“I Am Vengeance: Retaliation”
Director: Ross Boyask
Writer: Ross Boyask
Cast: Stu Bennett, Vinnie Jones, Jacob Anderton, Sam Benjamin, Lainy Boyle, Greg Burridge, Lee Charles, Jean-Paul Ly, Jennifer Lee Moon
Running Time: 90 min.
By Martin Sandison
A year or so ago I reviewed the fantastic Nightshooters, a film I believe to have the best martial arts fights in any British movie, courtesy of rising star Jean Paul Ly. With us all eagerly anticipating his Jailbreak 2, with mouthwatering match-ups thanks to Indonesian stars Yayah Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman coming onboard, Ly brings his expertise at screen fighting to another British production in the meantime: I Am Vengeance: Retaliation. I’ll admit I’m a bit late to the party with regards to these films, having checked out the original just prior to seeing the sequel. The first was a fun, little actioner, with a super low budget masked by 21st century in-jokes and some decent action. The sequel ups the ante very considerably, and for me it’s great to see a British movie that has non-stop decent to high quality action. This comes courtesy of Tim Man, arguably one of the best choreographers working just now.
Following the events of the first film, ex-special forces soldier turned vigilante John Gold (Stu Bennett) is enlisted in a crack team to take down Sean Teague (Vinnie Jones, Snatch), the man who betrayed Gold in his final mission years before. This sets in motion a seemingly endless series of set pieces, as the team attempts to bring Teague to justice.
What I liked about the first I Am Vengeance: Retaliation was that its tongue was firmly lodged in its cheek; the fim knew it was a throwback to 90’s action movies, and played on this with self-referential in-jokes. Nowadays if you’re working with such a low budget that shows in every frame, this is the smart and fun way to make such an action movie. Thankfully the sequel carries the silliness and jokery on, with piles of fatty ham and ridiculous action tropes. Jones especially made me giggle with his OTT delivery of the lines, and it’s good to see him back in villain mode. I grew up watching him knock the shit out of players in English football, back when the sport was much more aggressive. Gold himself is a man mountain whose philosophy is pretty far removed from new action heroes such as Chris Hemsworth in Extraction, which the film echoes stylistically at points. Namely, he’s in the mould of Arnie in Commando: do the job, no time for emotion. Personally I like this approach, especially when we’re dealing with a film that never takes itself seriously, apart from in delivering some good action.
To enlist a choreographer like Tim Man for a low budget British production is quite a coup; I would think that Ly had the connection there. For me with the films Boyka: Undisputed and Triple Threat, Man has created some of the most crackerjack action of recent years. For the most part in I Am Vengeance: Retaliation, the action delivers, and keeps getting better as the film progresses. While some of the stuntmen and cast are not of the calibre Man worked with in his previous productions, they do an admirable job of selling reactions and falls.
Unfortunately, despite having charm and wit as a lead, Bennett doesn’t convince hugely as a screen fighter, despite being an ex-WWE wrestler under the name Wade Barrett. There are some good moments in his fights, especially with Jones, but he looks better firing a gun. This again reminds me of Schwarzenneger. Two real finds that look great in their fights are Katrina Durden and Phoebe Robinson-Galvin. The latter has done stunt work on Wonder Woman, while the former worked on the great show Into the Badlands. Their form, kicking, rhythm and timing are top notch, especially with a two on one wherein they fight another man-mountain Bentley Kalu (American Assassin), and when they face off against each other earlier in the film. A gripe I have is Jean Paul Ly only has one short fight, and no lines in the movie. Seeing Ly move choreographed by Man is a complete joy, despite the length. This could be down to any number of reasons, he’s a busy man and this is a low budget production, time and money would be constrained.
Director and writer Ross Boyask is a brave, pretty talented guy, and with the British action movie scene not being huge, he does have courage in his approach to making the film. I’ve seen a low score on IMDB and some not so complimentary reviews; as someone who has made micro budget action films in the past I have an understanding of how difficult it is to make one, especially to make something good with little money. Obviously Boyask has more to work with than we did, and it’s heartening to see someone who has worked their way up to a decent standard. Direction-wise there are some nice compositions and use of drones, and pacing that means you’re only a couple of minutes away from the next action scene. However, some of the direction can be a little flat at times, unfortunately sometimes in the action scenes. At times they don’t feel as intense as they should, and are a little slow, in performance and pacing.
In recent years more and more Indie British films and television shows have been incorporating martial arts action into their storylines, and this can be nothing but a good thing. I Am Vengeance: Retaliation does a good job of this, and I can see bright things in the future of the cast and crew involved, while there’s a lot of room for improvement. What we all want right now is an exciting action movie to switch off to and enjoy, and I Am Vengeance: Retaliation certainly delivers that.
Martin Sandison’s Rating: 6/10
Thanks for the review. Both of the “I Am Vengeance” movies are on my shortlist, hopefully I can finally sit down and watch them soon.
