Hostile Takeover

A mess of a movie. Wants to be a comedy / action, but unfortunately, it's a stew.

It's just not put together well. The characters are exaggerated. Dialogs drag for too long, struggling to be witty and funny. It's neither of those.

Instead of watching this one, try Undisputed 2, Universal Soldier 2, Blood And Bone. Thank me later!

Of course I needed no persuasion to sit down and watch the 2025 action comedy "Hostile Takeover". Why? Well, first of all, it was a movie that I hadn't already seen, and thus it needed to be given a fair chance. Secondly, with Michael Jai White in the lead, of course chances were that it would be an enjoyable movie.

Writers Michael Hamilton-Wright, Christina Laughlin and Burton L. Warner put together an enjoyable and entertaining script. It was a narrative that managed to combine storytelling with action and just the right amount of lighthearted comedy banter.

Aside from leading actor Michael Jai White, then I was only familiar with Aimee Stolte and Aleks Paunovic. The acting performances in the movie were good.

There is a good amount of nicely choreographed and executed fight scenes throughout the course of the movie, which definitely helps add to the overall enjoyment of the movie.

If you enjoy action movies where there is a pinch of comedy to it, then "Hostile Takeover" certainly is worth checking out.

My rating of director Michael Hamilton-Wright's 2025 movie "Hostile Takeover" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Sure it isn't a big Hollywood movie, but then that's exactly why it's actually funny, with far, FAR better crafted fight choreography. There are a couple questionable spots, but since the action coming out of Hollywood is generally blends together into one long groan, they're pretty easy to get over.

It seems like there's an 80's action movie homage influencing the movie. The constant joking is a little over the top, but oh well, still funny.

I've always been a Michael Jai White fan since Spawn and Universal Soldier 2. He's actually a talented and humble (relatively) martial artist a who never fails to produce a good performance. His comedic timing apparently isn't bad either.

I was actually very disheartened when it looked like Mikey was going the way of Steven Seagal, getting to fat to lift his legs and kick properly, but then I realized it was entirely because he was wearing modern style tapered super tight jeans. No one can kick in those. He must have known and was doing it to illustrate how stupid and dangerous it is to wear jeans like that. A+

This is a mostly unoriginal plot with John wick style action minus the gunfire. The fight and combat scenes are for the most part realistic and not absurd. The production quality is good which will remind you that this is a professionally made film. Overall the characters and the plot have some comic relief, it's fun and uncomplicated. Don't expect too much from it but if you're looking for a fun action movie this might be it.

Honestly, this felt like a waste of time. Not terrible enough to be entertaining in a "so bad it's good" way, but not good in any area either. It just sits in that boring middle ground. All the characters are one-dimensional, like they walked straight out of a generic superhero cartoon, and the plot is about as deep as a puddle.

The story? A guy is suspected of betraying his master... for no real reason. There's nothing clever or layered about it - just a lazy setup that never goes anywhere interesting. The tone tries to mix humor with action, but the jokes never land, and any attempts to develop the main character fall completely flat.

Visually, it's as generic as any low-effort action movie. The fight scenes mostly involve people who clearly don't know how to fight - except for Michael Jai White, who actually can, but for some reason tones himself down to match the rest of the cast. The blood effects are laughably bad, and the cinematography is forgettable.

The music? Fine. Just background filler - nothing memorable. My "favorite" scene (if I had to pick one) was the fight in his ex-apartment, but even that was painfully mediocre. The worst part was simply the time I wasted watching it.

Final verdict: I'd honestly recommend watching paint dry instead - at least then you won't be disappointed.