Triple Threat (2019) Review

"Triple Threat" Theatrical Poster

“Triple Threat” Theatrical Poster

Director: Jesse V. Johnson
Cast: Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Tiger Hu Chen, Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White, Michael Bisping, Celina Jade, Jeeja Yanin, Ron Smoorenburg, Michael Wong, Dominique Vandenberg, Sile Zhang, Jennifer Qi Jun Yang
Running Time: 96 min. 

By Paul Bramhall

There’s something undeniably daunting when you look at the cast list of Triple Threat. For many fans of martial arts cinema, it’s one that looks too good to be true, the kind of movie that you read about but almost certainly never comes to fruition (just look up Don ‘The Dragon’ Wilson’s Blood Raid). However Triple Threat’s cast is very much the real deal, and with it come some lofty expectations. When you fit such a who’s who of the genre into a 90 minute action flick, it’s fair to say that some fans were hoping more for a non-stop action reel than they were any semblance of a movie. But a movie it is, and it’s the latest one from director Jesse V. Johnson, the guy responsible for the recent string of superlative Scott Adkins flicks (Accident Man, The Debt Collector).

Adkins is back on board for Triple Threat, clocking in his first villain role since 2015’s Wolf Warrior. A ruthless assassin, when we first meet him he’s being rescued from captivity in Thailand, courtesy of his former crew. The crew itself contains enough talent to carry an action flick (or 2) alone – it’s led by Adkins’ Undisputed 2 co-star Michael Jai White, who’s ably backed up by former UFC fighter Michael Bisping, Thai femme fatale Jija Yanin, high kicker Ron Smoorenburg, and Dominiquie Vandenberg (soon to headline Johnson’s Legion Maxx). Navigating them through the jungle is a pair of mercenaries for hire, played by Tiger Chen (Man of Tai Chi) and Tony Jaa (SPL II: A Time for Consequences). After breaking Adkins out, the crew massacre the villagers in the area where he’d been imprisoned, including the wife of Iko Uwais (The Night Comes for Us). As the sole survivor, Uwais swears revenge on those responsible for her death. 

The above plot description may puzzle those who’ve been following Triple Threat for a while, as the synopsis usually focuses on how the three protagonists (Uwais, Jaa, and Chen) have to protect a Chinese billionaire’s daughter (played by Celina Jade). The reason for this focus is likely due to Triple Threat being funded by China, and it’s no doubt an easier sell to Chinese audiences than ‘Indonesian guy seeks revenge for his murdered wife’ (which also isn’t very Chinese censor-friendly). Onscreen there’s little mistaking that it’s there to appease the Chinese distributors, as awkwardly inserted news broadcasts inform us how crimes against the Chinese community in the (fictional) city of Maha Jaya are on the increase. Jade, who’s inherited a fortune from her father, wishes nothing more than to donate it to improve the cities infrastructure and make it a safer place to live. Such a selfless and giving model Chinese citizen.

Thankfully Jade has a likeable onscreen presence, allowing the initial tonal shifts to not feel as jarring as they potentially could have, and in all fairness, without China there wouldn’t be a Triple Threat. We have Tiger Chen to thank for the original idea, who came up with the concept to bring himself, Tony Jaa, and Iko Uwais together 3 years ago, in what was then going to be called Makeshift Squad. While Chen himself is lacking in any form of screen presence or charisma (has anyone actually seen Kung Fu Traveler and its sequel!?), the fact that he saw the idea through to the end, is enough of a feat that the martial arts cinema genre owes him a debt of gratitude. It’s also thanks to China that Triple Threat clearly has a decent budget behind it, with a welcome reliance on real explosions and in-camera stunt work, rather than CGI. The other good news is that, when it comes down to the violence, Johnson hasn’t decided to skimp on it.

From the Predator-esque opening in the jungle through to the numerous fights, for those who’ve become tired of the ‘clean’ action aesthetic that most Hong Kong flicks now find themselves forcibly adhering too (Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy, I’m looking at you), this should be your remedy. Blood squibs are used with joyous abandon, usually through being on the receiving end of some seriously heavy artillery (if you ever wanted a movie that features Jija Yanin running around with a grenade launcher – this is it!), and the fights also don’t shy away from what grievous bodily harm can be inflicted by a fist or a foot.

Which brings us to the fights. It’s a reasonable statement for me to say I can’t remember the last time I’ve been so happy to use the plural of a word. Johnson has chosen wisely to stick with what he knows, bringing fight choreographer Tim Man on-board to orchestrate the action. I’ve been a huge advocate for Man ever since he first came on my radar as a fight choreographer (and screen fighter) in 2013’s Ninja: Shadow of a Tear, and he’s gone from strength to strength since then, usually collaborating with Scott Adkins (they faced off again in Accident Man). Here he stays behind the scenes, but I suspect that’s only because he had his hands more than full putting together the abundance of action, and performers executing it, in front of the camera. I’d go so far to say that Man has delivered the goods here more so than any current HK choreographer could have done with the same cast.

