Bullet Points: Accident Man
If you follow Scott Adkins on social media you know there are two things the man is very passionate about…
1. Scott has a strong stance against movie piracy and I don’t blame him. Movies don’t just make themselves. There are countless people who give of themselves to make movies come to life. Whether it is the financial stake of the producers, the physical toll of the stunt performers or the creative energy of the performers there is a lot of “blood, sweat and tears” that go into making a movie. So it is understandable when those people are more than a little salty when people are watching their movies through illegal means.
2. Scott is really hyped for his latest film, Accident Man. For Adkins playing comic book character Mike Fallon is a dream come true. Adkins has described Accident Man as a passion project. In addition to being the star of the film, Adkins has a producing and writing credit. In other words, Scott Adkins was all in on Accident Man!
- Introducing Mike Fallon: As the movie begins we quickly find out why Mike Fallon (Scott Adkins) is known as the Accident Man. Fallon is an assassin by trade, but all of Fallon’s kills are carefully staged to look like accidents so the authorities are none the wiser. In the opening scene, Fallon gets the job done by having it appear that his target committed suicide by hanging himself. We also learn that after a kill, Fallon shakes off his Post Murder Tension (or PMT for short) by going to a dive bar and mixing it up with some of the dredges of society that frequent the establishment or by wearing out the heavy bag in his flat.
- Midnight at The Oasis: Now that we’ve met our hero, it is time to meet some of his colorful co-workers that hang out at a pub called The Oasis… There is the axe wielding maniac Carnage Cliff… There is the self-proclaimed finesse killer Finicky Fred… The double trouble duo of Mac (Ray Park, G.I. Joe: Retaliation) and Mick (Michael Jai White, Black Dynamite), two former special forces soldiers from different sides of the pond… Jane the Ripper (Amy Johnston, Lady Bloodfight), a beauty with a checkered past. Jane was an army brat that was raised in Japan, she ran away from home and spent a decade being trained by a disgraced Ronin. When this Ronin taught her everything he could, she killed him! Jane is easily the most sadistic of all the assassins at The Oasis… Then there’s the guys in charge Big Ray (Ray Stevenson, Punisher: WarZone). Big Ray is a retired death merchant who tends bar at The Oasis and keeps the assassins in line… Finally is Milton (David Paymer, No Holds Barred), Milton is the face of the operation. He handles the pay offs and meets with the clients so the assassins don’t know who they are working for and the clients don’t know who is doing the killing for them.
- Ex Marks the Spot: The movie takes quite a turn when Mike Fallon learns that the only woman he ever truly loved, his ex-girlfriend /environmental activist Beth Carpenter was killed. Did I mention that she was pregnant with Fallon’s baby? The official report from Scotland Yard is that she was killed when she caught two junkies in the process of robbing her home and the junkies raped and killed her. But Fallon smells a rat and believes it was a professional hit and believes his “good buddies” Mick and Mac were the ones who did the killing… so he confronts them, they own up to it and we get our first taste of some assassin on assassin violence and with three fighters the caliber of Ray Park, Michael Jai White and Scott Adkins, I think it goes without saying that this was a damn good fight. Despite the odds, Fallon comes out on the better end of things while Mac ends up in the hospital with his jaw wired shut. When Fallon has a moment to cool down a bit he realizes he needs to find out who ordered the hit on Beth and his unborn child, so he goes looking for the one man who would know… Milton.
- This Means War: Mike Fallon is now a man possessed and breaking long standing rules set by Big Ray left and right. Fallon gets physical with Milton while interrogating him at a massage parlor, something nobody was ever supposed to do. Fallon ends up killing Carnage Cliff when Fallon found himself in the wrong place at the right time. And then Fallon really goes off the rails, when he goes after the wealthy client that paid for Beth to be murdered (we learn that Beth threatened to stop the wealthy dude’s oil drilling operation off the coast of Ireland). At this point, Big Ray has no choice but to “release the hounds” and the hunter Mike Fallon becomes the hunted Mike Fallon and the action goes from 10 to 11!
As I said in my intro, Accident Man was a dream come true for Scott Adkins and I believe Accident Man will be a dream come true for all the Scott Adkins super fans out there who give it a look. Fans will get the usual top notch action that Adkins is known for, but I felt like Accident Man gave Adkins a chance to show some more personality and even a bit of humor. Throw in the fact that Accident Man boasts the most impressive supporting cast of any Scott Adkins movie to date and I can understand why Scott Adkins was so excited for this movie.
It is no accident that I have curated some Bonus Bullet Points for your reading pleasure…
- Origin Story: A good chunk of the middle of the movie is devoted to Mike Fallon’s origin story and how he actually became the apprentice to Big Ray.
- Big Ray’s Three Rules: 1. Never get angry, 2. Never get involved, 3. Never get caught.
- Prequel Spin Off: I could not help but notice the tease of a possible Jane The Ripper movie. Amy Johnston’s performance in Accident Man was one of my favorite things about the film, so I’d be all over a Jane The Ripper movie.
- Sinanju: Some comic fans surmised that the Accident Man character borrowed a bit from another comic book character Deadpool. The timeline of events does not really line up to back up that claim, but I can’t help but think that Accident Man was inspired by The Destroyer himself, Remo Williams! Assassinating people and making it look like an accident is kind of Remo’s thing.
- Product Placement: If you thought Scott Adkins was a legit badass, you should see how badass Adkins Bandages are… they’ll kill ya!
- If You Ever: …wanted to see the chick from the Twilight movies punch Scott Adkins in the face, then this is the movie for you. Ashley Greene, who placed Alice Cullen in the sparkly vampire series, plays Charlie, the woman that Mike Fallon’s ex left him for. Yep, Beth went full on lesbian after her relationship with Mike.
- Disturbing Quote: “That is a shit load of cocks in a cabinet.”
- The VUDU That YUDU: I rented Accident Man from VUDU and could not help but notice a glaring mistake on their site. They credit Jesse Johnson of Morris Day and The Time fame as the director of the movie instead of the actual director Jesse V. Johnson.