Your first paragraph also reminds me that I still need to watch Nightshooters. So many movies, so little time…
“So many movies, so little time…” Tell me about it. And this doesn’t even count the classics from the past we have yet to catch up with.
Just got through watching this, and I sadly found it to be terrible.
I grew up on 80s and 90s action fare, and am used to all the tropes, but this movie really brought out the worst in them. This is one of those “idiot plot” films where it only works if everyone is an idiot. The henchmen were some of the stupidest I’ve seen where they have so many opportunities to kill the good guys and constantly make asses of themselves.
The good guys themselves don’t fare much better since every time they catch Vinnie Jones, he slips away from them with almost no effort, and they don’t learn from their mistakes.
Speaking of Jones, he’s the least threatening here than he’s ever been. He’s supposed to be this notoriously dangerous criminal, but he spends most of the movie either running away or getting his ass kicked. He doesn’t do well in the fight scenes and often looks like he can barely move whenever he’s not doubled.
And with a title like I Am Veangeance: Retaliation, you don’t expect such a movie to have an anti killing message, but this one beats the audience over the head with it. Stu Bennet proves almost immediately that he’s not Vengeance at all, and Katrina Durden takes that mantle until she’s told the most overused cliche of “it won’t bring them back.” (Who thinks revenge is resurrection?)
The fight scenes are well done, but because everything surrounding them is so stupid, it becomes hard to care. None of them happen spontaneously, and there’s too much posturing and circling around when these people should just get on with it.
Ultimately, this film is a huge missed opportunity, and if there are plans for a part 3, I’d hope there are major improvements.
Finally got around to watching both of the “I Am Vengeance” movies. The first one was streamed via Netflix, and for the sequel, I actually acquired a physical copy.
The first IAV certainly feels like a “C-movie”, both in budget and in vision. By 90’s standards I’d upgrade that to a “B”; but in the modern age, B-movies are capable of so much more. In the case of IAV, the storyline and acting are merely serviceable. It occasionally teases fight scenes that never actually happen, and when the action does finally start, I’m far too distracted by what are perhaps the fakest-looking muzzle flashes I’ve ever seen, plus a distinct lack of environmental destruction during firefights. (If I’m going to be REALLY nitpicky, I’ll also call out some really awkwardly-placed sound effects that feel like they were hastily downloaded from freesound.org.)
To the movie’s credit though, the scarce hand-to-hand fight scenes are mostly well-executed, and the meatiest of them all is saved for last. The final showdown features some pretty brutal kicks and punches, despite some unfortunate camera work and editing.
Overall I think the quality of the first IAV ranges from “skippable” to “barely worth watching”. I respect Ross Boyask for making a functional movie on such a low budget. That’s probably the most positive thing I have to say about it.
As for IAV:R, on the other hand? Wow, what an improvement it is. Shorter run time be damned, the action setpieces are far more plentiful and entertaining. Tim Man elevates the fight scenes far beyond anything in the first movie. Even little touches, like the small bits of comic relief in the writing, feel more well-timed and thoughtful.
I think I read some criticism somewhere saying that IAV:R erroneously introduces too many protagonists into the story, and doesn’t focus enough on John Gold himself. Let’s be honest, John Gold doesn’t exactly have a ton of dimensionality to begin with. What they ended up doing with the sequel works perfectly fine. There are exponentially more characters on-screen here than before, and yet the movie doesn’t feel over-encumbered for it. If anything they simply feel like vehicles for more drama and physical encounters.
All of the silly B-movie stuff is still here. I laughed at an appearance of several red laser sights suddenly becoming visible on 2 of the characters, making that cliche high-pitched electric whirring noise upon activation (you know the one I’m talking about). Characters magically roll their way out of massive bullet barrages, and basically the entire movie takes places in empty, generic warehouses and junkyards. It’s all pretty dumb, but hey, it works. Andrew’s comment above mine complains about the multitude of idiotic decisions that are often made by the characters, and although it’s a valid point, I was having too much fun to really care.
Like you, Martin, I think my biggest gripe with IAV:R was the criminal under-use of Jean-Paul Ly. I was disappointed in him basically not being used at all in the mid-sections of the movie, but his eventual fight at the very end was at least gratifying. The last 15 minutes of the movie are simply delightful.
The blu-ray also has a nice 25-minute-long BTS featurette. Stu Bennett is apparently pretty invested in the franchise, and helps make a lot of decisions with the character development. Both him and Ross Boyask seem very enthusiastic about the final product, and I’m right there with them. (Boyask specifically exudes pleasure for being able to fire real blanks from the guns this time – yay!)
Boyask also makes it obvious that he’s jaded with the current state of modern action movies, and he much prefers the off-the-walls escapism of old actioners dating back to the 60’s and 70’s. His preferences definitely manifest in his movies, and they’re more enjoyable for it, so I’ll give him props for that.
Overall I think the sequel is super entertaining. Currently crossing my fingers that they get to make a third one. At the rate that they’re improving, it should be a slam dunk.