One of the most violent, rough-edged and nasty street-fighting movies around has got to be AUSSIE PARK BOYZ. What it lacks in production values, intelligent dialogue, acting skills, and originality it nearly makes up for in heavy doses of realistically choreography face-pounding fracases mixed with limited exploitation and obvious comic book-style film references.

I’ve already read a few reviews of this movie posted around the web and most of the writers who have taken a negative view of this movie have got it all wrong. This isn’t some attempt at a socially-conscious dramatization of ethnic conflict on Australia’s streets, regardless of what the film’s flimsy narration suggests. The movie is just an excuse to lay out one knuckle-busting brawl after another and it does so with a consistently high level of proficiency that mainstream filmmakers and action junkies should take notice. Just about everything else that doesn’t meet any Oscar-level expectations can and should be easily set aside.

The most obvious influence on the movie is Walter Hill’s THE WARRIORS, although it doesn’t become glaringly obvious until about two-thirds of the way through. The streets of an Australian city are overrun with violent ethnic gangs, who regularly meet to pit their best street fighters against one another for money. This includes a gang of Italian-Australians, who are led by two friends, Cam (Nunzio La Bianca) and Pepe (Joe Murabito). When the two are busted for killing another gang member after a drug deal goes sour, they find themselves fighting again. But this time they’re fighting in prison and against the Maoris, the city’s toughest gang. Two years after being released on parole, Cam and Pepe take their gang cross town for a little business, but are spotted by the brother of the man they killed. He has Cam framed for attacking a Maori gang member and for raping his girlfriend. Soon, word gets out to all the area gangs, including the Maoris. Enter the WARRIORS plot as Cam and his crew suddenly find themselves on the wrong end of town and on the run from the Maoris, Skinheads, guys in hockey masks, and even “Asians.”

The movie is the product of Nunzio La Bianca, the screenwriter, director and star. He’s not credited, but I imagine he’s the action director and/or lead choreographer as well. Interestingly, his background is as a student of Feng Shou kung fu, an internal art based on the principles of Tai Chi. Bianca noticeably applies elements of this in various kicks, controls and locks that are mixed with a larger amount of straight boxing technique. More importantly, he displays an impressive grasp of screen fighting mechanics and is able to direct and perform almost startlingly realistic fight sequences.

Bianca’s fellow cast members all perform their fighting well. The action and look of the movie also benefits from great casting, at least when it comes to tough-looking stunt actors who have the size and rugged features of people you generally wouldn’t want to mess with. The larger Maoris, with their facial tattoos add quite a bit of character just by their presence.

As the movie inches closer to the end, the level of fighting violence escalates to exploitive Sonny Chiba levels where throats get ripped out and slit, a gang member gets impaled and faces get beaten into a bloody pulp. This gruesome momentum crests as Cam and Pepe find themselves beating back a small army of circling gang members with one blow after another.

Although I’d stick up for the film’s quality action, I can’t do the same for many other aspects of the movie. The main problem is the sluggish pacing. The fights themselves are fine, but long drawn out moments of silence in between highlight noticeable gaps in the script where character development or anything of interest should be taking place but isn’t Likewise, many non-action scenes simply go on for too long, such as an awkward restaurant scene. Bianca ends up repeating lines a lot to fill these moments.

Another problem is the lack of any driving force that propels the movie forward. THE WARRIORS was all about getting from point A to point B in one piece. In AUSSIE PARK BOYZ, one minute it’s all about making chump money on fights, the next working for some criminal organization that we only see once and then the movie turns into a prison picture complete with the montage sequence of prison life. Then, it’s never really clear what Cam and his buddies are trying to do once he’s back on the street until they’re being chased by a bunch of thugs.

I have to add that the rape scene is unnecessarily violent and sadistic, even if the worst of it is only implied. Bianca is clearly trying to paint a bleak picture of gang life throughout, but this still seems out of place. It doesn’t help that the victim is only introduced moments before and then afterwards is treated with a long sorrowful sobbing scene in the shower that feels like it’s taken from another movie.

The lead characters are also woefully underdeveloped and have little character of their own apart from being loyal to one another and ever-willing scrappers. Some last minute attempts at mixing it up a little with the characters is added towards the end, but this feels like more referencing of other films again. Viewers may also be put off by the plethora of racial slurs tossed around.

Technically, the movie takes a few more hefty knocks for being cheap enough in budget to have to use noticeably low grade camera, lighting and sound equipment, all of which degrades the overall presentation. But, Bianca and his director of photography Derek Hobbs do appear to have gone to considerable lengths to do the best they could with what they had. There are some good locales used, the camera work is pretty decent and the general look of the film is reasonably consistent. In addition, the degraded quality of the visuals, coupled with Hong Kong-like handheld work do lend the movie an added guerrilla or documentary feel that arguably enhances the raw flavor of the action and story.

As a dramatic street gang movie, AUSSIE PARK BOYZ is certain to disappoint with its many structural flaws. But the movie succeeds in offering up large amounts of well-choreographed and raw street fighting action that works itself into a ludicrous, but moderately satisfying frenzy by the end.

by

Related Topics: