Maximum Impact

Starring: Ara Paiaya, Adam Davidson, Raquel Paiaya, Nick Cockburn, Chris Robb, Vinnie Wilson

Synopsis:

Agent X (Paiaya) is sent by the Department of Justice to take down master criminal Alexander Pirani (Davidson). Pirani has recently abducted Katie Tang (Raquel Paiaya) a cryptologist responsible for the codes to military security software, which he plans to sell to the highest bidder.

As Agent X battles to defeat Pirani and rescue the girl, he makes new allies but also discovers a shocking revelation about his target...

Maximum Impact Trailer from Ara Paiaya on Vimeo.

Iranian-born Ara Paiaya is a cottage film industry all on his own, writing, directing and starring in his own movies, as well as acting as fight choreographer and stuntman. Maximum Impact, his latest feature, is a highly stylised, entertaining, low-budget homage to James Bond, Jackie Chan and Jason Bourne.

There is one thing which will prevent this from being embraced by a wide audience: the camera-work, which tries to emulate the shaky-cam work on Paul Greengrass’ Bourne sequels. It looks as if the cameraman was on roller skates and It is used nearly all the time. I was a bit worried that this was the signature style of Ara’s films but I’ve taken a quick peek at Death List, one of his previous films, and the shaky cam is thankfully not present. Having said that, the film manages to boast some great scenery photography at times, especially towards the end when the action shifts to a castle ruins situated on a cliff-top.

So what does work? The main thing is that the film establishes Ara Paiaya as a proper action star. He’s a very good screen fighter with some outstanding moves, especially his kicks. He also makes for a charismatic lead with good screen presence. Ara is clearly a fan of Jackie Chan and does a good job of emulating some of his style, especially a fight scene in and around a parked car which reminded me of a similar fight in Jackie’s Accidental Spy.

Overall the fights and stunt-work were of a high standard. The fight scene in a car wrecking yard actually looked dangerous, with the crusher/crane throwing crushed cars around.

Being a low-budget film, there are some things you can easily brush aside, such as the non-recognisable cast, or the establishing exteriors jarringly juxtaposed with cheap interiors (a CIA safehouse looks like a mansion on the river from the outside, but looks like a 3 bed semi on the inside). There are other areas though which cannot be blamed on the budget. Some judicious editing would have helped streamline some areas, taking out non-essential shots. Such as Agent X getting ready in his hotel room – takes ages, then we have to watch him leave the room, not forgetting to switch off the lights, and make sure he’s got his room key...). I think the main problem is that by taking on so much of this project himself, Ara is probably a little too close to see the wood for the trees, and would benefit from receiving a more objective perspective.

Verdict:

Maximum Impact is an incredibly ambitious film, trying to live up to Bourne and Bond’s adventures on a shoestring budget. If it weren’t for the damn shaky-cam, I’d be giving this a higher mark.

As it is, Maximum Impact still manages to provide some interesting, well put together action scenes and Ara Paiaya is definitely a star in the making. Ara is learning by doing, and I suspect that his output will progress in quality, both behind and in front of the camera, as he gains experience.

5 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)

New! Comments