Bullet Points: Boyka: Undisputed

I don’t know if it was ever a plan to have the antagonist of each Undisputed movie return for the next film as the primary protagonist but that’s the way it has always been. It never felt like it was part of the plan but we can all be thankful that for this fourth installment of the Undisputed franchise, not only does Boyka return as the protagonist, but he returns with a ferocity that we haven’t seen before. What’s probably more important for the arc of the character, though, is that when we meet Boyka again after the events of the third film he is essentially living for the first time with a clean slate. It is finally his time to get to the top of the legitimate fighting world where he belongs. But, not unlike most tragically heroic characters, Boyka will first have to go through Hell first.

Synopsis: In the fourth installment of the fighting franchise, Boyka is shooting for the big leagues when an accidental death in the ring makes him question everything he stands for. When he finds out the wife of the man he accidentally killed is in trouble, Boyka offers to fight in a series of impossible battles to free her from a life of servitude. 

• Boyka is Back: It takes more than just abs to be the most complete fighter in the world. You have to have good pecs too! And a bunch of sweet tattoos and a Mohawk doesn’t hurt either. Scott Adkins has all of these traits and more as he returns to the role for the third part of the Undisputed: Save us Boyka Tour. I loved the original film in the series and the way that it focused on the two warriors; Wesley Snipes as the quiet felon and Ving Rhames as knockoff Mike Tyson. It quickly became my second favorite non-Rocky boxing movie and one that I never thought would be followed by a straight-up martial arts flick like the sequel. But the series smartly abandoned the convicted rapist as the protagonist and instead has focused on the badass known as Boyka.
• A Whole New World: This isn’t some Disney BS, I’m talking about the level that Scott Adkins’ fight scenes are on. There isn’t another actor out there today who consistently puts out ridiculous action like Adkins. He’s the Ricky Steamboat of the action genre! What is scary to me, though, is that Adkins is still beating up the same no-name guys when he needs to be in a starring role in a blockbuster film beating up sissies like Chris Pratt and that little girl who played Capt. Kirk.
• Killer: Yuri Boyka is rising again in the fighting world and just found out that he’ll be competing in a big tournament as long as he wins his next fight. Like always, that fight ends up being maybe his toughest yet and it ends when his opponent comes down with a bad case of death. The only thing worse than a referee stoppage is a heart stoppage. After the death of his competitor, Boyka shows how much he’s changed when he decides to seek out the family of the man and pay his respects. It turns out to be a horrible bit of decision making as he soon finds that the hot wife of his victim is in some deep shit with the mob and only Boyka’s insane fighting skills and Wolverine-like recovery can save her life. I don’t want to see the man suffer but there is no better way for me to watch said suffering than to put him in a gauntlet match with a bunch of fighters.

• Stacking the Deck: Van Damme used to get the crap kicked out of him by Bolo Yeung and the Qissi Brothers but he never had to fight so many guys back to back like Adkins does in Boyka. It isn’t just one on one, either. A surprise handicap match sees Boyka taking on a couple of flippy dudes who look like they came straight out of a Barnum and Bailey Circus. It puts Boyka in a tough spot as he’s pretty much lost his killer instinct and then learns that it’s a kill or be killed kind of situation. To be honest with you, all of the fights in B:U are much longer than I expected. That is a good thing when the characters aren’t the most emotive and a great deal of story comes from the sheer immensity of violence on screen. It’s a beautiful thing to watch.
• Where is Nathan Jones: In a move that surprised the shit out of me, the casting call for gigantic, bald, muscled-up, white dude didn’t get answered by action vet Nathan Jones. Instead, relative newcomer and freakish brute Martyn Ford plays the man-beast Koshmar. A man who gets dragged around like Hannibal Lector but looks like he came off the pages of a Rob Liefeld comic. Every good guy needs that unstoppable killing machine to fight against but when your hero is freakin’ yoked like Adkins, it’s necessary for them to put him up against a monster like Ford.

If you’re still with me and not watching these ridiculous fight scenes, hang around for these Bonus Bullet Points and get busy watching Boyka: Undisputed.

• There is a really rad power bomb spot in the opening fight that needs to be stolen by one of my wrestling friends.
• Never walk up behind Boyka. You just make get your teeth knocked out.
• Adkins got super jacked for this one. He must have read in the script that he’d be flexing and screaming at the top of his lungs for 30% of the movie.

The Verdict: Boyka: Undisputed is another excellent addition to the growing filmography of Scott Adkins. He may kick more ass in this movie than in any other in the past. That is really saying something because Ninja 2 was basically him beating up all of Southeastern Asia! I’m still very partial to the first Undisputed movie but there is no doubt that the character and performances of Adkins as Boyka is what saved the franchise from having a convicted rapist as the hero. If you want martial arts action and you haven’t watched many Adkins movies then the Undisputed sequels are a great place to start. You won’t be disappointed.