Prisoner of War (2025) Review

“Prisoner of War” Theatrical Poster

Director: Louis Mandylor
Cast: Scott Adkins, Louis Mandylor, Shane Kosugi, Peter Shinkoda, Donald Cerrone, Masanori Mimoto, Michael Copon, Michael Rene Walton, Gary Cairns, Sol Eugenio, Kansuke Yokoi, Atsuki Kashio
Running Time: 110 min.

By Paul Bramhall

Under any other circumstance if someone told me in 2025 that they’d just watched a Philippines shot jungle actioner set during World War II, my assumption would be that another Bruno Mattei helmed Italian B-movie from the 80’s had just gotten a new physical media release. Except Prisoner of War is neither Italian nor from the 1980’s, instead being the latest directorial effort from Louis Mandylor. While most well known for his work in front of the camera, Mandylor has had a steady career as a director since helming his debut Jimmy Bones in 2003, and most recently has taken a particular interest in tales set in Southeast Asia and the Pacific during World War II. 2023’s 3 Days in Malay focused on a ragtag group defending an airfield against the Japanese in Malay, while 2024’s Operation Blood Hunt pits a tale of werewolves and vampires on a South Pacific Island occupied by the Japanese.

While Mandylor also cast himself in front of the camera for these outings, in his latest he stays behind it, instead entrusting leading man duties to British thespian Scott Adkins. No strangers to collaborating thanks to their roles in director Jesse V. Johnson’s The Debt Collector, its sequel Debt Collectors, and Avengement, the fact that the story is based on an idea by Adkins makes their pairing as director and star a natural one. Stepping into the role of a “Westerner that knew the Eastern arts, a great fighter!”, proceedings open in 1950 with Adkins storming into a dojo to confront newcomer Kansuke Yokoi, playing the son of the colonel who ran the prison camp Adkins was captive in 8 years earlier. The narrative then flashes back to 1942, but not before Adkins gets his own 1 vs. 8 dojo fight, happily sitting alongside the likes of Ip Man, Fist of Legend, and Fist of Fury when it comes to superlative dojo throwdowns.

With his wing commander shot down over Bataan, Adkins soon finds himself captured by a Japanese patrol, led by a rare onscreen appearance from ninja B-movie royalty Shane Kosugi (Pray for Death, Black Eagle). Kosugi notably doubles up as the productions Japanese Language Consultant (yes, just like those Bruno Mattei flicks from the 80’s, many of the Japanese soldiers are played by Filipino locals), and was part of the Japan casting team. Once confined to the prison camp, run by Peter Shinkoda (War, The Predator), Adkins’ considerable fighting skills and knowledge of the “forbidden move” see him regularly pitted against the best the Japanese have to offer, providing their captors with a daily dose of bloody entertainment. However with the discovery of a downed glider plane not far from the camp, Adkins and his fellow captor’s figure if they can make contact with the allied forces, they can use the plane to make a bid for freedom.

Clocking in at 110 minutes, when it comes to runtimes Prisoner of War marks the longest Adkins has been tasked with carrying an entire movie on his shoulders since 2012’s Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, and he does a solid job. Despite the largely one-location setting, Mandlyor uses the surrounding jungle to his advantage, conveying a sense of much broader surroundings, and the ensemble cast that make up the inmates Adkins is holed up with all add their own distinctive personalities. Amongst them is former UFC fighter Donald Cerrone (Lights Out, Outlaw Johnny Black), Michael Copon (best known as the Blue Ranger from the early 2000’s Power Rangers: Time Force spin-off), and character actors Michael Rene Walton (Superfights) and Gary Cairns (One Ranger), all of whom contribute to making the world Prisoner of War takes place in feel like an authentic one.

Of course for a premise that’s primarily centered around Adkins doing what he does best, the action is where Prisoner of War really shines. Watching Adkins skulk around the jungle in the initial scenes to evade capture almost made me feel like we were watching Ninja: The Origin, expanding on the flashback scenes included in Isaac Florentine’s Ninja: Shadow of a Tear from 2013. Daggers are lodged in skulls, and personally I can never get bored of watching double footed front flying kicks in slow motion. There’s a certain Hong Kong flavour to many of the fights, and while Adkins’ character explains he was “born in Surrey, but grew up in Hong Kong”, the feel is much more likely attributed to fight choreographer Alvin Hsing.

A former member of The Stunt People, when I saw Hsing’s name in the credits I immediately recognised him as the butterfly knife fighter from 2012’s Death Grip, the sophomore directorial feature from the Stunt People founder Eric Jacobus, who goes toe to toe against Hsing in one of the highlight fights. Since then Hsing has gone on to forge a name for himself in the action film industry, from doubling for Donnie Yen in xXx: Return of Xander Cage to stunt work on David Letich’s Bullet Train, so to see him work with Adkins is a real pleasure for any fight fan. As a bonus, he also turns up as a fighter Adkins has to face off against in one of the 1 versus 3 death matches! At almost 50 Adkins still has an impressive array of kicks, and with a choreography style that perfectly compliments his physical dexterity, the fight scenes here easily feel superior to some productions from a decade ago (Hard Target 2 immediately springs to mind).

As a fan of martial arts cinema I confess the piece of casting that had me most excited for Prisoner of War was Japan’s Masanori Mimoto (Hydra, Ghost Killer). Playing the right handman of Shinkoda, Mimoto spends almost the entirety of the runtime quietly seething next to his superior, as Shinkoda grants Adkins another day to live every time he beats a fresh cohort of Japanese fighters. I was sure he was being setup in the same mould as a Billy Chow in Pedicab Driver, or a Benny Lai in Police Story 2 – the kind of bodyguard to the main villain who has their time to shine in the finale. So you can imagine my disappointment when it turns out there’s no Adkins versus Mimoto fight to be found, marking it as surely the greatest missed opportunity since Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa somehow never found a reason to fight in the previously mentioned xXx: Return of Xander Cage!

My brain wants to say that Prisoner of War is still a way above average DTV actioner even without it, but my heart wants to say, “How could you have 2 of the best on-screen fighters of their generation not face off against each other!?” They don’t even have the excuse of being on the same side like Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa had! Pushing past my own personal disappointment, Mandylor’s latest is indeed one of the best DTV productions in recent years. Notably Filipino filmmaker Erik Matti, responsible for directing the likes of On the Job and BuyBust, is onboard here as a producer, which likely goes some way to explaining why it doesn’t have the same hurried feel and sparse production design that many of its contemporaries suffer from. Although interestingly, despite the Philippines setting, there’s only one Filipino (and female for that matter) actor of note, with Gabbi Garcia (Ero) playing a nurse who ends up helping Adkins.

There are some minor gripes to be had, with the biggest question that’s left unanswered being that of why Adkins is suddenly looking for Shinkoda in 1950, apart from it being for the purpose of bookending the World War II set narrative. However these are negligible, and Mandylor deserves credit for crafting a tale which remains engaging throughout, with characters that the audience actually care about, and an ambitious narrative that goes beyond the standard DTV template of cookie cutter filler and functional fight scenes.

The real success of Mandylor’s latest round in the director’s chair though is the man the title Prisoner of War takes its cue from – Scott Adkins. Without doubt the premier DTV action star of this generation, as his fans it’s a necessary evil to sometimes see him appear in productions that feel like they’re not worthy of his talents. But on the flipside, it makes it all the sweeter when he shows up in a production that knows exactly how to use him, and deliver where it counts. Prisoner of War falls firmly into the latter.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 7.5/10