Bullet Points: I Am Vengeance: Retaliation

Sometimes you don’t have to watch the first movie to enjoy a sequel. I Am Vengeance is a fun action movie, but the sequel, I Am Vengeance: Retaliation takes it up 100 notches. Stu Bennett’s John Gold is back, and this time, he’s hunting down Vinnie Jones. 

• A Boy Named Stu: I am excited as hell to watch Stu Bennett evolve into an action superstar. Bennett is fantastic as the heel in the Scott Adkins flick, Eliminators. Then, he starts his own franchise with the John Gold character in the I Am Vengeance series. John Gold is a bad sumbitch. He doesn’t speak much, but he hits you hard. He is ruthless. He is powerful. John Gold is everything you want in an action hero. (You can quote me on that) 

• The Jones Guy: Vinnie Jones is laughing to the bank. He’s still making movies. He’s still getting paid. The first film featured Gary Daniels as the final boss, and the sequel follows the pattern of casting a famous action star as the main heavy with the addition of Vinnie Jones as Sean Teague. John and Sean (that rhymes) have a history, and that past plays a major part in the plot of I Am Vengeance: Retaliation. 

• A Team Effort: Retaliation reminds me of an episode of the later years of Strike Back. When macho guys and girls team up to take down the bad guys. The supporting cast is strong. Especially the ladies. Katrina Durden is Jen Quaid. She has her own agenda, but she can kick and punch with the best of them. Phoebe Robinson-Galvin is Kate Lynch. She is John’s right hand lady. I love to watch her fight. The ladies also fight a big bad goon in a 2 vs. 1 battle that reminds me of the Mad Dog fight from The Raid: Redemption. Both ladies have a background in stunts and it shows. There’s also other actors who shine. The only problem might be there’s too many characters, so some don’t get the screen time they deserve. A perfect example is Jean-Paul Ly’s Kelso. He’s mostly in the background, then he pops a fucker in the throat, and you’re like, damn this guy is a fighter. I must give a major shout out to Dominic Kinnaird and Dan Styles for the stunt coordinating, and Tim Man for putting on a fighting clinic for his work as the fight choreographer. If you love fighting movies, I Am Vengeance: Retaliation packs a punch and then some. 

• Ross Boyask: Give Ross a $25,000 budget and he will make a movie that looks like it cost 10 million dollars. Not only is Ross a talented director, but an awesome writer too. Ross also knows how to train his actors to look the part. He hires the right people to make the fighting and gun play look as real as it can. For I am Vengeance: Retaliation, Ross used the team at Armoury FX Ltd for the firing of the weapons and to train the actors to shoot like a professional. Over 85% of the gun play is practical. I cheated and asked Ross about the live fire effects. You know how I love practical effects. The budget is bigger in the sequel, and I think that is why the action never stops. If you love explosive high-octane action, then I Am Vengeance: Retaliation is definitely a movie for you. 

Here’s some Bonus Bullet Points…

• Score:  3.5 Vinnie Jones’ stunt doubles out of 5
• Favorite Quote: “Fuck me, you’re like herpes, I can’t get rid of ya.” – Vinnie Jones to Stu Bennett
• Trilogy: Yes! We need Part III. Make it happen, Ross, Stu and the rest of the gang.