Close Range

Let me be clear about this once again so there is no misunderstanding.

Adkins has potential. He can deliver. His work as Boyka in the Undisputed franchise was stellar and Undisputed 3 in particular is actually one of the best MMA films of all time.

In my various and sundry reviews for the IMDb, I pointed out that Adkin's film roles subsequent to Boyka were reflecting a downward career path.

For this observation I received the usual monkey-hammering of the NOT USEFUL key.

But this film says it all. Even the opening credits, done in the retro feel of the 1960s Italian Westerns (and you have to be of a certain age to know that!) tells you IN ADVANCE this is a B-movie, DTV production, done to generate cash flow and little else.

Adkins really deserves better.

The good news? There is another UNDISPUTED in the works, with the same production team.

We can only hope...

In Mexico, the former decorated and now rogue soldier Colton "Colt" MacReady (Scott Adkins) rescues his niece Hailey (Madison Lawlor), who was kidnapped by a dangerous cartel. During his operation, he kills the son of the druglord Fernando Garcia (Tony Perez) and brings a flash drive with the handcuff key of Hailey that Garcia's son had on his necklace. Garcia contacts the dirty Sheriff Jasper Calloway (Nick Chinlund) that goes to the ranch of Colton's sister, Angela Reynolds (Caitlin Keats), with two deputies. Angela is married to the scum Walt Reynolds (Jake La Botz) that stole drugs from Garcia's shipment, the reason why Hailey was abducted. While Calloway holds Angela and Hailey in the ranch, Garcia heads to the spot with eleven "soldiers" from his cartel to retrieve the flash drive.

"Close Range" is an action film for fans of shootings and fightings cnly since the choreography is very well made. However, the storyline and specially the acting is awful, full of clichés and wooden faces. It is difficult to point out who is the worst, but at least Madison Lawlor and Nick Chinlund are funny to see their faces. I am not sure whether Hailey last name is Reynolds, since Walt is her stepfather; therefore does not make sense his last name for her, only for Angela. Last but not the least, who would keep vital information in a flashdrive without any back-up? The USB flash drive is the same vulnerable as the hard disk drive. In other words, it can fail at any time without any omens. Once it gets broken or become inoperative, without any doubts, your data will get lost likewise. Hence, it is prudent and advisable to back up your flash drive data. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Perigo Extremo" ("Extreme Danger")

Something you might not expect of reading, with a low budget movie like this, but I really liked the stunt and camera work, which go hand in hand in this one. I won't waste too much time on "story". In this case this has nothing to do with spoiling it, because the story itself is not really exciting or anything extraordinary. But you wouldn't expect that anyway.

Still very low and some of the acting to say the least does not help the movie either. But the stunt scenes are really well thought of, as are the camera angles and moves. I especially love the longer takes or the in your face (or hand) approach it takes. Again, this is small/low budget, so it's not like there is other things that are amazing (like locations, set design, even some of the "blood" effects seem more than cheap), but it can still work - and I think it does in some ways

...And it kind of works out. The acting, wooden. The writing, juvenile. The directing, well, he stuck to a detailed storyboard so it's not too terrible. But what is actually watch worthy is the action sequences. Fantastic fight scenes, creative shoot outs. Complex single shot stunt takes that wow. I was impressed from the beginning (except for one accidental camera angle where a bad guy clearly waits to jump into the fight-my peeve). This is not a thinking persons film at all. In fact I suggest you crack a twelve pack with your bros and sit back to cheer for some brutal MMA action. P.S. There really should have been some gratuitous nudity. It's just that kind of flick.

The most casting role Scott Adkins has nowadays is either supporting or antagonist character where he would only do a couple of fight scenes but plastered on the poster nonetheless for more draw. Luckily, Close Range has given him more freedom to deliver his trademark action sequences, although it's plagued with an alarmingly sketchy presentation of gangster genre with cheesy Cinemax vibe and awful soundtracks.

Plot is actually good, at least for the first act, as MacReady (Scott Adkins) opens the movie trying to save his niece from mafia. It's a nice setup as it wastes no time to push the action, and continuous shot fighting scene definitely helps. However, it soon becomes the tedious cat-and-mouse between MacReady, the Mexican mafia and unsavory cop.

The pacing loses steam fast, repeating the same angle of corrupt police officer or gang member chasing the hero. It lacks structure aside from the primordial rush of periodic fisticuffs and gun-totting scenes, even these are simplified. As expected, there's not much in term of acting, it's not utterly terrible but it does appear jarring at times. The characters are either stereotypical damsel-in-distress, overly vilified or straight up gangster extras.

Most of the presentation revolves around old corny action flick ambiance, a bit like binge night on Cinemax with the music department playing the same Desperado inspired tunes over and over again. Fortunately, the action is admittedly decent. Scott Adkins has more plenty of chances on creating brutal beatdown, some of which are pretty creative. Even though this can get over-the-top, the high octane action would definitely please genre fans, or those wanting for more Undisputed action.

Close Range tries to spice the bland drama with misguided style. It's a good thing that the combat looks visceral enough, but it still might not attract viewer beyond action buff.