For fear of turning the review into a laundry list of who fights who, I won’t go into every pairing. However for those who were left frustrated at the pairing of Chen and Uwais in Man of Tai Chi (was there anyone that wasn’t?), their match up here more than redeems, and takes place at only 20 minutes in. Likewise for Jaa, who after spending a disproportionate amount of time in Hong Kong being attached to wires, here is allowed to unleash wire-free, and you can feel the spark is back. Johnson wisely allows for Adkins and Jai White to remain ominous threats for most of the runtime, seemingly very much aware that the best should be saved for last, which it is.

I recall in an interview Adkins did to promote Undisputed 3: Redemption back in 2010, he spoke of his hopes to one day have a chance to fight Jaa, and a little under 10 years later the match-up is the highlight of the finale (Jaa notably receives top billing in the credits, with Uwais billed second). Adkins unleashes against the star of Ong Bak like it’s still 2003, and Jaa visibly lifts his game to square off against the British powerhouse. It’s a joy to watch, and when Uwais also gets involved to make it segue into a two-on-one, the joy of watching 3 of this era’s top screen fighters go at each other is an immeasurable one. Uwais himself gets some seriously heavy lifting to do going toe to toe with Jai White (because, well, we already got a Jaa vs Jai White fight in 2014’s Skin Trade), who’s sheer power gives him an almost Hwang Jang Lee-like aura of invincibility against his more slender opposition, while Chen battles it out against Bisping.

While the audience for Triple Threat will mostly be clocking in for the action, it’s worth noting that at no point do you find yourself impatiently waiting for the next action scene to kick in. The storyline is surprisingly engaging, with Uwais almost coming across as a Yojimbolike character in the way he plays Adkins and co. against the double crossed pairing of Jaa and Chen. Considering none of our trio of protagonists speak each other’s native language, Uwais, Jaa, and Chen have a likeable chemistry between them, and their conversing in English is not only passable, but at times genuinely affecting. Kudos to Johnson for hiring a Dialect Coach, as it’s clearly paid dividends.

I was left feeling like Triple Threat is the 2019 equivalent of a PM Entertainment flick. It knows it’s there to deliver action, and does so in a joyously unpretentious manner, with a cast that are fully aware of what they’re there to do. Throw in Michael Wong in a role credited as ‘Old Man’, a blink and you’ll miss it reference to “Donnie and Sammo”, and Jija Yanin exiting proceedings via one of the greatest death scenes in recent action movie memory, what you’re left with is a pure shot of celluloid adrenalin. Or to use lines from the movie itself, a tale of “three little imps” versus some “really bad guys”. 

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 8.5/10



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14 Responses to Triple Threat (2019) Review

  1. Felix says:

    Great review! So lucky that you were able to see this.
    No news if this will be released here in Singapore. (And i don’t subscribe to Netflix)

  2. Dan says:

    As soon as this movie showed up in the listings for a local AMC in my city, I bought my ticket immediately. I’m so pumped to see this on Tuesday. Thanks for the review.

  3. Don says:

    Awesome. I’m actually seeing it in theatres on Tuesday the 19th. Very psyched for it.

  4. El Duderino says:

    Great review! Can’t believe it was about September 2017 when the first teaser was released. It’s been a long time coming, but sounds like it was worth the wait.

    It was just rated yesterday here in Australia, looks like it’s skipping cinemas altogether and only coming out on DVD, no blu ray, which is really disappointing. Thankfully, there are other ways to get a blu ray copy, even if it ends up more expensive.

  5. Ulric says:

    I am looking forward to this great movie event of the year

  6. aerosniff says:

    So, another boring martial arts torture porn crap? I pass.

  7. The Bothan Spy says:

    ah @aerosniff how could anyone reading that review make the comment ‘another boring martial arts torture porn crap’ with regards to the movie?

    This sounds like a film that delivers on its potential on every level, martial arts action, gunplay, solid cast, chemistry between them etc

  8. Mike Retter says:

    Great review … Man, this (and the trailers) makes me want to see this … Martial arts cinema isnt dead!

  9. xino says:

    ” I’ve been a huge advocate for Man ever since he first came on my radar as a fight choreographer (and screen fighter) in 2013’s Ninja: Shadow of a Tear,”

    Shadow of a Tear, i love that movie man.
    guess now I’m looking forward to this movie!!!

