art of "Gun Kata"
A firearm based martial art
Yes, it takes Gun Fu LITERALLY
Gun Kata is flashy
It's romantic
It is very much still a type of Gun Fu
But it feels drastically different from the John Woo style
As its name suggests
Gun Kata often looks like a "Kata"
A choreographed routine
Instead of injecting momentum into your bullet by swinging your gun
Gun Kata's movement is always steady
The guns just glide past their targets without interruptions
It is smooth and effortless
If the John Woo style is an angry punch
Equilibrium is like a sharp knife cutting through a piece of tofu
It's a different kind of satisfaction
So what do a wrecking ball and a sharp knife have in common?
Well, they are both cold
And unemotional
They share the same attitude
Compared to the fury displayed in John Woo movies
All shooters in The Matrix and Equilibrium perform best
When they are calm and razor-focused
I think the differences originated from different readings
Of gunfights in Westerns
No doubt, John Woo took a great deal of inspiration
Directly or indirectly
From Western classics
What John Woo perceives as momentary explosive actions
The American audience may instead see speed and accuracy
Two things that are valued in American gun culture
They see an attitude displayed by the gunslinger
Calm, confident, fearless, reserved
Razor-focused
That's why Equilibrium has this "slicing through your enemy" feel
It implies a level of accuracy that John Woo movies lack
The action may not be as impactful
But it makes the killer feel much more lethal
The skill of the gunman is much more important than the gun itself
Going forward, this accuracy will be a key distinction
That sets the Hollywood school of Gun Fu apart
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[Chapter Two]
With the success of both John Woo and The Matrix
A wave of Gun Fu films took over Hollywood
A million different styles were attempted
Some more successful than others
Underworld, released in 2003
Is essentially a Matrix clone
But with vampires, werewolves, and guns
But this is no cheap imitation
Looking at the gun swings
As well as the framing and editing
It combines the more impactful techniques of John Woo
With the stoic attitude from The Matrix
Guns in this movie pack an unreasonable amount of bullets and firepower
It is yet another idea of Gun Fu taken literally
The stronger the wielder, the stronger the guns
And since the wielders are vampires with superpowers
Their guns have superpowers, too
It is, once again
More about the gunslinger
Less about the gun
Collateral, a 2004 thriller about a taxi driver
Being forced to work for a hitman
Is generally not considered to be a Gun Fu movie
But this scene
With its grounded and realistic approach to close quarter combat
Opened people's eyes to a new possibility
The techniques exhibited by Tom Cruise
Are actually real-world combat techniques
Fast and lethal
Turns out, there really is a firearm based martial art
And it can look just as good
This is just a hint of what is to come
Wanted, released in 2008
Took the abilities of the gunslingers to a ludicrous level
In this movie about a secret society of assassins
Accuracy continues to be the key quality of a good shooter
These characters can hit their target in one shot
Even in impossible scenarios
Assassins can curve their shots
Or hit a bullet with a bullet
Or do both at the same time
It's a very different kind of Gun Fu
One where the scale is small
But the technique is freaking dumb and stupid and spectacular
And I love it
After 10 years of constant experimentation
The Hollywood school of Gun Fu
Already looked vastly different to the John Woo school
Defined by its emphasis on speed and accuracy
Stoic heroics with a badass attitude
What started off as an aesthetic
Became a tool to build up a character
It enhances the world-building
It makes characters feel heroic and otherworldly
It feels like an amazing next step
In the continuous evolution of Gun Fu
But it wasn't without its flaws
For 10 years
This new direction rarely managed to match the level of energy
That is iconic to the John Woo films
You just don't feel the individual shots
It lacks the visceral impact
Look to the fellow school
Where bullet spray remained the dominant style
You can't help but wonder...
What's missing?
[Chapter Three]
Enter the 2010s
Somehow, Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass
Became the film that changed action cinema
Yes, for 10 years, Hollywood style Gun Fu stayed too sterile
American filmmakers rarely had the gut to punch the audience in the eyeballs
Having an f-bomb dropping 13-year-old
Mercilessly slaughtering a hallway full of goons
Is precisely the sort of visceral middle finger audience craved
She is fast
She is accurate
And she's brutal
After all, it is John Woo's ultimate thesis
That "violence is beautiful"
Without violence
Gun Fu is just fancy gunplay
Vaughn would continue refining this sense of violence
In his 2014 movie: Kingsman
In this breathtaking, ultraviolent action scene
Hollywood Gun Fu finally has something that can rival the best of John Woo
The efficiency enhances the character
The violence heightens the audience emotion
With all the pieces now in place
This is the perfect time for a movie to utilize this tool
To its fullest potential
The John Wick series has become synonymous with Gun Fu
And that not only speaks to the quality of the films
But also, just how much it captures the heart of the art
The series continuously builds up John Wick as a stoic character
Hinting at his unparallel skills
Passive by nature
Ruthless by trade
"Baba Yaga"
It is painting the exact same character and attitude
That the Hollywood Gun Fu is made for
And when the Gun Fu action shows John Wick as this efficient killer
One shot one kill
Razor-focused
The story, in turn, agrees with it
"John Wick is a man of focus"
There is an amazing cohesion between the character
The story
And the action
For John Wick is Gun Fu
The same way John Woo's heroes embody the wuxia spirit
Every shot John Wick fires
Brings with it a cinematic history that can be traced back to The Matrix
To Hong Kong
To spaghetti westerns
And to American westerns
And so, Hollywood crafted its own style of Gun Fu
With a unique visual
A unique narrative
And a unique spirit
What a journey
[Conclusion]
With both The Matrix 4
And John Wick 4 on the horizon
It is an exciting time for fans of Gun Fu
In the 20+ years since the original Matrix movie
Hollywood has been in constant experimentation
Giving the same concept vastly different flavors From one film to another
Gun Fu may be one of the few remaining action genres in Hollywood
That still values reinvention
That rewards change
That craves originality
And in today's cinematic landscape
It is not easy to be original
So, as much as I'm excited for seeing Keanu kicking ass all over again
It also makes me hopeful for the future
So many great original ideas came from this art
I just can't wait to see
What's next