The Fifth Commandment (2008)

Hollywood actor Rick Yune (THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS, DIE ANOTHER DAY) wrote, produced, and played the lead in this action thriller with a theme that had been beaten to death quite a number of times.

Yune plays Chance Templeton, a professional hitman who was raised by another hitman, Max (Keith David), after his parents were killed by a crime lord in Chinatown. Chance is one of the best in the business, but his life turns upside down when he learns of his next mission. The target is American pop star Angel (Dania Ramirez, X-MEN: THE LAST STAND), but he soon learns that one of her security guards is his adopted brother, Miles (Bokeem Woodbine, 18 FINGERS OF DEATH). Chance has thought his brother had died and decides to go to Bangkok to warn Miles after refusing to take the job.

When Chance tries to warn his brother, another hitman has accepted to take the hit out on Angel. Actually, it is a couple, comprised of Z (Roger Yuan, SHANGHAI NOON) and Li (Thai actress Kob). Here’s where the film get a twist because Z is none other than the man responsible for killing Chance’s birth parents. When Chance saves Angel and Miles, the trio escape to a temple where Miles and Chance reconnect and decide to get safety for Angel. Meanwhile, Z, upset over the loss of Li in the botched assassination attempt, seeks revenge by any means necessary.

Stuntman turned director Jesse Johnson (PIT FIGHTER, THE LAST SENTINEL) brings his style of filmmaking with the screenplay written by the film’s lead actor, Rick Yune. While the film had potential, it suffers mostly from a theme that has been done to death. The whole assassin looking for redemption theme has been seen in many films and this bodes no different, despite the twist of Chance basically being forced to choose between his loyalty to his job and his brother, because quite frankly, the character of Max is far from a father figure.

Another major flaw in the film comes in the form of lead actor Rick Yune. While he made memorable villain turns in the original THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS and the James Bond filM DIE ANOTHER DAY, he has the look of a potential action hero. The problem is that he tried a little too hard and because of that, he tends to overact for most of the film as a real tough-man type. It is understandable if there are some sequences that, notably action scenes, that the tough guy act would work, but it is as if Yune did the tough guy throughout the entire film.

What doesn’t help is that there is even more overacting on the part of Bokeem Woodbine as Miles, whom we learn after leaving Chance and Max, became a U.S. Marine and former cop who had found his calling as a bodyguard. He pulled the tough guy act throughout the film as well and to make things worse, Dania Ramirez’s Angel spends most of the film acting like a true diva, as if they were trying to make fun of a certain Hollywood Latina singer-actress who had been apparently known for this style of behavior.

Despite his limited screen time, the one to look out for is Keith David. He tends to be typecast as a tough talking yet philosophical type, usually bringing the brand to military officer and/or law enforcement roles, such as TRANSPORTER 2 and BEHIND ENEMY LINES II: AXIS OF EVIL. As the hitman who brings up Chance to follow in his footsteps, he tends to act not really as a father figure, but has a love for jazz and is nicknamed the “Jazzman” as he hides his guns in his trumpet case. He is quite frank and blunt when it comes to the world of professional hits and it seems he is a plus in this film.

The action consists mostly of gunplay, but there is some martial arts fights in the film as part of Chance’s training involved boxing and close quarters fighting. Martial artist/musician/actor Boo Boo Stewart plays a young Chance and in a small training scene that intercuts with Yune (as the present Chance) training, Stewart shows off some martial arts moves. Sadly, Yune only relies on mostly close quarter fighting and not a more technical style. He uses more of a Jason Bourne-style of fighting for most of the film, yet not as heavily edited as the Bourne films, thanks to collaboration of director Johnson, stunt coordinator Garrett Warren, and the editors.

The lack of Yune throwing kicks and bringing a more technical style may seem weak considering that Yune is a taekwondo black belt who nearly made it to Barcelona in 1992 to compete in the Olympics. Even during a climatic battle with Roger Yuan’s Z, it is Yuan who shows more kicking and even uses a fan as a weapon against Yune. One only hopes Yune will really get to showcase his martial arts skills in the upcoming NINJA ASSASSIN.

THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT can be pretty much summed up as a routine action film. While on an effort level they did their best, the film ultimately suffers from a dose of overacting and a plot that has that tired “hitman on a road to redemption” theme that falls just flat.