  10. Andrew Hernandez says:

    I just got out of my showing of Triple Threat, and I’m pleased!

    Sometimes, I have ridiculously high expectations for a movie that when met is a really satisfying feeling, and sometimes I’m let down hard. Because I thought this movie was too good to be true, I prepared for disappointment while hoping for the best, and that made me enjoy the movie more.

    I’m sure other people will say that the fights are too short or that there’s too much talking, but I liked the non action scenes. Tony Jaa showed a more humorous side with his impression of Iron Chef, and his references to his past films got a laugh out of me.

    After having limited exchanges in TYG and a Thai commercial, I was happy to see Ron Smoorenberg have a decently lengthed fight with Jaa. Although I missed his super kicks and flexibility, it was nice stuff.

    I was hoping Celina Jade was training hard for this movie so she could fight Jeeja Yanin, but was disappointed that it didn’t happen. Someone needs to make a women starring Triple Threat with Jeeja, Jiang Luxia, and Amy Johnston.

    I’m glad Jeeja was used better here than in Hard Target 2, but I wished she was in the movie more. That explosion was really cool and surprising, but still.

    The fights were mint quality, and it didn’t matter that they weren’t 10-20 minute showcases like in Drunken Master 2 or Fist of Legend. They came like bursts of fire, and showed great intricacies with their combination of Kung-fu, Muay Thai, Silat, Shotokan, Jujitsui, MMA, and close quarters combat.

    Watching the movie with the Washington DC stunt coalition was also a big plus.

    • Sounds like you enjoyed it as much as I did Andrew!

      “I’m sure other people will say that the fights are too short or that there’s too much talking, but I liked the non action scenes.”

      I’ve already seen newer reviews making similar statements. I think some fans just expect too much, and I expect ‘Triple Threat’ will be more appreciated over time. I remember when reviews came out for ‘SPL’ and ‘Flash Point’ in the mid-00’s, many of them leaned towards the negative for the same reason. Now over a decade later most Donnie Yen fans say they’d love him to make more movies like those. Once the instant gratification factor fades away, and people realise it was never going to be a movie of wall-to-wall fights, I think ‘Triple Threat’ will find even more of an audience than it has today.

      “Someone needs to make a women starring Triple Threat with Jeeja, Jiang Luxia, and Amy Johnston.”

      Add Rina Takeda and Taemi to the mix, and I’m in.

      “I’m glad Jeeja was used better here than in Hard Target 2, but I wished she was in the movie more.”

      My thoughts exactly! Here she felt like a real character, and not just ‘Fighter on bridge #3’. It was also a huge improvement over her generic performance in ‘Europe Raiders’ (your top movie of 2018 :-P).

      • Andrew Hernandez says:

        Thanks! It would be nice if it grows on people over time. It seems like Triple Threat’s biggest fans are the open minded action fans with reasonable expectations. It may not be impossible to make “The next Drunken Master II,” but I think we’re at an age where we can’t expext every martial art film to be like that.

        I will say I was disappointed that Scott Adkins’ character answered to a higher power who ended up being useless. I would have preferred that he answered to no one.

        I also thought Michael Wong’s character could have been played by anybody and his only purpose was to give the heroes guns. That mystery man mojo wasn’t needed. (I used to hate the guy until I watched Beast Cops and Enter the Eagles.)

        How can I forget Rina Takeda?! I’m sure there’s more women out there who’d be perfect for the Triple Threat counterpart!

        I can’t say I liked Europe Raiders as much as I like listening to certain Beatles songs backwards! 😛

  11. I enjoyed it but am I the only one who was disappointed about the fact that it was incredibly average? You praise the choreography. I fail to see why you would do so. It’s fine if these fighters were inexperienced or incompetent. But each and every character is a fully fledged martial artist who have proven to be capable of far more.

    And no, I wasn’t expecting that much. However if you don’t make the most of it with all these talents involved you have done a poor job. The action should have wowed us and it didn’t. I appreciated the throwback to the Eighties en Nineties action flicks. But back then they made sure the action ruled.

    • Andrew Hernandez says:

      It’s hard when movie like The Night Comes For Us sets a high standard, and other movies are a notch or two below it.

      While I didn’t think the choreography was amazing, I thought it was simply good, and it was nice to see an eclectic cast have fun with each other while showing off what they know.

      It goes hand In hand with how movies like this are plagued with ever decreasing budgets and shooting schedules, so it’s a luxury if a movie is lucky enough to get a month to shoot a big ass sequence.

      I get that this “should” have been the ultimate action movie, but I enjoyed it as a group of like minded people having fun on camera.

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