EYE FOR AN EYE 2: BLIND VENGEANCE (2024)

This might be the most important Added To Watchlist piece that will ever be written (slight sarcasm there). Really this is more of a timely matter, as it is about a film you need to watch immediately. Both, in case it gets taken off Amazon Prime Video soon, and before the insanely amazing action spectacle THE FURIOUS hits theaters.

That movie, dear film enthusiasts, is EYE FOR AN EYE 2: BLIND VENGEANCE, and it's something of a DTV masterpiece from 2024.

Now, first things first: Call it kismet, something in the stars, or just plain serendipity, but it's kind of perfect that this entry comes on the heels of one on THE OUTLAWS. As great as American cinema has become in the last 15 years, in terms of latching onto the biggest and best action films around, there's still a lot that falls in the cracks. Case in point THE OUTLAWS isn't readily available in the US, but the sequel THE ROUNDUP, is on Prime, and the third and fourth entries are both on Hulu.

That brings us to BLIND VENGEANCE. Written and directed by Yang Bingjia, it's one of the rare sequels that's not just better than the original, but requires no knowledge of that entry, giving a 2-minute refresher to set up the world. Blind Cheng (Xie Miao) is a former lieutenant turned bounty hunter, who spends his days tracking down criminals and trying to drink his past away. 

One day he crosses paths with precocious orphan Zhang Xiaoyu (Yang Enyou). Unfortunately, it's just after she's witnessed not only the slaughter of a local rebellion by the sadistic and corrupt government official Li Jiulang (Tao Huang), but also the death of her brother at the hands of Jiulang’s henchmen. Angered, distraught, and knowing of Cheng's notoriety, she begs him to teach her how to kill, so that she might have revenge.

If you read that description and get pangs of ZATOICHI and LONE WOLF AND CUB, then pat yourself on the back. That's exactly the vibe that Bingjia is going for here. Lacing the film with a flurry of inventive and engaging fight sequences but investing equal time in his characters, too. Zhang and Cheng both get solid development while forging their unlikely friendship. The same goes for Huang, who, despite only having a handful of scenes, makes Jiulang into a truly monstrous figure.

A lot of BLIND VENGEANCE unfolds at a steady pace. Intercutting Cheng's bounty hunting activities with Zhang's quest to wear the stoic man down and take her on as his apprentice. Their chemistry is fantastic and becomes the heart of the movie—to the point where every action sequence is imbued with a sense of weight and drama. That's in part thanks to stellar action choreography from Li Qiankun and Qin Pengfei, the latter of whom has directed Miao before in the excellent FIGHT AGAINST EVIL 1 & 2.

While the film is labeled as DTV, nothing about the production screams that. The sets are expensive and feel lived in. There's a bunch of extras crowding every frame too. Again, the biggest place where this is felt is in the action, as Bingjia crams the 90-minute runtime with over a dozen fights. Ranging from 1-on-1 duels, a barroom brawl, and a showdown with 20-plus armed guards. The main standout thought, is a battle that takes place on a little houseboat, where every nook and cranny of the cramped space houses a hidden weapon.

As great as BLIND VENGEANCE is, it's one of several movies to pop up on Prime recently, from a service called iQIYI. Effectionally called "the Netflix of China", the platform pushes out original content on the regular. With a lot of it being funneled through the action genre. To just call it a VOD platform is a bit of a disservice, as the large majority of their offerings buck that trend. Even rivaling or bettering Hollywood movies that have roughly 20 to 30 times the budget.

Of course, the real reason for talking about EYE FOR AN EYE 2: BLIND VENGEANCE in Added To Watchlist is to highlight another film: this summer's hotly anticipated THE FURIOUS. That film has rightly garnered a bunch of attention on the festival circuit, before it got picked up for Lionsgate and slated for a June release. Yet, while it does feature star Joe Taslim, this film will be a coming-out party for Miao, whom the Western world will fall in love with. Better yet, his daughter in the film is played by Enyou, as well! That's why it's highly recommended you watch BLIND VENGEANCE as soon as possible. So that you're ahead of the curve when it comes to emerging action stars. Just thank me later.

Both EYE FOR AN EYE 2: BLIND VENGEANCE and FIGHT AGAINST EVIL 2 are currently on Amazon Prime. For other THE FURIOUS tie-ins (from the director & choreographer), be sure to check out TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIOS: WALLED IN on Tubi, BABY ASSASSINS on Tubi, and/or BABY ASSASSINS 2 & 3 on Prime.