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.
Toni Diego
I don't normally DO action or martial arts films. I'm a girly girl. But every so often you have to relent and let the boyfriend watch something HE wants.The Purifiers was it. He followed the production of this in magazines in the UK like Impact and Combat along with another UK action feature. We had a double bill of this and Richard Jobson's 'Purifiers'.Comparing the two is like chalk and cheese (although they both share similar actors and stunt men and where made around the same time). One is interesting. Enjoyable. Fun. And exciting. The other is The Purifiers.If you have the choice of watching one or the other Left For Dead is the one to go with.This film is just dull, pointless and badly acted toss. Alexander should be shot for crimes against acting. Oh well could be worse... at least I had the momory of Left For Dead to erase this!
makin_movie_magic
Before you read on, I'm not positive this is a spoiler, or at least part of it, that's why I checked the box.I loved it! I mean, yeah the plot was a little...shady??...um, mehish. The cinematography was beautiful and the lighting was really...experimental, but it worked. The only thing I didn't like (besides the language and the mehish plot) was the split screen parts. It was too much to be watching and too fast.Dominic however, was fantastic (maybe I'm a bit biased?)and I'm really pleased to see him in a darker sort of role. He got out of his comfort zone and I loved it.
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.
