Imagine if a quiet and earnest man tormented by painful memories of the brutal murder of his parents, and burdened with watching his little brother slowly sink into insanity as a result, channeled his despair and silent rage into mastering martial arts with singular devotion. Imagine if one impromptu act of vigilante heroism caused his brother’s condition to improve. Imagine if the man was subsequently driven to apply his fighting skills and the meager salary earned from a thankless job as a club bouncer to take on petty muggers, gangbangers, hired thugs, and even a network of dangerous pedophiles in the real world. That is the premise of MIRAGEMAN, an unusual, almost documentary-style martial arts movie starring Marko Zaror that suggests what a not-so-super hero would be like in the real world, complete with reality TV exploitation, cynics and the threat of real consequences for action or inaction. I would go so far to say that Mirageman would have been the everyman hero Stan Lee might have created in today’s world in place of Spider-man.
MIRAGEMAN is the second action film from Hollywood stuntman-turned-action star and choreographer Marko Zaror and writer-director Ernesto Diaz Espinoza. It is a more sophisticated, original and entertaining work than their first effort, KILTRO, which was a fun but disposable grindhous-style movie. Although still working with a meager budget, the duo has really found their stride with this follow-up. It represents almost everything that Hollywood action filmmaking is lacking today. The script is minimalist yet thoughtful with Espinoza content to let images tell his story better than words ever could. The fighting action is realistic, crisply shot and edited, and unique rather than being derivative of outdated trends. Ultimately, the film has heart. It’s possible to actually invest yourself in the character of Maco (Zaror), a humble man who struggles as much with his costume as he does with criminals.
KILTRO and MIRAGEMAN share a couple similarities that reveal a creative trend from Espinoza. He seems fixated on flawed, everyman heroes who may have great fighting ability but struggle with other aspects of their lives. Zaror’s character in KILTRO was socially awkward and a simpleton who let his fists and feet do his talking, and in some cases his thinking. He had to go through a transformation in his training to mature as a fighter and a man. In MIRAGEMAN, Zaror’s character is more grown up initially but scarred by a traumatic memory which has made him withdrawn. In both cases, Espinoza’s heroes are naïve, brave and pure-hearted men who care deeply for their family and become heroic when they’re fighting but are otherwise subject to the same awkward pitfalls most of us stumble into at some point in our life.
The fact that Espinoza never loses sight of those awkward moments in life is what makes MIRAGEMAN so refreshing as a “superhero” movie. Scenes where Maco struggles to pick his costume, change into it on the street or even to clear the moisture from the inside of his goggles during a drawn out fight with thugs recalls Stephen J. Cannell’s hit early ’80s TV series THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO. That show saw an ordinary man granted superpowers that he was never fully in control. However, Espinoza’s take on a dysfunctional superhero is to not hit the viewer over the head with it or use it solely as an excuse to pander for cheap laughs. For instance, there is a sequence where Maco follows a mugger into an alleyway and stops behind a corner to change into costume. The scene is intentionally overlong as he struggles to get his costume on. By the end of it I was fully expecting the mugger to be gone or something along those lines that would have provided more of an expected punchline but it never comes. It’s this unpretentiousness that makes the premise work really well. There are still a few clichéd elements in the film, such as Maco’s brother who is conveniently fixated on Mirageman and an undercover cop who keeps appearing at just the right moment to enhance a dramatic scene, but they are far outnumbered by the film’s generally straightforward direction.
Zaror’s screen fighting and the skill and/or use of his stuntmen have matured substantially in this follow-up to KILTRO. The previous film was intentionally stylized and basically provided showcase for Zaror to say to the world, “Look what I can do.” It was all very impressive, especially given Zaror’s size coupled with his dexterity and acrobatic tricking skills, but as with many martial arts movies, scenes often felt like nothing more than an excuse to show off. The fighting action in MIRAGEMAN is more reality-based and better integrated with the story.
The challenge with regard to shooting extensive martial arts action in a reality-based superhero movie is obvious.
