New Vic (film)

***New Vic*** is a 2006 American fantasy martial arts action film written by Isaac Reaper, directed by Frank J. Anderson, produced by Reaper, and starring Harley Cook, Kevin Sellick, Gordon Brandis and Edger Wayne. It is a loose adaptation of the 90's fighting game series *Green Blood Irons* and the first installment of the live-action *Green Blood Irons* film series.

The plot of the film follows the martial artist Buchanan, on his journey to the town of New Vic, ? in search of his younger brother Roth.

*New Vic*, an Ivory Lion Productions film in association with Mercury Games, was filmed primarily in Oregon and premiered on August 18, 2006 in the United States. It received mixed reviews from the critics with praise towards its martial art sequences, atmosphere, presentation and production values whereas the performances were criticized along with the simple script. Its tie-in media included hit soundtracks *New Vic: Original Motion Picture Score* & *New Vic: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.*

*New Vic* spent six weeks as the number-one film at the U.S. box office, earning over $200 million worldwide.

## Plot

Buchanan, an out-of-towner, arrives in New Vic in search of his missing brother Roth.

Buchanan traces his brothers steps as best he can, paying visits to various places within the town, including

?

?

Buchanan and Roth leave New Vic.

Police Chief Warren notes that with Silvers dead and his organization crippled, all of the gangs and groups will become more active. He believes that war for territory is coming and that many will die, and others will be forced to take a side, and that some may even take up arms and fight for themselves.

## Cast

* Harley Cook as Buchanan, a former soldier looking for his younger brother.
* Kevin Sellick as Roth, the younger brother of Buchanan.
* Gordon Brandis as Arthur Silvers, a powerful martial artist and leader of the Silver Forest.
* Edger Wayne as Warren, the Chief of Police.

## Production

Though the film is based on the video game Green Blood Irons, many of the recognizable characters from the game did not show up until the very end of the film. Those who showed up earlier also did not play prominent roles, except for Arthur Silvers.

Reaper has stated that he if he was ever going to make a film based on Green Blood Irons, he would prefer to make a prequel film first.

Michael Shannon was originally cast as Buchanan, but dropped out due to a knee injury and was replaced by Harley Cook. Kevin Sellick was the filmmakers' first choice to play Roth, due to his performance in the film Taking Allister. Colton Reed was offered the role of Silvers but turned it down in order to do *Rebel Free* and the role eventually went to Gordon Brandis.

Shelly, Oregon was used as the main film site. Portland was used as well, though to a lesser degree.

Filming began in November 2005 and ended in March 2006.

## Other media

### Music

*New Vic: Original Motion Picture Score* is the instrumental score album with the music by ? ?, released by ? on October 11, 2006.

*New Vic: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack* is the compilation album released by ? Records on November 15, 2006. *Original Motion Picture Soundtrack* went platinum in less than a year reaching No. 20 on the *Billboard* 200.

## Reception

### Box office

*New Vic* opened on August 18, 2006, and was #1 at the box office for the weekend, with $23.2 million, nearly eight times the opening amount of the only other new release that weekend, *?.* The film enjoyed a four-week stint at number one, grossed $80 million domestically, and earned an estimated $200 million worldwide. The film so far sits among the 15 highest-grossing video game adaptation ever released in the US.

### Critical response

*New Vic* received a score of 66% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Metacritic gave the film a rating of 60/100.

 Lisa Schwarzbaum of *Entertainment Weekly*

According to Stephen Holden of *The New York Times*

Roger Ebert

Marc Savlov from *The Austin Chronicle*

Laura Evenson from *San Francisco Chronicle*

 Kevin Thomas of *Los Angeles Times*

 Gene Siskel of the *Chicago Tribune*

 Leonard Klady from *Variety*

 Kim Newman from *Empire*