The final fight between Yuri and George is nothing short of exemplary – a true masterclass in severity, pacing, weight and raw physical talent – all prefaced with a purposely cheesy training montage. Adkins is best described here as a tornado of flying fists and feet, pulling off some moves that will make you do a double-take and reach for the rewind button. This is thanks to Jai White’s charisma in the lead and Adkins’ severity in the villain role.Īs far as the combat goes, I found myself feeling nostalgic for the Van Damme classics Bloodsport and Kickboxer, with some truly excellent choreography, balletic spin kicks, and some utterly crushing blows. It’s a tantalising prospect that is built up throughout the film, but thankfully the road to their two showdowns is lean and fun. I won’t spoil the plot of course, but in time Iceman finds himself thrust into the the prison fight circuit, and on a trajectory to fight against Yuri.
This is definitely a plus point, as it allows us more time for ass-kicking and action. By now we’re still not even 20 minutes in and already the plot and it’s key players are clear. There are no shades of grey required here at all. Meanwhile, rich assholes watch the prison fight unfold on a live feed, immediately establishing that the people behind this blood sport are inherently evil. Overall, there’s weight and genuine effort in display. Otherwise the action is solid, with long stretches between cuts, in which both combatants dish out some savage blows and impressive choreography. The first fight between Yuri and a prison chump is pretty raw but it suffers slightly from some blatantly sped up action, which comes off pretty jarring. It’s basically Rocky in a prison, montages and all.
It moves at a rapid clip and doesn’t meander or lose sight of its simple premise.
Like The Raid: Redemption, this really is a prime example of a lean action movie narrative, one that strips the reason for our leads wanting to fight right down to the barest of bones, while letting the cast have fun with the material. We’re also promised that these two behemoths are going to rumble at some point, and when they do, their showdowns are absolutely worth the wait. Jai White is immediately placed as a privileged, embittered douche in stark contrast to Adkins’ hardened warrior, giving us everything we need to know in the first 20 seconds. It opens on prison fight champ Yuri (Adkins) in his jail cell preparing to fight his next prison bout, then it abruptly cuts to Jai White’s flat-broke prized fighter George “Iceman” Chambers, filming a terrible vodka advert in Russian. Sure it has some moments of straight to dvd sheen and there are a few dips in overall quality, but man, this movie hits hard and really doesn’t fuck around from the word go.
In fact, Undisputed 2 is a prime example of how to stretch a relatively modest $8 million budget to levels that (at times) represent a full-fat theatrical release. That concept alone promises action movie gold, and giving the confines of the prison setting, you’d like to think that the movie’s smaller budget wouldn’t be an issue.Īnd what do you know? The budget isn’t actually an issue at all. Undisputed 2 is a movie about an underground fighting ring in a prison, where matches are broadcast to wealthy douche bags watching around the world. Did it live up to those lofty expectations though?įirst up: the premise. So naturally, given this background, I had to give Undisputed 2 a look. It’s fair to say that Adkins has had no shortage of action roles since that first appearance. In fact, this could be what you’d call a ‘full circle’ movie, as Undisputed 2 Director Isaac Florentine is commonly credited with launching Adkins’ career, after he cast him in the 2003 movie Special Forces. Most notably, it stars two ‘undisputed’ legends of the straight-to-dvd action circuit – Michael Jai White and Scott Adkins – making this something of a dream match up. I never saw the first Undisputed, but I dived right into the sequel after I read that you could enjoy it comfortably without seeing the first movie. Starring: Michael Jai White, Scott Adkins