Review: Undisputed III: Redemption

Like the previous film, the loser of the final fight of “Undisputed II: Last Man Standing”, surly Russian pulveriser Yuri Boyka (Scott Adkins) returns to be the main focus of this third film. Having suffered a shattering (literally) knee injury, Boyka has become a shell of the man he used to be. In fact, when we first meet him, he looks kinda like the long-haired disabled guy who shovelled shit in “Undisputed II”. When he gets wind of a martial arts tournament taking place in a Georgian prison, with fighters/prisoners being brought in from all over the globe (with a release and full pardon promised to the winner), Boyka’s interest is piqued. Despite his war wounds, he decides to give fighting another go. I mean, who wants to spend their days shovelling shit in an Eastern European hellhole? Not Boyka, it seems, who arranges for well-connected mobster Gaga (Mark Ivanir, returning from the previous film) to enter him into the tournament. This proves to be a bit of a problem for the tournament’s corrupt organiser, Vernon Dobtcheff (a long-serving character actor displaying once again his amazing ability to affect yet another European accent), who has an invested interest in a steroid-abusing psycho Columbian fighter (Marko Zaror) and is in cahoots with the prison officials to see that their top prospect has an advantage over the rest. Oh, and what happens to the losers of the tournament? You don’t want to know, believe me. Robert Costanzo plays one of the bigwigs gambling on the tournament, and he has his money on African-American fighter Turbo (Mykel Shannon Jenkins), a loudmouth whom the surly Boyka slowly becomes pals with, after discovering a common enemy.

This Isaac Florentine (“Ninja”, “The Shepherd”, “Undisputed II: Last Man Standing”) flick is the third film in the series started by Walter Hill’s “Undisputed” back in 2002. This time the film is even more of an underground fight tournament flick than the previous two, kind of like “Bloodsport” in prison. Adkins is back as Russian badass Yuri Boyka, who in his first outing was a bit more villainous than either Michael Jai White in “Undisputed II” as well as Ving Rhames and Wesley Snipes in the first “Undisputed”. As such, from a character standpoint, he’s an interesting choice as lead. And when one thinks about it, there’s something a little odd about the loser from the previous film being the main character in the next film, don’t you think? Having said that, any film that casts the supremely gifted fighter Scott Adkins in a lead role (who along with Siu Wong-Fan, Tony Jaa, and Mark Dacascos, should’ve achieved superstardom by now- though Jaa’s leave of absence has been his own choice) is already off to a good start. Besides, the subtitle of the film is called “Redemption”, so this time out, the strategy fits. My suggestion for any future “Undisputed” films is to rope Van Damme into one of these (his “Bloodsport” nemesis Bolo Yeung would suffice). I mean after all, he and Seagal seem to be trying to set the record for most characters played who somehow end up in prison.

The film is rock-solid stuff, and when in the ring it might just be the best exposure of on-screen fighting in any film I’ve seen. If you like your martial arts, especially martial arts of the brutal and impactful kind, this movie is for you. I could’ve done with a bit less slow-mo, however. Adkins is a freaking God in the fighting department, incorporating what looks to be UFC moves and Sambo throws too. I’m not sure if The Undertaker would like him incorporating his Hell’s Gate submission finisher, though (Yes, I really can relate everything in cinema back to wrestling, it seems). But in terms of fighting versatility, Adkins is simply without peer in the western world. But it’s not just Adkins who impresses with the fighting, Brazilian Capoeira specialist Lateef Crowder (who looks like a meaner version of one of my favourite WWE Superstars, Kofi Kingston- Told you!) and as the main adversary, Chilean badass Marko Zaror, playing a roid-raging Columbian fighter, are both amazing. Crowder is certainly unique, and Zaror looks freaking huge. It’s almost worth watching the film for the Columbia vs. North Korea fight alone.

African-American Jenkins is by contrast far less impressive. Not only are his fighting skills not terribly impressive or memorable, but his character is annoying and a cliché. He doubles as the Token Talkative Black Guy (or TTBG^TM ), but also essentially playing the Donald Gibb role from “Bloodsport”. Furthermore, the film has way too many scenes that emphasise Adkins as the surly silent one and Jenkins the talkative loudmouth Yank. It’s far too clichéd and predictable, something rather common overall in the script by David N. White (who co-scripted “Undisputed II: Last Man Standing”). I also found the scam being pulled on the other fighters involving Zaror to be a problem. Firstly, I don’t get how the guys rigging the tournament think that by having everyone except Zaror doing hard labour is a good thing for their investment. I mean, it might not count as traditional training, but if there’s a fight between a guy who’s been breaking rocks and a guy who’s been sitting on his arse, I’m going for the rock breaker. How does being inactive really help Zaror? I just didn’t buy it. Also, I found it awfully hard to believe that the other prisoners/fighters weren’t suspect about the scam. Surely they’d sniff this plot out earlier? I will say, though, that it’s always nice to see durable character actors Costanzo (who is perfectly cast and looks damn old here) and Dobtcheff (who seemingly hasn’t aged a day in 30 years) on screen, and they’re both enjoyable.

This is weaker than the previous film, but probably on par with the first. It’s great to see the talented Adkins in a lead role, and the fighting is excellent. However, Adkins’ character becomes a bit too ‘nice’ in this one, whereas the ‘face’ turn (another wrestling reference, sorry!) of Chambers in the second film felt more organic. Boyka’s meant to be a surly badass. The film is also a bit too predictable in character and plot, but hey, how many of these direct-to-DVD martial arts flicks even have characters and plot?

Rating: B