by Ed Travis
When Scott Adkins’ Yuri Boyka flies into the air, you never know which of his limbs will lash out at you.
Or how many of his limbs.
But lash out they will. Yuri Boyka does not lose.
Boyka: Undisputed is the fourth entry in the Undisputed franchise, and the third starring Adkins in his now signature role as the prison-bound Yuri Boyka… the most complete fighter in the world. In spite of the first film being directed by the legendary Walter Hill and starring Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames, the franchise didn’t really take off until it hit direct to video and director Isaac Florentine took the reins with Adkins before the camera. That second entry also starred Michael Jai White and was the ultimate example of what can be accomplished with the lesser budgets available to DTV films matched with the raw ability and ambition of the aforementioned talent being given a shot.
Years have passed since the last Undisputed film, and I suspect no one has been more tired of hearing questions about when Undisputed IV would arrive than Adkins himself. That’s the double edged sword of being a modern action star. You’re damned if you don’t… and the pressure is on not to be damned if you do. I personally let my expectations for this film spiral out of control. My fandom took over and my rational adult film critic brain stepped aside. It’s a dangerous thing when expectations run so high. Adkins and Florentine were certainly aware that the pressure was on as the years passed and demand for this product only increased even as the rampant piracy of this kind of film undercut the funding necessary to create it.
Fortunately the years of anticipation have given way to a worthy, and perhaps even superior, new entry to DTV’s ultimate action franchise. And if the crowd at Fantastic Fest is any indication, I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. I suspect fans of the Undisputed films will be thrilled with what Scott Adkins and his team have brought to the table here. Director Todor Chapkanov had big shoes to fill in replacing Isaac Florentine as this franchise’s director. And to be honest this was a big missing link beforehand. Could Chapkanov capture the kind of fury matched with smooth shots of combat that Florentine was able to deliver? It turns out that yes, he can. With Florentine on board as a producer, and Florentine’s go-to editor Erit Raz assembling the footage with dexterity, much of the essential crew from the last two films remained involved here.
And then there’s Scott Adkins himself. Born to play Yuri Boyka, it’s clear that he goes through hell to bring this character to the screen. With a physique that makes Henry Cavill’s look cute, Adkins can be equal parts bruiser and ballet dancer. His fighting skills matched with this driven anti-hero are an explosive combination. His ability to translate real world martial arts skill into on screen entertainment is unmatched right now in action cinema. He brings 110% to each role he has any say in, and the results are right there on the screen written in blood and sweat. The fight sequences are frequent and never, ever become tiresome. As mentioned… you just never know where Boyka’s next strike will come from.
Anyone will say that they come to these kinds of films for the fights. That’s the centerpiece and frankly that’s the appeal of this franchise. But anyone who says great fights are all that’s needed are kidding themselves. There’s a real risk of diminishing returns if there’s not a story propelling these fights forward. And while this isn’t Shakespeare, the rhythm, pacing, and story beats of Boyka are surprisingly effective. Sure, there’s never more than 10 minutes without some kind of fight… but it’s all so effectively doled out as the noose tightens around Boyka and builds to a non-stop climax of spin kicks and bullets! The pacing is perhaps best attributed to Chapkanov and Raz in post production. But credit is due to writer David N. White, who also penned the last two Undisputed films as well as another Adkins favorite, Ninja II. There’s a skill required to fill in the story with some flesh and blood in order to prop up these fight sequences and give them weight and meaning. In all honesty, there’s a datedness to Boyka’s white knight quest here, and the gender roles are not exactly progressive. But I can’t help but find enjoyment in the traditional elements of this narrative.
Last we saw Boyka in Undisputed III he was a free man at last. Here we find him on the cusp of a legitimate fighting career when he kills a man in the ring. It’s unintentional, but Boyka becomes obsessed with making things right for the dead man’s widow.
I’m a God fearing man. So there’s nothing I can appreciate more than to add good old fashioned Christian guilt to Yuri Boyka’s ongoing quest for redemption. There’s a pathos simmering under Boyka’s hulking physique that’s just plain entertaining to follow. Aside from the “rescue the princess” element of the plot, actress Teodora Duhovnikova acquits herself quite well as Alma, the grieving widow of the fighter Boyka killed. Of course there’s a debt owed to a gangster, and of course Boyka must fight to win Alma’s freedom. But his quest to earn her forgiveness is potent, and his inability to verbalize this desire feels true to the character.
All that said, the fights are the bread and butter of this film, and they build to a thrilling crescendo. Easily as exciting and acrobatic as the fights in Undisputed II and III, this film perhaps tops them both in their high flying glee.
Fight films bring about a kind of primal joy that no other cinema really can for me. Perhaps it’s the lack of CGI that makes each kick feel more grounded and impressive. Maybe it’s the mental and physical demands that are required for the physique and the choreography and the knowledge that it’s all being brought together on a fraction of the budget that these kinds of movies were made with back in the 1980s. Or by chance it’s the awareness that those movies we loved so much from the 1980s are a dying art which is being propped up by a few standard bearers today, making Scott Adkins and Isaac Florentine underdog heroes breaking new ground in a genre passionately loved by some, but not by as many as in days gone by. Regardless of the core reasons… fight films get the blood pumping in a distinctly visceral way. And Boyka: Undisputed is as fine an example of, for fight film fans, what is best in life.
And I’m Out.