Castle Falls

As a Dolph fan it's great seeing him in bigger films again (Creed II (2018), Aquaman (2018), Os Mercenários 4 (2023)) and with this film finally returning to the director's chair in over a decade (with the last film, Ação e Reação (2010) going through quite some changes from Dolph's original version), but don't worry he's still got it!

Unlike what you might expect from a Dolph and Adkins movie, this plays off more like a drama in the first 50 minutes and only after that dipping heavily into the action. The story itself keeps you engaged with Dolph and Adkins as long as you're a fan of either actors, but does have its flaws. The building that's being blown up within 90 minutes doesn't have any 'rush' to it, most characters act rather casual and the few locations where there are explosions planted (and they can't use guns) end up having little impact either. There are also plenty of other little gripes (rarely reloading guns, gunshots echoing through the building with nobody outside noticing, people falling off the building while dozens are watching it, etc), but they don't really affect the enjoyment of the film and are semi-forgivable considering tons of action movies have these smaller 'flaws' as well.

While the characters of Dolph and Adkins are well-developed the bad guys are as generic and uninteresting as you can get and sadly the 'leader' of the bad guys is a stunt performer (Scott Hunter), but his fights ended up rather disappointing. As for the rest of the action scenes, they're well directed, choreographed, edited and performed.

Some transitions (especially at the beginning) felt a little rough and the soundtrack also wasn't great (and even slightly out of place at moments), but in general this is a well-made DTV film that will please any Dolph or Adkins film.

Dolph Lundgren should just stick to acting, because his directing was terrible. Many scenes were too long, bad angles, with lots of amateur mistakes. For example, how did Lundgren's eyeglasses stay on everytime he got punched in the face lol? Even the scene cuts were bad and were missing the pro elements an experienced director would know. He also didn't direct his cast properly, as some actors seemed lost, while others where just too overbearing. The fight scenes were too long and poorly choreographed for the most part, although the action was good. The 90 min runtime felt much longer with the slow pacing, and there was just too much filler and very little substance. The entire cat and mouse chases were dragged out and boring - up some stairs, down some stairs, in a room, out of a room... repeat. However the premise of the story by novice writer Andrew Knauer was actually very creative and enjoyable. I just wish it had more substance, and it needed some plot-issues tuning. The casting and acting were decent (albeit lacking direction), and Lundgren's acting was spot on. But the star here was Scott Adkins, who pretty much carried the entire film. The score wasn't bad for a B film, and the cinematography was good. Had this film been directed by a seasoned filmmaker, it would've been a hit. If you're a fan of Lundgren and/or Adkins, you'll enjoy this one. It's a 6/10 from me.

Castle Falls (2021) Was Worth The Wait. When Taekwondo Life Magazine spoke to Scott Adkins in June, 2020 the production of Castle Falls had come to a halt as the world shut down during the height of the Global Coronavirus Pandemic. Earlier this year production on the film resumed, and it is set to hit theaters on Friday 3, 2021. Castle Falls was worth the wait-it is very good.

The tightly scripted and efficiently directed film features Adkins and fellow martial artist and action star Dolph Lundgren. As both "down and out" men's paths cross in their quest for $3 million hidden in an abandoned hospital they find themselves having to elude a ruthless gang in search of the money. The situation is accelerated by the near imminent demolition of the hospital where the quest is underway forcing an alliance in order to survive.

While this film does not have the same humor and chemistry of Adkins' Debt Collector buddy films, it is still impressive to see these two martial arts action legends work together and play off of each other's strengths. They both do a good job individually, and together, in demonstrating their acting and action skills. This is a small film with a big heart.

As for the action; the film does not disappoint. There is plenty of action and well choreographed fighting, including the great scenes where Adkins and Lundgren face off against each other. For a 90 minute film the audience is treated to a great sampling of Scott Adkins' martial arts and Taekwondo acumen. He is one of the most fun action stars to watch, on the scene today.

Lundgren is the film's Director, and he does a very good job. The film is visually accessible, past faced, and fun to watch. I applaud Lundgren for his direct approach to the story, the action, and the fight choreography. The abandoned hospital provides a visually interesting setting for the majority of the film's action. This film balances the action and the drama for a highly watchable end product.

Granted, I hadn't even heard about the 2021 action thriller "Castle Falls" prior to sitting down and watching it. But I figured that since the movie had the likes of Scott Adkins and Dolph Lundgren in the lead roles, then chances were that I would be in for a fair enough movie. And I will also say that the movie's cover/poster was actually interesting enough.

And now that I have seen "Castle Falls", I will say that it was watchable. But that was also about it. For an action movie, then writer Andrew Knauer just didn't really deliver anything outstanding or memorable. Everything in "Castle Falls" was essentially something that had been seen and done in a lot of other similar movies, and often better done.

It should be said that the action sequences in the movie were nice, and there were a fair amount of action sequences, so that definitely make up somewhat for the lack of originality in storyline and script. But, of course, there is only so much that pure action can do for a movie.

It was actually fun to watch Scott Adkins and Dolph Lundgren on the screen together in this movie, and they certainly made the movie bearable to sit through. And I will say that this 2021 movie definitely outranks a lot of Dolph Lundgren's previous low budget action movies, so a step in the right direction.

If you enjoy action movies, then by all means give "Castle Falls" a chance. Just don't set your expectations high.

My rating of director Dolph Lundgren's 2021 action thriller lands on a mediocre five out of ten stars.

Castle Falls is tightly scripted and efficiently directed film features Adkins and Dolph Lundgren. It is impressive to see these two martial arts action legends work together and play off of each other's strengths; both give strong performances. As for the action; the film does not disappoint it has well choreographed impressive fight scenes. It delivers solid entertainment, thrilling action sequences, some nail-biting tension broken up with some comic moments. Castle Falls won't please everyone as some will surely complain that it is slow at first but I feel that it was needed to set up the actions of the characters and make the audience care for the outcome. This is a smaller budgeted affair so don't go in expecting huge action set pieces.