REVIEW: Undisputed III: Redemption (2010)

Next-gen martial arts star Scott Adkins rejoins action director Isaac Florentine for their fifth and best effort to date, this time joined by Chile’s powerhouse action sensation Marko Zaror (MIRAGEMAN). UNDISPUTED III: REDEMPTION is a lean, high-impact prison tournament fight film with a lightweight yet serviceable script enhanced by some of the most expressive, explosive and satisfying mixed martial arts combat you’re likely to see in film, period. If real MMA looked this good, it would be twice as popular and Florentine’s stunt team, headed up by Larnell Stovall, would have to come up with something even better, which at this point is hard to imagine.

I’ve been an ardent fan of Florentine’s films ever since I first bought, by chance, a used rental copy of U.S. SEALS II at Blockbuster back in 2001. While the American direct-to-video action market suffered all throughout the first decade of this century from plummeting standards in fight choreography and martial arts screen performances, Florentine – a veteran of the POWER RANGERS series – has been honing his skills at screen fight presentation while wisely latching on to one of the most talented screen fighters of this generation. That fighter is the British-born Scott Adkins who of late has been flirting with A-list projects through action bit and supporting roles in films such as THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM and X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE. Adkins, a veteran of Hong Kong action cinema with roles in Tsui Hark’s BLACK MASK 2 and Gordon Chan’s THE MEDALLION, first joined Florentine for SPECIAL FORCES where he stole the show despite having only a small supporting role as a fighting SAS operative. Thereafter, Adkins was granted his first lead role after Nu Image handed directing duty for the sequel to Walter Hill’s modest DTV prison actioner UNDISPUTED (2002) to Florentine.

With UNDISPUTED II (2006), Florentine injected his love of martial arts and Asian action into the franchise, handed lead roles to Adkins and fellow martial arts star Michael Jai White, and subsequently made one of the decade’s best martial arts movies rather than just another by-the-numbers DTV actioner.

Following this, Florentine cast Adkins opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme in THE SHEPHERD: BORDER PATROL (2008) and in the somewhat disappointing ninjitsu actioner NINJA that sadly ended up being overshadowed by James McTeigue’s bigger-budgeted and more robust actioner NINJA ASSASSIN.

That finally brings us up to date with UNDISPUTED III where we find Adkins returning to the role of Uri Boyka, a Russian MMA fighter locked in an Eastern European prison for murder and desperate to prove he’s the best fighter following a crushing defeat at the hands of American boxer George Chambers (White). The defeat left Boyka with a bum knee and the likely prospects of spending the rest of his life cleaning prison latrines.

Boyka’s luck changes when he convinces wheeling and dealing prison warden Gaga (Mark Ivanir) to enter him in an inter-prison fighting competition pitting the top fighters from various prisons around the world against one another with the ultimate prize of a full pardon going to the sole victor. The situation gets more complicated when the prison hosting the competition plots to rig the event for profit by favoring one of the fighters. On top of that, it turns out that the defeated fighters risk losing a lot more than their reputation. In addition to being forced to perform hard labor with only an hour a day to train, Boyka’s knee injury and burgeoning friendship with a fellow fighter provide further obstacles in his bid to prove he’s still got what it takes to win.

There is only a small measure of character and plot development with limited chatter largely resting on the shoulders of charismatic co-star Mykel Shannon Jenkins who plays a fast-talking American fighter named Turbo. I don’t know if it’s his square jaw, ripped build, likable persona, or the nature of the camaraderie he strikes with Boyka but he reminds me of Venoms star Lo Meng. Kudos also to Mark Ivanir who returns to the role of Gaga with an enjoyable performance that expands on his previous effort.

The film smartly remains focused on the fighting action as various competitors battle it out in front of a cheering audience of inmates and cameras streaming the event live to VIPs involved in high stakes betting. In this way, the film is a more ambitious version of UNDISPUTED II that keeps the best elements of that film (except Michael Jai White) while largely making improvements in the film’s ample fighting.

Martial arts movie fans will be pleased to know there is little fluff when it comes to fighting action. Florentine does dabble with stylized speed alterations throughout the movie but beyond this, audiences are treated with top-tier screen fighting highlighted by surprisingly long takes, dynamic Hong Kong-style camera handling, creative choreography, and exceptional performances from the lead fighters who clearly perform their own stunts unaided by wires or post-production effects (apart from one painful exception). I do believe this is near the closest a Hollywood movie has ever come to matching the highest martial arts standards of Asian action be it in Hong Kong, Thailand or Japan. I always knew Isaac Florentine was capable of this level of quality because he has shown it to lesser degrees in past features. This is the first movie of his that truly stands up to the best, at least in terms of action.

Scott Adkins is in incredible shape and despite well developed musculature, remains fast and nimble as he powers through a wide range of distinctive spinning kicks, throws and strikes. Like Donnie Yen and Jean-Claude Van Damme, he has developed a signature kick that has appeared in his last couple films, as well as this one. It involves a double spin kick where the first spin delivers a fake out and the second connects. It probably wouldn’t be a smart move in a real street fight but it’s definitely a showstopper. I would argue this is Adkins best physical screen performance yet, although I’m still quite fond of his physical performance in THE SHEPHERD. He hasn’t quite found the best screen persona to carry a strong lead role but his moves are second to none.