One of the most basic practical challenges of being a crime-fighting hero in the real world is how to find a crime in progress. Superman had super hearing and could fly faster than a speeding bullet. Spider-man would spend a whole night swinging through New York City’s skyline by synthetic, sometimes organic webbing in hopes of finding some wrongdoing to stop. Batman had the most practical solution. He relied on a bat phone with a direct line to Police Commissioner Gordon, an array of high-tech tracking terminals and a fast ride to catch perpetrators in the act. Borrowing slightly from the latter, Mirageman creates an email account for people to solicit aid. While most of the responders turn out to be phony, one is an undercover cop seeking help in bringing down a pedophilia network responsible for the recent abduction of a young girl.
Impressed by Mirageman’s courage and initiative, the cop gives him a Kevlar vest and detailed plans of the pedophiles’ hideout where they are allegedly keeping the girl. What isn’t explained sufficiently is why the cop has this information yet lacks enough proof to call in a police squad to rescue the girl. Instead, he sends Mirageman in without any weapons to take on a warehouse full of armed killers who shoot first and never ask questions. That leads up to the next challenge, guns.
The film cleverly dances around the problem Mirageman would have with using martial arts in a world filled with guns by making most of his opponents unarmed street thugs. There is another sequence where Maco storms an estate filled with martial arts-fighting goons who have kidnapped a TV news reporter. I’m not going to explain why but the perpetrators have a specific reason for not using guns that makes perfect sense.
Yet when facing the pedophiles, Maco stares down the same reality any skilled martial artist in today’s world would when taking on armed, organized criminals. Again, I don’t want to spoil anything but I will say Maco first tries to fight fair and nearly dies in the process and returns better equipped to apply some Bruce Lee-style, hidden weapon tactics. Ultimately, he still has to deal with a wall of gunfire, something Batman and other vulnerable comicbook heroes always seem to be able to easily overcome.
Zaror’s fight choreography throughout the film is superb, really. I find myself complaining a lot about contemporary fight choreography because frankly, it’s generally orchestrated, performed, shot, and edited poorly when compared with great screen fighting of the past. Action choreographers need to watch MIRAGEMAN to see how it’s done right today. Zaror’s movements are crystal clear. He has good form. There is an excellent variety of movements and strikes that are fast, efficient and flow together smoothly. Zaror’s stuntmen and opponents are well trained and perform reactions extremely well. Zaror also knows when to shift away from clean, precision fight choreography to rugged, desperate skirmishes. The distinction is that when Mirageman is facing real opponents in a life or death situation, the fighting gets hectic and messy. There is a fine line between the two styles and it’s balanced nicely in this film in a way that is still satisfying for martial arts enthusiasts yet reasonably plausible given the circumstances.
Another reason why the fight choreography looks so good in the film is because Zaror and his stuntmen were frequently making contact, much like stuntmen used to do in Hong Kong in the ’80s and ’90s. Part of great fight choreography is the willingness on the part of participants to take it on the chin quite literally. The key is in holding back just enough to do no real damage, or to wear protective pads underneath clothing when possible to absorb blows. For a variety of reasons, some of them legal, you’ll almost never see this in Hollywood productions.
The film’s production is noticeably low budget but it intentionally works to the film’s advantage, unlike KILTRO where some of the stylized sets looked excessively threadbare. Espinoza frequently shoots the film in a slight documentary or guerrilla style with grainy, handheld camera work capturing Zaror running through city streets. Given the reality-based tone of the movie, it works very well. A score by Rocco is average yet complimentary for the most part but I couldn’t help noticing yet more prominent use of a David Bowie song. It’s fitting and I like vintage Bowie as much any anyone else but using him for two unrelated movies probably isn’t the best idea. Had this been a sequel to KILTRO I wouldn’t have minded as much.
MIRAGEMAN could have ended any number of ways but I found how it was tied up to be very satisfying. It’s poignant and bittersweet, yet leaves open possibilities for sequels. I really do hope Espinoza is planning sequels too. The film is so much more rewarding than the vast majority of Hollywood’s big-budget comicbook movies of the moment, especially for anyone who appreciates quality fight choreography, a great story and less of the fantasy effects, action and hyper-stylized editing that Hollywood filmmakers like to cram down our throats by the bucketful. As for Marko Zaror, there is a reference in the film where someone suggests his character is trying and failing to be like Jean-Claude Van Damme. Marko Zaror is not Van Damme but he, along with Scott Adkins, is the next big martial arts star. Now having seen him in two quality roles with more on the way, I expect great things to come from this immensely skilled screen-fighting actor.
by Mark PollardRelated Topics:
Marko Zaror • Mirageman (2007)
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