I finally caught a showing of Martial arts action star and movie making machine Scott Adkins 3rd film so far this year. Avengement on Amazon prime. Director Jesse V. Johnson of previous Adkins movies Triple Threat, The Debt Collector, Accident Man, and Savage Dog brings us a truly bone-crunching, bare-knuckle brutal affair. If you thought Boyka was a crazy prisoner you haven’t seen anything until you’ve witnessed Cain Burgess.
Avengement starts with convict Cain Burgess (Scott Adkins) on day release to see his dying mother in the hospital. Literally, on her death bed, only trouble is she passes before he gets a chance to see her and say goodbye. This doesn’t sit well with Cain. In the next scene, we see two unconscious guards in the elevator while Cain is making his escape. A bit later we see him head to a pub, the doormen refuse him entry so he quickly knocks them unconscious and goes in. He really wants in on this pub and throughout the movie, we find out why.
Cain listens in on a conversation between a small gang of criminals. Tune (Thomas Turgoose ) is describing an event that happened. He and another guy Rook (Daniel Adegboyega) were dealing drugs on the streets when they noticed a guy staring at them, Rook goes over to confront him before the guy produces an ax, chops his hand off and kills him. Tune then goes on to say he scared the crazy guy off. This prompts Cain to start laughing and weigh in on the conversation giving his own description of the event. I think we can guess by now Cain was the crazy guy with the ax. Cain quickly producers a sawn-off shotgun and takes everyone hostage. Cain says he’s here for Lincoln. Lincoln turns out to be Lincoln Burgess (Craig Fairbrass) Cains brother and this is his local mob.
While we wait for Lincoln to turn up the gang start asking Cain questions, mainly about his appearance. Cain is not a pretty site. Burns and scars all over his face, metal teeth at the front. Cain begins to describe what happened to him and through a series of flashbacks, we witness how Cain become incarcerated and exactly what happened to him in prison. Cain was a fighter who was supposed to throw his last match for his loan shark brother but won by accident. Against his wishes, he was sent on an assignment and due to a fatal accident, Cain ends up in prison. He is quickly betrayed by his brother and you pretty much see how he acquired every scar on his face and body. A mysterious price is placed on his head and he has to fight every day to survive. From being stabbed, sliced, having handmade napalm throw over him to being forced to bite down on a step and then getting his teeth kicked out and jaw shattered as well as numerous beatings from the guards. You see Cain’s transformation from a law-abiding citizen to an unhinged psychopath. Training and fighting every day and as Cain put it transforms him into “A hard rusty nail”
Adkins physical prowess is on show with pretty much non-stop fights but non of his trademark super flashy kicks and moves this time which is probably a good thing as it wouldn’t really go with the character and movie. He’s a hardened fighter, not a Ninja.
As the plot twists unfold you soon find out why Cain is doing what he’s doing, why his brother betrayed him and how much of a scumbag his brother is. Once again Craig Fairbrass gives a solid performance as he was born to play these sort of roles but it’s Adkins that really shines playing his most complex character to date. Transforming from a normal guy who just wants to run a gym to a psychotic unstable convict with nothing to lose and most importantly wants revenge. We later find out it’s not just about revenge and he does have some noble intentions as he also blames himself for the accident that got him in jail in the first place. With an unhinged intensity, some bone breaking and gruesome moves, it’s about time Hollywood took notice of Scott Adkins. Avengement is also available on Google Play, iTunes, Fandango Now and Vudu. The DVD’s is due for release on July 1st.
Rating: 4/5 belts
