Scott Adkins has been kicking ass on film for decades and anytime he is involved I am there. He has established himself as the premiere martial arts action star, but also able to carry drama and hit comedy notes. His latest film Reckless looks to bring all that to the forefront from director Elliott Montello. Could this latest action flick bring the fun and kicks or will it fail to deliver its payoff?

 

Reckless follows a former convict on parole must outwit the police to get his share of an old heist. The film co-stars Vinnie Jones, Mark Strange, Kris Johnson, and Nicole Deon.

 

Anyone knowing my fandom of martial arts and Adkins himself already knows how excited I would be to see this film and probably a little biassed to it all. That being said, this film delivered the majority of the things I was hoping for, but that doesn’t mean its without issues. Thankfully the action more than makes up for any shortcomings that are here.

 

The story has been done a billion times but is a classic idea that still works. What I found to be the fun change here is the tone of Adkins and the story. Instead of the usual rugged tough guy he is a nice guy and sometimes a moron of sorts that just wants his money. They do a clever training montage through graphics in the credits to get him into fighting shape and design the fighting style to that which is always a plus in his films.

 

Adkins has a unique fighting style but manages to tweak it in various films to fit the narrative and the character itself. Here the guy can fight but not suddenly doing all the crazy trick kicks yet still impresses like fans expect. His numerous fights with martial artist Mark Strange are fun and some of the best in the film and elevate it to something more than it might be otherwise.

 

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