K.O

"K. O." starts off with the promise of a hard-hitting thriller but fails to fully deliver on its premise. The setup has potential, and there are a few moments of well-shot tension, but overall, the movie feels uneven and undercooked.

The biggest weakness lies in the script-it lacks nuance, relies on clichés, and doesn't offer much depth to its characters. What could have been an intense psychological or action-driven ride instead becomes a collection of generic scenes strung together with little emotional payoff. The pacing drags in places, and even the fight choreography-expected to be a highlight-is inconsistent.

Some performances do their best to elevate the material, and there are flashes of style in the cinematography, but it's not enough to save the film from mediocrity. By the end, "K. O." feels like a missed opportunity more than anything else.

Not terrible, but not memorable either.

The action is fast paced. I love the fight scenes. The plot is thinner than Madonna in the eighties. But to help the plot thicken, the female lead is excellent in a sort of bulldogish kinda role. The male lead is a walking talking reluctant but resigned brick wall. I would have rated it higher if the opening sequence made more sense. I do like the onslaught of ruthless behavior by the villains. That being said, crime hurts. Stabbing is bad. Machetes are not your friend. Drugs are bad mkay. Sidenote: The song guilty conscience should've been an integral part of this movie. Not a spoiler per se but I expected more out of a French sex scene.

A tough movie, full of adrenaline. Not too many clichés. The action catches you from the first minutes.

The fight scenes are "clean" without unnecessary effects and the camera angles are generous.

The atmosphere is realistic, notably through the bad guys' acting.

The script is nothing out of the ordinary, but not predictable either. At least until the end. It would have been a shame for the bad guys to win.

The movie reminds me a bit of Michael Jai White's movies, but here the director brings the script to another level. Some scenes shot upside down really look good.

So it's a must see if you like action movies.

In no ways is this a bad film, it just left with a lot to be desired. Let's start with the good! The few action scenes there were in this film were really fun and engaging, they weren't super original per say, (there's the nightclub fight scene that is in every single action movie now) but fun nonetheless. The performances were pretty good, and I really dug the directing. Now the issues, first and foremost, I felt like this film was too short (which is not a common issue for me to have), but it's hard for me to believe that this movie wouldn't have improved with an extra 10 to 15 minutes of runtime, it would've given the ability to fix my next issue, a severe lack of depth in any of the characters. Even in the leading duo, you learn about their tragic backstory, they make out, and that's about it. The actors did well portraying the characters, I just didn't like the characters. Overall this film was mildly annoying, because the concept and directing gave me so much hope that this was gonna be a really unique movie, but it all got lost inside of action cliches, and sloppy writing.

For reasons best left to sociologists and film students of the far future, these types of action films have been out of favor recently, lost in an endless sea of DEI and similar themed product. So it is entirely possible that audiences have forgotten what a good action film feels like. A good action film feels just like this one, with a solid lead that you can relate to -- Gane does a great job -- and a director who knows enough not to waste his time, or yours. Recommended. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))