I'm not a huge action fan but I enjoy a good action flick from time to time. Loved Bruce Lee, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Jean Reno & Clive Owen so you can tell I'm more into the choreography of fight scenes & story lines than just brutal violence for the sake of it. I did not know Scott Adkins name till I watched this on Netflix & came across it randomly. In fact I knew so little (but recognized some of the other actors) that for a moment a got confused & thought I was watching an older movie. Because this one has the feeling of old school 80's action flicks. The lighting, the sound, the dialogue, clothing & décor in the pub - if not for the sudden appearance of smart phones & the style of the few cars you see it would be possible to assume this was at least 20 years old.
All of which is a long winded way of saying - this is a must watch movie for any fans of action movies for whatever reason they like them. It has the two minimum required settings (jail & pub) & the villains & "innocent" victims along with a great "ordinary bloke pushed to limit seeks revenge" story line.
The fight scenes are nasty - in a good way & extremely brutal (if you're squeamish you might find this too much) but also include some fine footwork & spins etc that made me happy.
The dialogue is not that imaginative to be honest but that fits in perfectly with the throw back feel to the production. This is purely about the fighting. THe narrative is the window dressing.
I loved it and I have a new action movie fave.
