![]() Adkins’s grace and gymnastic ability is positively balletic, yet doesn’t sacrifice an ounce of impact. Whoever it was deserves applause, for they are a beautiful showcase of the talent, using long takes, enhanced by slow-motion when appropriate. Director Chapkanov? Fight choreographer Tim Man? Editor Irit Raz? The actors? Probably a combination of them all, and Isaac Florentine was also an uncredited director, adding another potential candidate. ![]() It’s hard to tell where the credit for the excellent fight sequences should go. “Never trust a Russian mob boss”, appears to be the moral here truly words of wisdom by which to live.ĭespite rumblings of a Boyka TV series, this remains the final installment of Adkins’s best-known character for now. But even defeating all of those opponents may not be enough to win Alma her agreed-upon release. Naturally, Zourab changes the deal, tacking on an extra fight for Boyka, against a man-mountain called Koshmar. It’s not as simple as that: is it ever? Complications include Zourab’s jealousy of our hero’s increasingly close relationship with Alma Boyka still being a wanted man in Russia and a ticking clock in the shape of a tournament in Budapest, that would be Boyka’s shot at a legitimate career. Naturally, Boyka offers to take part in a series of bouts, to win Alma’s freedom. There, he discovers she is in debt to local mob boss Zourab (Aboutboul), who needs fighters for his nightclub/MMA venue – a business concept surely ripe for franchising. ![]() To make amends, he travels back to Russia to meet the man’s widow, Alma (Duhovnikova). Boyka (Adkins) has found God, but accidentally kills his opponent in a Ukrainian bout. But this one absolutely gets it right, with some excellent fights, entertaining characters and a story with a surprising amount of heart. It’s tough to balance between the “realism” required for that, with the more artistic approach of traditional martial arts movies. I’m not typically a fan of the MMA subgenre of action films. Star: Scott Adkins, Teodora Duhovnikova, Alon Aboutboul, Brahim Achabbakhe ![]()
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December 2022
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