I’m something of a Scott Adkins super-fan, having seen (I believe) every film he has ever starred in. Which, at this stage in his career, includes several dozen titles. It’s been pretty rewarding following his career and frequently covering it here at Cinapse. Adkins broke out as a martial arts phenomenon carrying the torch lit by folks like Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren before him. As the years have gone on, Adkins has blossomed as an actor, proven his comedic and dramatic chops, and even begun writing and producing, gaining more control over his time-tested career. He’ll make his directorial debut soon with a film called Brawler that I’m very much looking forward to.
Reckless, however, kind of slipped through the cracks for me and I wasn’t totally aware it was coming. Helmed by first time feature director Elliott Montello, Reckless lives comfortably in the British crime caper subgenre most recently popularized by Guy Ritchie. Matthew Robert Kelly and friend and frequent Adkins collaborator Stu Small scribed this charming-if-slight romp. Adkins stars as Devon, a loveable loser who can’t seem to learn that he can’t trust his criminally inclined “mates”. Almost like “Point Blank for idiots”, the story follows Devon as he is betrayed by his crew after a heist goes bad. He refuses to rat them out and upon his release, all he wants is his cut of the money. But instead of the righteous, principled payback that a Parker-like character looks for in your typical crime caper, Devon can’t seem to believe his mates are anything other than on the up and up. He doesn’t want revenge, but he does want his cut of the heist, which he assumes is just waiting for him upon his release.
Humorously, Devon is a great fighter (this is a Scott Adkins joint, after all), and the action scenes feature the effortless, clean energy audiences have come to expect from Adkins… but the joke in Reckless is that fighting is literally the only thing Devon is particularly good at aside from his unrelenting “nice guy” syndrome. And unfortunately for Devon, but fortunately for audiences… his ability to fight virtually never actually helps him as he digs himself in deeper and deeper upon his release from prison.
With his typical terrible timing and bumbling nature firmly in place, he steps into his first mates’ office to get back his money at the exact moment that Kimber (Nicole Deon) fatally strikes him as she wards off his unwanted advances. Soon Devon is on the run with Kimber, trying to claim his reward, even as mate after mate ends up comically dead and the situation gets more and more out of control.
Unbeknownst to Devon, the secret benefactor of their heist, and the one who wants him quiet or dead, is none other than the legendary British bruiser Vinnie Jones, here playing Lord Trent. Jones’ presence is also welcome for me, having grown up on Guy Ritchie’s British crime tales. Jones instantly evokes the feel of the Ritchie-verse, and hasn’t lost his compelling menace and charm. Trent has married up out of street-level violence into full-on royalty. But he can’t keep his nose clean and now Devon is threatening not only his take on this deal, but also his association with royalty by marriage. Unfortunately, Reckless isn’t exactly an epic showdown between Adkins and Jones, as the two barely share any screentime until the finale. This probably kept production expenses low, but you can feel a desire for them to clash more throughout.
Among Reckless’ strengths are its game stars, including the new-to-me Nicole Deon. They’re engaged, funny, and charming. Jones can’t help but ooze menace. There’s a thumping British hip hop soundtrack underpinning things here, and some fun animated transitions, which also call to mind a playful Ritchie feel. The film would frequently benefit, however, from some tighter editing to punch up some of the jokes and dialog. The low budget of the film is mostly smartly worked around, but getting just a little tighter and snappier would have further elevated some of the comedy and performance. I wouldn’t exactly say Reckless is Guy Ritchie light, because what you get with the film is a Scott Adkins variation on the Ritchie tone, and Adkins’ energy and skill set are frankly one-of-a-kind right now; something that draws me to his projects time and time again, and which is likely to please established fans. But viewed strictly as a British crime comedy outside of the Adkins of it all, audiences have seen this kind of thing before and it won’t likely blow away anyone’s expectations and plays solidly within this well-established subgenre.
And I’m Out.
Reckless is now available in the US via Digital and On Demand from Samuel Goldwyn Films.
