Caffeinated Clint
By Clint Morris
The first “Undisputed”, a Walter Hill-direction prison-set actioner starring Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames are boxing superstars who end up competing against each other ‘on the inside’, was reaosnably entertaining. It wasn’t so much the action sequences, or fight scenes, that impressed though as the performances of Snipes and Rhames – both as decent as always.
“Undisputed 2” and “Undisputed 2” are very different films to the Hill film. Directed by martial-arts aficionado Isaac Florentine, the DTV sequels are – as opposed to the theatrically-released “Undisputed” (2002)- mostly concerned with serving up well-choreographed and exceedingly brutal fight scenes – and a lot of ’em.
And if that’s what you’re looking for in a film – you’ll love ’em. Just don’t go into these flicks looking for clap-evoking performances because, quite frankly, the only stars on show here are ‘fists’ (Though I will admit Adkins is very good at what he does – he’s like a slightly more charming, you could even say more ‘scarred’, Jean-Claude Van Damme).
In “Undisputed 3 : Redemption”, Scott Adkins reprises his role as Russian inmate Boyka. Much like Tom Berenger’s character in “Major League 2” (And no, it’s nothing like “Major League 2”!), Boyka’s bung knee has put an end to his ‘star’ status. Now, he’s been forced to cleaning toilets in prison. But when the big guy hears about a match that’ll be teaming the best fighters from prisons near and far, he decides he wants in – if even just to redeem his dignity and earn him back his best basher stripes. Boyka’s ultimately shipped off to Georgia where he’s forced to compete against (and bunk with) incarcerated fighters of all nationalities (one of whom has already been decided the winner by those fixing the fight).
Plenty of biffo here. And If you’re into that stuff, you’ll love it.
Blu-Ray Details and Extras
Though obviously not as super-duper looking as some of it’s more pricier Hollywood contemporaries (I probably shouldn’t have watched this and the “Alice in Wonderland” (2010) Blu-Ray back-to-back – it’s not fair on this title), “Undisputed 3” – with it’s 1080p High-Def transfer and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Soundtrack – looks and sounds quite OK.
For those without a Blu-ray player (but seriously… why would you buy a copy of the Blu-ray if you don’t have a Blu-ray player?!) there’s a digital copy of the film – that, you can play on your portable media device, be it your laptop or ipod.
