Vitathatatlan 4. - Piszkos játszma

What am I supposed to tell you? I actually don’t remember what the previous parts were about and what Boyka had to go through in Russia at all. All I know is that things didn’t come easy for him and that he had to literally fight through a whole number of hard times, which he did and it all ended well. That’s also why the authors got to make a fourth part. And the plot? To me it seems OK. It’s nothing complicated, but I didn’t expect complicated when I saw the Nu Image production company logo at the beginning. Quite the opposite, I was looking forward to having a relaxing time and the action scenes really helped me achieve that. You don’t see action scenes this well made very often. It’s all about fights and those fights are flawless. Scott Adkins is the man and you can see that he put a lot of work into his character. At the beginning I thought he was simply a killing machine, but after a while I found out he had feelings too. And he shared those feelings with us. Who does that in a B-list action movie these days? Add those good action scenes and you get a solid acton flick – not too many of these are made every year. (2017.05.10)

The king returns, but it’s a bit less spectacular than one would have hoped, given how high the preceding two instalments of the series set the bar. Unfortunately, it is obvious that Isaac Florentine no longer occupies the director’s chair, even though the production made a decent effort to replace him. The Bulgarian journeyman Todor Chapkanov undoubtedly directed only the dialogue scenes, whereas the action scenes were shot by choreographer Tim Man together with cinematographer Ivan Vatsov, who as the camera operator observed the shooting of the previous movie under the wing of someone more experienced. Despite efforts to copy the crane approaches and the dynamic camerawork of the third Undisputed, this time the camerawork is not refined enough to capture the fight scenes as effectively as possible in individual long shots; in other words, this time the movie cannot benefit from such flawless interplay of direction, camerawork and choreography. In this respect, the third film in the series remains the undisputed champion and also outshines part IV with its wonderfully straightforward screenplay. The effort to come to terms with the fact that Boyka is not behind bars results in testosterone-fuelled asceticism and messianism, the relaying of which in the screenplay draws attention and space away from the fight scenes. Thanks to Adkins' dedication to his craft and to the audience, the fight scenes fortunately still elicit the desired astonishment at the athletic skill of everyone involved, which has been the main advantage of the series since the second part and can overshadow any shortcomings. (2020.11.23)

Purely male entertainment. Cinema, a cigar, a drink, relax. The story couldn't be more simple and banal, because it would look strange to have just a few fights in the arena, interspersed with training sequences where Scott Adkins shows off his musculature. I'm willing to see it as an homage to the 80s, with a choreography of zeroes. And that’s alright. (2017.08.02)

Boyka tries to be more likeable this time and the film wants to speak to the wrestlers' souls, but it's still only an entertaining, shallow spectacle with a bunch of clichés and catchy choreography that doesn't stand out or fit in with the series. (2017.04.19)

Here, it's mainly about how fast Scott Adkins is driving, and he's obviously in top gear. What he's showcasing in the arena is absolutely incredible, and even though the story itself is very clichéd, his action-packed acrobatic performances simply prove what a master he is and how much he deserves space in front of the camera. (2017.04.20)

In today's flood of CGI-packed, youth-oriented action films, it's hard to find an honest, old-school flick with an emphasis on gritty physical action and contact choreography. And so we have no choice but to reach into the direct-to-video waters, where there are still films whose actors don't need doubles or other crutches in the form of tightropes, quick cuts or digital effects. Their raw fights, during which real pain is felt with every punch and fall, act as an antidote to all the sterile battles of digital superhero figurines that dominate today's action movies. The Undisputed series is one of the best in this area, and even its fourth entry, after the dreaded change of director, isn't bad after all. The latter-day “Van Damme” Scott Adkins returns for the first time in years to his best role as Russian prison wrestler Boyka, who first appeared as the main villain in Undisputed II. He then became the lead in Undisputed III and even earned his name in the (original) title of the film in Undisputed 4. This time around, he's an outright badass who no longer cares only about himself (and being the best fighter under the sun), but thinks of others as well. But that doesn't mean he's gone soft at all. His motivations to win this time around may not be very compelling, but he's still just as badass in the ring. It's just a shame that the fighting styles of the various actors are pretty similar this time around, their moves are quite repetitive and the action doesn't have the right build-up. It’s not on par with Undisputed III, but it's still watchable. (2017.04.16)