The Siege: Archangel One
One civil guardsman must catch a serial killer before his city falls into anarchy. Taking place ten years prior to the events of ‘The Siege,’ in Mark G. Lakatos’ The Siege: Archangel One.
Back in 2021 we saw Hungarian director Lakatos’ The Siege 2 and gave it 4 stars as a great tribute to the low-budget 80’s martial arts films that saw stars like Cynthia Rothrock, Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme rise to fame. Archangel One, a prequel to his earlier films, follows the same formula as its predecessors and the classics by having a straightforward good versus evil story. What sets Archangel One apart is that a part of the plot includes a serial killer on the loose, which is an interesting twist on the genre and adds some more stakes and unpredictability into things.
These heroes are elite cops with few if any morals themselves but they have them when it counts most their own lives or those around them are at risk because all bets should be off then right? We know nothing about what division these guys belong too except that they’re all dressed in black and wear masks so I’m thinking some type of special forces unit sent out on missions against bad dudes & gangs n stuff.
Our initial encounter with this team comes during an early scene where we see them storming into an old building. This first fight choreography sets us up for the rest of the 100 minutes while also showcasing Krav Maga, a close-quarters combat system developed by Imi Lichtenfeld for use by Hungarian Israeli military personnel during the late-1940s.
There’s some character development throughout The Siege: Archangel One involving certain members being involved with shady dealings cover-ups but overall most them don’t really change much over time because at core they’re just plot devices cannon fodder red shirts etc, so let’s skip ahead here to what matters most Mihaly Kovacs played by Nyutali Norbert. He’s our main protagonist and he’s a cop.
He has guilt because some shit happened while he was working on another case and it’s left him mildly fucked up in the head ever since i.e. PTSD or something like that but you wouldn’t really know it from watching the movie unless someone told you about these things beforehand etc, who cares right?
Anyway, he’s got this cute little daughter named Emili who he loves more than anything else in life and she loves him just as much if not more so there are scenes where they’re together being all warm & fuzzy towards each other which are nice because they add depth emotional weight gravitas or whatever you want call it.
But let me tell ya, fellas we don’t watch movies for the plots do we? We watch for the fights! Now Krav Maga ain’t as flashy as those Hong Kong styles; it’s slower & chunkier but I tell ya what partner: it looks realer somehow. Archangel One is very grounded when it comes to fighting, every hit feels heavy & solid. Lakatos shines during these scenes, man does he ever!!
His camera is always moving around like crazy putting us right smack dab in the middle of everything which I’m guessing would make us feel closer to them fighters or somethin’. It makes me feel like I’m right there beside those cats throwin’ punches and takin’ hits myself ya know what I mean? So now maybe y’all can see why this flick pulled me in the way it did…
The Siege: Archangel One might not have the polish of a Hollywood movie and it has some technical problems here and there, but what it shows is that with carefully constructed fight scenes plus a cast full of skilled martial artists, this 100 minute action adventure can hold you hostage for its entire running time.
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