A Hitman in London

One of the best direct-to-video pieces starring Gary Daniels in recent years (another strong notable being the surprisingly excellent Tekken adaptation), Skin Traffik is an entertaining, fast paced thriller that delivers hard action. Daniels plays Bradley, a stoic yet rage-filled hit-man who is the best at what he does.

After an ordered job goes awry, the emotional trauma that results sidelines the former killer for hire into a quiet, subdued life in low-rent surroundings. One day, an aggressive pimp gets the idea that it might be a good idea to beat around his girls in front of Bradley, and chaos ensues. The power structure of the entire human trafficking ring is slowly targeted and lethally dismantled with cool, cruel efficiency.

Gary Daniels once again puts forward a physically believable character performance, fitting perfectly into the role of the remorse-filled reaper of death. His martial arts form looks as strong as ever, delivering his trademark roundhouse kicks with blurring speed, and a side dish of close-combat choreography to boot. Directed by Ara Paiaya, the camera work is quite adequate, and the story flows along at an extremely brisk ~96 minutes.

This necessitates a lot of quick camera work and a lack of exposition at times that leaves the viewer guessing as to how certain events may have played out in the interim, which is effective as a technique at times and somewhat distracting at others. Nonetheless, the decision to keep the film moving at a breakneck pace was a smart one, as the worst thing an action movie can be is boring. Viewers will certainly not be bored by the amount of fights and shoot-outs in the film.

It seemed that Bradley was a one-man killing machine throughout the entire running time which is gratifying for fans of the classic 80s-era action motif. Though some of the foley effects are a bit weak, at other times they are very effective, lending credibility and realism to an over-the-top premise. The acting is also fairly strong, particularly Daniels, Jeff Fahey, Michael Madsen, and Eric Roberts. Eric Roberts nearly steals the show as the soul-sucking Executive, countering Daniels perfectly as opposition. Also worthy of note would be the performance of Dominique Swain as Anna Peel, the first friendly face in Bradley's world in a long time.

A last yet excellent surprise was the narrative surrounding the character of Vogel, played by Mickey Rourke, again showing his chops in a light-hearted but ultimately dead-serious role that seems to flit in and out of our memory as Skin Traffik steams along. Fans of Gary Daniels and the other cast should not be disappointed by this rather modestly budgeted revenge film. The formula may be predictable but there is not much wasted screen time and Skin Traffik achieves exactly what it seeks to do — deliver hard-hitting action at a breakneck pace.

Unthinkable and disgraceful exercise in action movie-making by computer. The CGI graphics are as bad as the score, and the incredible cast must have been paid a lot of money to participate in something this bad. It's hard to pin-point just where things aren't wretched throughout the movie, as it comes so fast, supported by the vocabulary of modern B movie camoflauge--like, ooooh, drone shots. A truly magnificent botch. You would think any writer or director would compensate such a solid cast with decent characters and some surprises. But it's not the case here. The action cliche's and sloppy fight scenes don't play out in 3,000 cuts a minute, but the realism and effects re: bruise and injury makeup are as absent as in the most B-movie efforts of the 1950s. Might as well not have people clutch their CGI wounds like victims did their absent ones in old films, as this movie is so transparent it almost seems like the sets and locations themselves aren't real.

Most definitely a guy's movie. It has a very nice retro feel to it. Like a throw back to the 80's. Classic cast of Hollywood veterans seen for the first time all together. Blood, guts and a lot of action from the start to the end. The best part is Gary Daniels he has never looked better and finally the fight scenes are done right with a Hong Kong flavor and in a Hollywood movie. He gives the proper intensity and he's back to his best performance ever!. Damn he looks good for 50 years + old! Essentially it's an all star cast movie about a hit man who kills hundreds of bad men to avenge a dead hooker and save her little sister from human trafficking. Prepare to watch the hero engage in hand-to-hand combat, then shoot, one person after another, non-stop, for the entire 97 minute run time of this movie. Every scene has a famous face in it and it's one for the action movie collection especially for fans of all these Hollywood legends.

Skin Traffik excels, unapologetically, at what it seeks to be: a fun, violent action romp, built upon a amazing cast and plenty of action where Bradley (Gary Daniels) kills mobsters, assassins and all the middlemen in between. As for the actual narrative: it's blessedly simplistic and unsophisticated, with no illusions of grandeur: Bradley's hit goes sideways with Vogal (Mickey Rourke) and his old employer (Eric Roberts) wants him dead. He drops out the game and is hiding out in London where he comes across a hooker (Dominique Swain) who needs help. He makes a promise to help her find her little sister and from that point everyone who gets in Bradley's (Gary Daniels) way as he makes his journey of vengeance ends up in a body bag. Simple. The invincible tough-guy archetype and action mixed with the amazing cast of EVERYONE!!!!! which include MICKEY ROURKE, ERIC ROBERTS, DARYL HANNAH, MICHAEL MADSEN, JEFF FAHEY, DOMINIQUE SWAIN, ALAN FORD ! This is an independent film written, produced, directed, filmed, edited, action, fight choreography and co-starring all by one man ARA PAIAYA. The action and cast are the most enjoyable aspects of the film. Paiaya creates both the visual and physical dimensions of the film it's no surprise that the director is able to put together some of the slickest action sequences seen in an independent film with such a high profile cast being a martial arts expert according to IMDb Trivia and looks to have starred in a bunch of low budget DTV chop socky flicks. Certainly a step up from the usual Hollywood shaky cam action fare. The action is very well executed, slick and polished in design. When the violence and action isn't taking place, some good production and set design plus some nice cinematography help keep the eye reasonably satisfied whenever things slow down. It's action, it's British and it has an all star cast not the greatest story in the world but it's a little action gem.

Ok - it isn't the worst movie I have ever watched but it is definitely lacking. It has a reasonable cast but the acting varies so much that parts of the scenes are almost unbearable to watch. The action scenes also vary greatly scene to scene. Some are well choreographed while others are sloppy and camera angles make it difficult to see the action. One of the biggest problems with the movie is the poorly written script. Some of the dialogue just doesn't make any sense. At times the dialogue doesn't even fit the story line and other times it doesn't fit the character. Despite its many short comings, the movie does seem to have some thought behind it - keeping it from being a total loss.