UNDISPUTED 3 (2010)
Rating: 3 1/2 out of 4 /Buy the DVD Here
Tagline: One deadly tournament. A last fight for freedom.
Directed by: Isaac Florentine
Starring: Scott Adkins, Mykel Shannon Jenkins, Mark Ivanir, and Hristo Shopov
THE KILL: Let’s face it: you don’t expect much from a movie called UNDISPUTED 3. For starters, who knew there was an UNDISPUTED 2? I certainly didn’t, although some research after watching this flick indicates that it’s much appreciated by the action crowd. It was obviously good enough – or made enough money – to warrant a third entry in this unlikely mini-franchise, hence here we are talking about UNDISPUTED 3, which is about as good as a movie with such a title can be.
“You can’t fight it- you MUST behold my junk!
UNDISPUTED 3 stars Scott Adkins, who is as close to a throwback to the old-school action stars of the 80s as you can get. Adkins is an intimidating figure with a scowl that means business and almost literal abs of steel. He’s light on charm but heavy on screen presence and that makes him perfect as Yuri Boyka, a humorless Russian inmate at a hellish penitentiary (last seen, as it turns out, in UNDISPUTED 2, in which Boyka was the villain). Boyka has a bum knee and not much in the way of hope, but he keeps his head down and his nose clean and wants what most men in prison want: another chance.
The trailer
Naturally, his incredible skills as a fighter put a target on his back. Not as far as any of the prisoners are concerned, but in the eyes of shady Russian mobster Gaga (Mark Ivanir), Boyka would be a perfect entrant in an underground competition where some of the world’s best fighters – all prisoners as well – square off against one another. Yes, it’s another one of those. Soon, Boyka is shipped off to the Republic of Georgia to fight in a bloody tournament against some very bad customers…
Obviously, there’s nothing exceptional going on in the storytelling department; what UNDISPUTED 3 does have up its sleeve are two adept technicians behind the camera who make this more than just a run-of-the-mill BLOODSPORT rip-off. First, fight choreographer Larnell Stovall, who most recently made a name for himself when his beatdowns were showcased in the brief MORTAL KOMBAT short everyone went apeshit over.
“Oops, ‘scuse me, just walkin’ through…”
The other ace is director Isaac Florentine, who helmed the Adkins-starrer NINJA and has previously shown he’s got an eye for intense action sequences and who doesn’t resort to quick-cuts and phantom impacts to make his scenes realistic. Both Florentine and Stovall combine to create some really splendid sequences: fluid, raw, brutal and believable. Some of these fights will instigate your inner teenager; it’s been a long time since I got a serious kick out of watching two men beat the crap out of each other, but UNDISPUTED 3 certainly does its business with style and seriousness. It’s really the best pure fight movie of this sort in many a moon.
And that’s what it comes down to with this film. If you want an original story that will redefine your understanding of cinema, looks somewhere else. You come to this ring lookin’ for a fight – make that multiple fights, and good ones. That’s what you get, and how, with UNDISPUTED 3, and that should be more than enough for the Reel Action junkie in you.
Looks like The Arrow in the morning…
TOP DEATH: The deaths in this movie aren’t all the great – most people just get shot in the back. It’s all in the pummeling..
TOP ACTION: The last sequence, where Boyka is initially humbled by opponent Quinones (Marko Zaror) but eventually overcomes him (as he must) is a sheer winner.
FEMALE EXPLOITATION:Ha! Good luck even finding a pair of chesticles in this one…
HOMOEROTIC MOMENT: There’s the prerequisite man-love forged between Boyko and Turbo (Mykel Jenkins), who of course starts as a foe but ends up being a bro.
TOP DIALOGUE: Warden: As I was saying, welcome, gentlemen. And f*ck you. This is my facility.”
DRINKING GAME: Drink every time someone flies, flips or spins like an acrobat after getting hit in the face. You’ll be volunteering to go to a Georgian death camp in no time.
TRIVIA: Scott Adkins played “Weapon XI” in WOLVERINE.