'Arrow' Star Stephen Amell Promises Vicious Action

Only one more day until DC Comics Green Arrow hits his mark on the small screen. IGN spoke with series star Stephen Amell about the action-packed show.

Given that the protagonists of both Batman and Green Arrow show some parallels (read: both alter egos Bruce Wayne and Oliver Queen come from wealthy backgrounds that financially support their vigilantism), comparisons are bound to be made between the Christopher Nolan film series and the darker tone present in "Arrow." The showrunners cite the trilogy as an inspirational mold for their vision, although don't expect Green Arrow to fit the mold exactly.

"He bends towards justice," Amell said. "And he just understands, along the way, that there can be collateral damage. He’s going after people that are not being responsible with power. See, I was a fan of wrestling growing up, and a fan of wrestling heels growing up. I’m actually kind of hoping that it pushes in that direction. I’ve said it a couple of times, that I don’t need everyone to agree with Oliver’s tactics as long as you respect his overall goal. He has to get his hands dirty a little bit."

Amell means this quite literally -- don't expect Ollie Queen to fight from afar with his trademark archery. Expect the fights to be fast, furious, and incredibly vicious. "We have a fight scene in an earlier episode [in the season] that is just simply brutal. It’s just very violent and there’s not a huge spectrum of moves," the actor told IGN. "It’s just fists and elbows repeatedly. And it’s not pretty, which is one of the things I like."

Indeed, the action seems to be the most promising, with Amell comparing scenes in the show to the Indonesian balls-to-the-wall fighting film "The Raid: Redemption." Amell explains, "The thing that James [Banmford, the show's stunt coordinator] does that’s great is that he always makes sure that tension is attached to the move. He made me watch The Raid: Redemption. It’s awesome. The tagline is '1 minute of romance, 99 minutes of action.' It’s an Indonesian film and it’s incredible. All that action has this crazy intention to it, and he’ll always just point out, you know, Jean Claude Van Damme doing a big circle kick that sort of looks like ballet and there’s nothing really behind it. It looks very good but people don’t connect with it in the same way."

CW's "Arrow" will premiere Wednesday, October 10th at 8/7c. And come on back to TV Rage Thursday to read the review and join the discussion of this anticipated new series!