Jose vs Thugs: 3.75/5
Jose vs Gil: 2.5/5
Jose vs Detective Suarez: 2.25/5
Market Fight: 3.5/5
Gil vs Thugs: 3.25/5
Jose/Cristina vs Thugs: 2.25/5
Jose vs Gil: 3.25/5
Solid action throughout. Gil Sanabria carries himself very well. He's smaller than Jose but more imposing. He's a real badass in this movie. Jose has the beats down of a prototypical action hero. The Jackie Chan influence is big in this movie, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. This is from 2011 and having seen the stuff this team has done since, they've gotten even better. There's not a bad fight in it.
The action is good and well laid out, I just wish this movie did a little more to distinguish itself from other modern martial arts movies. There are a couple of nice turns in the plot, but it is a pretty straight forward movie. This is this team's first feature, so it's good that they got all the basics down. There's just nothing that really stands out, for me. The fights range from good to very good.
I wanted more from that end fight too, since my favorite aspect of the movie is Gil's inferiority complex towards Jose. I feel like they really made me want to see them fight and then didn't give that fight enough time.
Also, the girl that plays Cristina, Melissa Serrano, is stunningly gorgeous. I think this is my first review where I ever mentioned that about a leading lady, which tells you how gorgeous she is. I was distracted at times.
I'm partial towards this movie also because I am Puerto Rican, and how many Puerto Rican martial arts films are there? No seriously, are there more? If there are, link me. Not joking. I want more.
Recommended.
