When action fans hear the name Isaac Florentine, their minds immediately spring to one of the living legends of the DTV action subgenre. The Israeli-born filmmaker put the “Undisputed” franchise on the map, helped kickstart the career of Scott Adkins, and made straight-to-video martial arts films that the cool kids are into.
Isaac’s decades of experience as a martial artist have obviously been instrumental to him honing his skills as a filmmaker, and the sheer awe the action sequences throughout his filmography can and regularly do inspire. Now, Isaac is back in the director’s chair again, the true screen karateka that he is, delivering two for the price of one with his upcoming duet of ensemble action movies, “Hounds of War” and “Hellfire”!
First up – “Hounds of War”
As the first upcoming action film on Isaac’s dance card, “Hounds of War” will follow a team of mercenaries on a mission to avenge the death of one of their own.
The ensemble of “Hounds of War” includes Frank Grillo, Rhona Mitra, (both veterans of Liam O’Donnell’s “Skyline” franchise, “Beyond Skyline” and “Skylines” respectively) and the T-1000 himself, Robert Patrick.
Meanwhile, names martial arts fans know well like Joey Ansah of “Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist”, Mark Strange of “Ip Man 4: The Finale”, Mike Moeller of “One Million K(l)icks”, and Seydina Baldé of “Unleashed” will also join “Hounds of War”.
While no release date is set yet, “Hounds of War” should hopefully arrive before the end of 2022 or relatively early in 2023. Of course, as readers have no doubt surmised from this article, never mind his career, Isaac Florentine is a man who likes to keep busy.
Next up – “Hellfire”
With “Hounds of War” currently in post-production, Isaac has also just wrapped filming in Arkansas on “Hellfire”. Per the official press release in Deadline:
“The film is about a drifter (played by Stephen Lang) with a mysterious past who arrives in a small town and finds the residents in the grip of a ruthless crime boss and realizes he has to help them.”
Also joining Lang in “Hellfire” are Harvey Keitel, Dolph Lundgren, who previously worked with Isaac on “Bridge of Dragons”, and former Power Ranger, Johnny Yong Bosch, who Isaac collaborated with as a director on “Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers”.
Isaac’s past work with Dolph and Johnny will surely excite action fans, Dolph delivering some of his best fight scenes ever in “Bridge of Dragons” and Johnny spin-kicking the nefarious Putty Patrol and other alien monsters in his travails as Adam Park on “Power Rangers”.
Johnny’s work on other low budget martial arts cult classics as “Extreme Heist” and “Broken Path” also heavily involved the Alpha Stunt Team from “Power Rangers”, making his and Isaac’s reunion that much sweeter for action fans. What ultimately makes the news of “Hounds of War” and “Hellfire” even better, however, is the career phase Isaac has deservedly achieved.
Isaac Florentine Works His Magic Again!
Isaac’s movies with Scott Adkins have been some of the most well-known and acclaimed that both have made, and the laundry list of martial artists like Michael Jai White, Gary Daniels, Marko Zaror, Lateef Crowder dos Santos, Kane Kosugi, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and many others is one martial arts fans can’t help but tip their hats to.
While that list will expand with Joey Ansah, Mike Moeller, Mark Strange, and the returns of Dolph Lundgren and Johnny Yong Bosch, the other players in “Hounds of War” and “Hellfire” really show how far Isaac Florentine has come as a filmmaker – literally including luminaries of mega-blockbusters like “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” and one of the biggest movies of all time, “Avatar”.
With Isaac’s lifelong dedication to martial arts and the fanboy giddiness for it that he’s brought into his career as a filmmaker, action and martial arts aficionados greatly revere his body of work.
With the blend of similar-minded martial artists and headliners hailing from such historic hits, Hollywood as a whole finally seems to be on the same page. Isaac Florentine is one of the legendary auteurs of straight-to-video action, and with “Hounds of War” and “Hellfire”, fans of this special, full-bodied breed of action and the wider world have two surefire titans of that sub genre on the way!
