11. Monstrum (Huh Jong-ho, 2018, South Korea)
the execution of the film is truly magnificent. The action scenes (both hand-to-hand and those against the monster) are impressive, with the combination of choreography, SFX, cinematography and sound resulting in an astonishing audiovisual experience. The fact that these scenes appear in abundance in the film is the greatest asset of the production, and in conjunction with the relatively small duration (105 minutes), retain the interest from beginning to end. (Panos Kotzathanasis)
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12. Rampant (Kim Sung-hoon, 2018, South Korea)
There was quite a lot to like with ‘Rampant.' Among its finest qualities is the manner in which the zombie outbreak is being loosened upon the populace, infecting the outer regions of their control and slowly working towards the capital. With a special rename into Demons which is appropriate enough for the time period of the film, the action on display takes on nearly a wuxia form of interplay, courtesy of Action Choreographer Kim Tae-kang. As this includes some fascinating jumping and wirework stunts with the infected shown to be quite athletic in addition to more traditional shambling hordes style zombies, there's plenty to like with the rampaging hordes loosened upon the city, creating all sorts of havoc. (Don Anelli)
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13. Alpha: The Right to Kill (Brillante Mendoza, 2018, Philippines)
Mendoza uses these techniques in order to present an “intellectual” action film, which functions much as Erik Matti‘s “BuyBust”, with the emphasis though, being on the social commentary rather than the violence and the action, although these two are anything but scarce here. The action part finds its apogee in the raid, which is rather impressively shot, utilizing all the aforementioned techniques, while providing the apogee of both Joshua A. Reyles's cinematography and Diego Marx's editing. (Panos Kotzathanasis)
14. Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota (Vasan Bala, 2018, India)
“Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota” is filled to the brim with throwbacks and references to not just kung fu classics but also popular Bollywood action films of the 80s and 90s, both at the script level as well as in its execution. In that sense, it feels very much like a Bollywood “Kill Bill”. Director Vasan Bala throws in as many namechecks to martial arts superstars and hit action films as he can muster. Much like “Kill Bill”, this film also references a classic Bruce Lee costume unashamedly, only this time it is his red tracksuit from “Longstreet”. Even Supri's wardrobe, for that matter, is evidently styled on Julie Estelle's Hammer Girl from “The Raid: Berandal” in her introductory scene and her climactic scene from “Headshot” in the climax. (Rhythm Zaveri)
15. Shadow (Zhang Yimou, 2018, China
Zhang Yimou directs a wuxia that follows the “other rules” of the genre, as dictated by King Hu, particularly in films like “A Touch of Zen” and “Dragon Inn”. Firstly, the script does not exist solely to provide a background for the action, but is elaborately written and includes interwoven stories, conspiracies, treacheries, and in-depth analysis of the characters and the circumstances of the era. […] Not much more to say, “Shadow” is one of the greatest wuxia films of all time, an audiovisual poem and overall, a true masterpiece.
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