While he was a huge star as a wrestler with the WWE, Dave Bautista has come into his own as a great actor as well with some great roles in Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Infinity War and most recently Hotel Artemis. Now he is taking front and center for his latest action flick Final Score co-starring Pierce Brosnan, Ray Stevenson, Julian Cheung, Lara Peake, Alexandra Dinu, and Ralph Brown.

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Final Score follows an ex-soldier with lethal fighting skills who wages a one-man war to save his niece and prevent mass destruction after deadly terrorists abduct her at a soccer match when the former leader of a revolution in Russia locks down the arena during the European semi-finals believing his traitorous brother is somewhere there. I love old school action films like this and this one was no exception. The whole vibe reminded me of films like Die Hard and Sudden Death with its own spin on the story. The story is pretty much similar to those films, but it’s the addition of Dave Bautista that makes it feel like something new while still being familiar in a great way.

 

I have been following Bautista since his WWE days and really dig his range of films that he takes on. Sure his biggest is the Marvel films, but I much prefer his films like Kickboxer: Vengeance, Man with the Iron Fists and Riddick. These films let him cut loose and here is no different. Sure his character is a more down to Earth guy, but there is no shortage of him kicking major ass. They kick off the great action with an awesome elevator fight and it never lets up complete with him using a pistol as a tonfa in a knife fight and deep fried severed fingers. If this seems over the top you would be correct in the best possible way without ever fully going into the world of believability.

 

There is nothing overly new here, but it fully captures the old school action vibe of the films in the 80s and 90s and that is always a winner for me. I love Bautista as Drax, but much prefer to see him do more films like this as he really shines here. He is a believable action star that isn’t afraid to take a beating while delivering just as much fury on the bad guys face and that makes for way more fun than the constantly unbeatable hero.

 

I’m bummed films like this don’t get wider releases like they deserve, but sadly people screaming for something new don’t get out to support films like this. If you are a fan of old school action, Bautista kicking ass or all of the above then check out Final Score in theaters, VOD and Digital HD from Saban Films.