Cast: Stephen Lang, Scottie Thompson, Chris Mullinax,
Johnny Yong Bosch, Dolph Lundgren, Michael Sirow, Harvey Keitel
Back in the late 00s and the early 10s, if you wanted to
find great old school action, you would scan the internet for Isaac Florentine.
His ‘straight-to-video’ (a term that essentially doesn’t exist thanks to
streaming now) affairs were some of the best you could find. His work with classic icons like Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme was fun, and his
partnership with Scott Adkins defined that era for incredible action. I’d still
argue that Ninja: Shadow of a Tear is one of the greatest action films
ever made, and I will absolutely fight you if you disagree.
However, Florentine’s career has been much rockier lately.
Some of this is due to trying some new styles, working in slightly different
genres, or partnering with different stars, but it felt like some of the shine
was being dulled. It culminated in Hounds of War, an ultimately droll
affair with Frank Grillo on autopilot and horrendous editing and action design
that felt completely out of sync with what one expects from a Florentine flick.
Thus, my expectations for Hellfire were relatively
muted. Sure, it has a hell of a cast, including Stephan Lang as the special ops
veteran caught in the criminal web of a small town, but even that was not
necessarily as exciting as I hoped for. Yet, while Hellfire certainly
struggles to find some of its voice in the first 45 minutes and really loves to
hammer down on those straight-to-VOD action tropes, it is something of a bounce
back for Florentine. Its foundations are solid, the main performances - even if
tropey - feel engaged, and the back end of the film really starts rollicking
once tensions of its generic script finally pop. By the end, I was totally
engulfed by the fun and surprising moments that Hellfire was delivering.
Enough so that there’s a part of me that hopes Florentine has found his new
franchise in the wandering warrior that Stephan Lang is bringing to the
table.