Ringside entertainment

Direct-to-video movies aren't exactly my cup of tea but every once in a while I'll come across a title that'll intrigue my interest. Boyka: Undisputed, which is actually the fourth film in the incredibly old Undisputed film series, caught my eye as I tend to be a sucker for kickboxing films. Granted, I only went in for the fight scenes but to my surprise the film also has some heart in the story. The plot picks up some time after the last film with Boyka (Scott Adkins) now a free man and working his way up to compete in the big leagues of MMA fighting. His ascension is immediately halted when Boyka accidently kills an opponent during a match, causing him to question his morality and whether his gift for fighting is nothing more than a violent burden. Boyka comes to realize that his opponent left behind a wife called Alma (Teodora Duhovnikova) who runs a community center in Russia. Boyka travels to meet her in person in hopes of clearing his guilty conscience and to seek forgiveness from her but his plans become sidetracked when he gets involved between her and Zourab (Alon Aboutboul), a mob boss to whom her husband owed money to and must work for him to pay the debt off. As far most direct-to-video movies tend to be, Boyka: Undisputed is a step above when it comes to quality and it easily could've passed itself off in being a major studio release. It also helps that the actors actually know how to fight, which is the meat and potatoes of this film. The fight choreography is visceral as it is brutal, and Scott Adkins is a total beast during his fights. The acting is surprisingly decent and for a direct-to-video franchise, that's saying a lot; although the film still houses some bad writing and one-liners but that's to be expected. If, like me, you only watched the film for the fight scenes, rest assured you won't be disappointed; nevertheless, the character development and themes of redemption fit right at home with the gritty and bloody story. Boyka: Undisputed is truly a zdorovo (Russian for awesome) martial-arts film and is definitely worth a watch.