I have to mention Zero Gravity stunt team member and capoeira specialist Lateef Crowder who makes a memorable appearance as one of the main fighters. He first hit the big time by taking on Tony Jaa in TOM YUM GOONG (2005) and has since been applying his unique fighting moves to a variety of movies ranging from low-budget MMA dramas like BEYOND THE RING to THE BOOK OF ELI and upcoming tournament brawler TEKKEN. He doesn’t have much of an acting role but Crowder gets a potent fighting showcase in several matches, one of which is against Adkins. In both cases, Crowder delivers a phenomenal performance, particularly as the more flowery, dance-like aspects of capoeira have been toned down to make his execution appear less gimmicky and more practical for a gritty prison match. Florentine and Stovall take a similar approach with the remaining fighters. They all have distinctive skills and their moves are shot and executed with flair yet remain grounded.

As Adkins’ lead opponent, Marko Zaror lives up to expectations earned from starring in three enjoyable Chilean actioners, most recently in the spy spoof MANDRILL. Who better to counter Adkins’ moves than Zaror? Both excel at extreme martial arts moves favoring power spin kicks and flips. In addition, Zaror has ample personality which lends his role as the smug resident champion Dolor an added treat. Their match doesn’t disappoint. Without overdoing it, Florentine draws out the bout just long enough to produce a match-up of semi-epic proportions, the likes of which should make you want to hoot and holler the way so many martial arts movie fans once did in grindhouse theaters when watching the likes of FIST OF FURY (aka THE CHINESE CONNECTION) or any number of Shaw Brothers classics. With Adkins and Zaror performing at their best, UNDISPUTED III is a martial arts movie that aims to please and hits the bull’s eye dead center.

Launching these performances into orbit is a mostly brilliant presentation. Speed alterations aside, the framing, blocking, angles, and timing are perfect. I complain a lot about the poor presentation of fight choreography in Hollywood. Problems typically range from overdependence on post-production editing with emphasis on too many confusing cuts to bad lighting and reliance on the most overused screen fighting conventions. Even casual martial arts movie viewers can tell whether a production has its action under control or not. UNDISPUTED III is the movie you need to see in order to know what great presentation of fight choreography can look like in a Hollywood production.

There are moments during the combat in UNDISPUTED III that go beyond mere entertainment and reach the level of sublime. Throughout, the viewer is made a participant in the action as the choreography and its presentation deftly reveal intent and the personality of the fighters. There are a number of unique POV shots and angles that I’ve never seen before that greatly enhance the fighting. As example, I absolutely love a shot where we see Turbo beckoning his opponent with the flick of his right hand which is shot from his point of view. A little touch like that goes a long way in making an ordinary screen fight extraordinary.

I get the sense that Florentine is no longer bound by traditional action movie conventions and yet he presents the action without hanging his hat on money shots, although there are plenty of them to go around. Avid martial arts movie fans will find ample substance in the sparring. It’s difficult to understand if you’re not well versed in martial arts action but at the same time, the overall effect should still be appreciated by the masses in much the same way that the films of Bruce Lee and Tony Jaa are. To put it simply, UNDISPUTED III kicks ass.

There is very little to complain about with this movie, although I do have a couple bones to pick. I really wish Nu Image had given Florentine a bigger budget and broader scope so that the action could have broken free from the prison setting. In catching up on episodes of TV series PRISON BREAK of late, I would have loved to see the fighting action in more locations outside of prison and against more than just prisoners. I see the potential for a more epic story here. Florentine teases us with limited action outside of the ring and the movie ends suggestively with the hint of a possible sequel that could take the franchise beyond its prison roots. Hopefully that happens.

I would also like to see Florentine work with a better script. The fighting action is superior to what you’ll find in most A-list, big-budget movies yet the script is still B-movie material with merely adequate dialogue and plotting that fails to match the quality of the action. In fairness, I believe Florentine did extremely well in managing what he had to work with primarily by not letting the script get in the way of the action. It’s an improvement over UNDISPUTED II. Tony Jaa has the same problem with his movies, although I’d argue his scripts are worse because they fail to do what writer David White at least managed with this film which is to keep the narrative under control. As is always the case, a film should place emphasis on its strengths and minimize its weaknesses and UNDISPUTED III does this well.

UNDISPUTED III has generated such enthusiasm that I cannot help but think what more we could expect from Isaac Florentine. What I’d like to see is him direct a reasonably budgeted action movie written by the likes of Robert Mark Kamen (THE KARATE KID) or John Fusco (THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM) with Adkins again in the lead. Florentine and Adkins obviously work well together and seem to bring out the best in each other. However, it will be a challenge to find worthy opponents for Florentine to pit Adkins against following Michael Jai White, Jean-Claude Van Damme and now Marko Zaror. Yet I’m eager to see him try.

REVIEW: Undisputed III: Redemption (2010), 8.4 out of 10 based on 36 ratings

by Mark Pollard

Related Topics:
Isaac Florentine  •  Lateef Crowder  •  Marko Zaror  •  MMA  •  Scott Adkins  •  Undisputed 3: Redemption (2010)