I love all things martial arts especially the film genre. One of my favorited is action star Scott Adkins who has been tearing up the industry with a wide variety of ass kicking projects. His latest film One Shot teams him up with Ryan Phillippe and Ashley Greene Khoury from director James Nunn. Could this latest flick bring the expected action or will it miss the target altogether?

 

One Shot follows an elite squad of Navy SEALs led by Lt. Blake Harris and a junior CIA analyst Zoe Anderson must retrieve a prisoner from a CIA black site island prison in an effort to prevent a terrorist attack on Washington D.C. Tensions flare as Deputy Site Manager Tom Shields refuses to release the suspected terrorist based solely on Anderson's intel, but when the base comes under attack by waves of insurgents they must band together to complete the mission.

 

I wasn’t sure what to think of this film on seeing the first trailer, but the idea of a single shot action flick that includes Adkins was intriguing. Understanding the single shot idea along with what is known is stitch cuts makes the film impressive enough as is. Blend in some great non-stop action and you have a gritty genre flick that kicks some pretty big ass.

 

There is nothing in the story that hasn’t been before and even though the action is great it is pretty average on the surface, but the reality is it’s a lot more. To pull off these action beats and fights in a normal film situation is enough work, but in this format takes some pretty big dedication and everyone knocked it out of the park. There is a lot more gun play than anything, but was happy we got to see Adkins mix it up with some hand to hand as well.

 

If I had any complaints it was not enough Phillippe getting in on the action. If I am not mistake he has a background in Tae Kwon Do so can we give this man a chance to kick some ass please? Outside of that the constantly moving camera might be a bit much for those that struggle with the found footage or motion sickness issues, but it’s actually handled well.

 

Love it or hate it you have to respect what they accomplished with this flick. Decide for yourself and check out the aptly titled One Shot available now on Blu-ray and DVD from Screen Media.