Different studios tend to stick to a particular genre when producing movies. The likes of Disney which fall under that category produce films that appeal to family audiences, with a hero’s journey, and hero triumph, and the film ends on a cliffhanger for potential sequels. Blumhouse, on the other hand, tends to focus on young adult horror films with moderate jump scares and just enough graphic content aimed to satisfy PG-13. Last but not least, Asylum productions seem to provide a parody of existing films with a touch of well-known actors, along with the possibility of entertainment.
And now, looking at Mahal Empire with its newly established structure, I have high hopes after they already making a dozen or so movies. The Mahal Empire is widely recognized for funding a big chunk of its movies mostly by crowdfunding from Indiegogo, having a lot of familiar faces in their flicks, and having other personalities who are given a chance to be in the movie because they bought crowdfunding perks. All this is not a criticism, this is what we call achievement.
Everything seems to have improved as per the technical quality that was witnessed ever since the Mahal Empire started releasing one movie after the other. Arena Wars resembles and plays like a movie from a commercial studio. Set decoration, production design, fight choreography, and costume designs surpass (by far) anything we have seen before from the Mahal Empire.
This film takes place in the year 2045 which is not too far off and has the structure of gladiatorial matches where prisoners are offered the chance to battle in the arena in front of an appreciative crowd, and the winner is set free. From then on, there isn’t much to it-and in this case, there doesn’t have to be for a film of this nature. The characters don’t have much of an arc; however, we are not expecting them to have one or require any greater motivations. The film, in most aspects, gets behind what it sets out to achieve and throws in a few intentional gags to relieve the tension between the scenes of violence.
In some of the previous works of Mahal Empire, while they were entertaining for the most part, some of the flaws are much more glaring. But in the case of Arena Wars, Director Brandon Slagle, does respect this combination of veteran actors and less experienced actors, and the story itself uses this combination more effectively.
Some movies that are crowd funded incorporate perks that allow aspiring actors to add more to their resume or allow the fans the chance to act in the movie, and that’s okay- it has always been about pay to play on the silver screen since the inception of Hollywood.
What most of them, if not all of them, do not do particularly well is find a way to incorporate such types of actors into the actual story and plot. As a rule, these actors perform in what appears to be a wedding reception line instead of blocking out stages performing specific actions intended for a feature film, where each of them is allowed to say the lines they purchased in a non-naturalistic manner. In these cases, the outcome oftentimes feels like a performance of a high school drama where everyone has to be given a role. This is not the case for Arena Wars. In terms of its application in the movie, yes, some of this kind of content does exist, but it works for the plot and, more importantly, does not damage the credibility of this world’s reality.
In the movie Arena Wars, viewers can appreciate the performances of Eric Roberts and Michael Madsen, as well as veteran actors Robert LaSardo and Robert Donovan. The other cast is comprised of Mahal Empire regulars, most of whom are finding their footing as actors.
As for Slagle, he is also credited as a lead writer with the Mahals, Sonny, and Michael, who shaped the storyline. The premise itself is a standard crime flick where incarcerated gangsters battle for survival to win their freedom, similar to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Running Man or Death Race. There’s a certain level of expectations that come with this kind of action film and Slagle manages to deliver almost all the appropriate payoffs from beginning to end.
Where Slagle succeeds most in Arena Wars is to maximize the resources that were made available to him for this particular movie. His writing plays to the actors’ strengths and the worst parts of them and delivers where the majority of these funded by the crowd films falter. It delivers a thorough narrative that is entertaining to the viewer as opposed to just being entertaining to those who contributed to the perks.
My journey with the Mahal Empire began with Art of the Dead. It was an enjoyable, well put together movie. Since then, their movies have been more epic than the previous ones. The more recent ones, like “Bermuda Island,” and “Night of Tommyknockers” can be described as fun, big B-movies instead because they fit within what one would expect from Asylum and SyFy Channel movies.
Arena Wars is different in this case. If a person who knows nothing about Mahal Empire found this film, he wouldn’t ask questions he will just say, this is an entertaining action film. It’s not too complicated, there are some memorable characters, some entertaining nakedness, and lots of violence that’s typical of such movies.
Even if Arena Wars doesn’t steep any new ground into the action genre, it does raise the bar of expectations for independent movie makers using crowdfunded films.
Along the way, I’ve seen and heard independent filmmakers without fail happily explain how they’ve raised money and about how they do not have any background information or have attended a film school but hey they’re making a film, they will figure things out eventually, and then they create footage which is irritable for the entire cast and crew and the audience for that matter but, as always, Arena Wars gets it right where most others don’t.
Finally, “Arena Wars” answers the viewers and aspiring filmmakers: this is how it can be done with available materials, a believing team, and an experienced leader who is Slagle and who really knows what he is doing.
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