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Hampton’s Fighting Olypmus, which combines action and drama, is his second feature-length undertaking as a writer and director. Hampton tries to reinterpret characters of ancient Greek mythology in a modern setting which is as noble as it is difficult. Unfortunately, the film is an indie production. So, does this mean that Hampton’s ambition is too far out of reach, or does it promise a fresh experience?
Biddle (Devinair Mathis) is a former SWAT officer who is now pursuing new passions in life. He is hired by a determined journalist, Ayasha (Anaya T. Kaur), but things take a turn for the worst. Currently, Rucker (Leslie A. Jones), Biddle’s brother and a former SWAT member, is probing into the suspicious circumstances surrounding Biddle’s murder. In order to unearth the reality, Rucker must navigate through the trivial conflicts of gangster and druglord wannabes.
After handing over the payment to the ferryman, envious Athena orders Rucker (Caroline Hallum) to capture Medusa (Haley Jackson), a so-called monster that seems impossible to deal with. Rucker takes advantage of the situation and betrays the task, and instead, teams up with Medusa. Now the two need to do what seems impossible and solve the riddles, while defeating armored soldiers in different bases, all to get to Hades (Rich Sands). If they manage to capture Hades, they will get their hands on everything they desire. But the question remains, how long will they survive in front of the criminal overlord?
Fighting Olympus reveals its shortcomings with regard to the budget during some of the action scenes. More specifically, the camera seems to track the character’s movements sometimes (if you hate good movies, think Upgrade or Venom). Unfortunately, the movement is rather difficult to comprehend, as the camera shakes side to side in an odd manner during these sequences. Which is very unfortunate, because the choreography is fantastic. Every battle, be it a mixture of hand-to-hand combat and gun battles or pure hand-to-hand combat, is thrilling and well put together. A lot of effort goes into the stunt work and it shows, as the film has some of the best fighting scenes I have seen in a very long time.
The entire cast was just as impressive. Jones makes a terrific hero who is easy to root for. He is also charming enough to capture the viewer’s attention. Sands portrays a very goofy as well as threatening character, who is a wonderful villain. I also enjoyed Hallum’s attempt at a not-so-selfless miniboss, and I enjoyed Kaur, who is brave and spunky, although she zips through the lines of her very first scene, which sets up her tragic backstory. And then there is Jackson. She seeks revenge as the disfigured lady, and everything about her is perfect. She is simply phenomenal in the last scene of the movie. If this is what launches her career, so be it, because she deserves that spotlight.
The screenplay for Fighting Olympus does aid Jackson rather a lot. Hampton did write a story that was entertaining and had interesting characters. However, as with the acting, Medusa’s character even manages to overshadow all of it. Medusa’s arc, motivation,s and conclusion are all so wonderfully crafted and extremely sad. To add to this, the filmmaker’s way of employing the accepted character traits of the gods’ namesakes is quite clever. But what I found even better was how he shattered their expectations.
Lastly, the costumes are all over the place. The foot soldier masks are fun, but they are useless when it comes to immersing the audience in the world. There is an offhand line or two that vaguely explains it, but it still does not achieve what it sets out to accomplish. Athena’s costume is lovely and works for this interpretation of the character splendidly. Most other outfits do the job well enough, even if they’re unremarkable.
As I said, Fighting Olympus is very ambitious, but this does mean that its budgetary restrictions show through every now and then. But the best part of the whole production is the cast, especially Jackson, while the plot is extremely original. While more world-building would have fortified some of those elements, I think Hampton and his cast and crew should be very proud of what they managed to accomplish.
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