October saw the release of this wild martial arts trailer about Nicolas Cage training warriors to fight aliens. That alone set Twitter aflame, and even Cinematic Doctrine’s website saw increased traffic from our write-up on the site. Jiu Jitsu looked crazy fun. People punching and kicking to stop an alien warrior invader? Sign us up!
And then… we watched it. And boy, Daniel and I sure have some thoughts! We’re no stranger to camp, let-alone Nicolas Cage camp, but Jiu Jitsu’s overly serious and convoluted plotline leaves a lot to be desired. From the get-go, before we even get the chance to give you logistics, Daniel and I air out some grievances about the film with tangible confusion. Then, not soon after, we jump right into decrypting the bizarre choices behind the filmmaking. From first-person martial arts to a camera acting like a fidget-spinner, there’s a lot going on in Jiu Jitsu that was not expected.
Afterward, stick around for some fun trivia regarding Nicolas Cage’s martial arts training, Dimitri Logothetis’ run-in with Martin Scorsese, and how Jiu Jitsu was based on a comic book… sort of.
Jiu Jitsu is Rated R for violence throughout. It features Nicolas Cage, Alain Moussi, Frank Grillo, Tony Jaa, JuJu Chan, Marie Avgeropoulos, and Rick Yune. Directed by Dimitri Logothetis. Jiu Jitsu is currently available on VUDU.
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Melvin Benson is the Founder, Editor-In-Chief, and Lead Host of Cinematic Doctrine. He’s written fiction and nonfiction for over a decade with short stories featured on the Creepypasta Wiki and Wattpad. His novelette Ethereal Temptation, a teen drama with a tinge of magical-realism, can be read for free here. His hope is to see King Jesus glorified as far as the east is from the west!
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