Bullet Points: Castle Falls

Dolph Lundgren + Scott Adkins = You damn right Bulletproof Action will be one of the first action sites to review Castle Falls. Look for Castle Falls In Theaters, On Demand and Digital: December 3rd from Shout! Studios. 

• The Plot: Scott Adkins is a down-on-his-luck MMA fighter. A jobber for better words. He needs money, and he takes a job as a laborer at a hospital about to be demolished. Dolph Lundgren is a single dad with a cancer stricken teenage daughter desperately in need of a very expensive cancer treatment. Right now the plot sounds like something from a Hallmark movie, so let’s throw in a ruthless gang / bad guys all looking for the same thing: 3 million dollars in an abandoned hospital about to go kaboom in 90 minutes, and you have yourself one crazy treasure hunt. Castle Falls stars Dolph Lundgren, Scott Adkins and some other actors more known for their stunt work. Castle Falls is directed by Dolph Lundgren (Double Duty Dolph) and it is written by Andrew Knauer (The Last Stand).

• High Expectations: Not every Scott Adkins movie is a must see. We all swing and miss sometimes. However, Scott’s previous movie, One Shot has been called the “Action movie of the year” by multiple sources. Expectations were high for me going into Castle Falls. Scott teaming with Dolph and the movie is also directed by Dolph. How could it go wrong? Then I remembered Legendary, but then I remembered Universal Solider: Day of Reckoning. Here is the point: Castle Falls isn’t One Shot, but how many action movies from 2021 are?

• The Action: I was watching Castle Falls early in the movie and forget Scott was in it. The film was focusing on Dolph and his crisis with his daughter’s cancer. Oh yeah, Dolph is the director, so there is a good chance the film will focus more on him. My biggest issues are the bad guys are forgettable (except for the awesome Alabama mullet I saw on one of the baddies) and it takes way too long to get the party started. Again, myself thinking of the non-stop action One Shot brought to the table. It is going to be hard for action fans to separate the films. 
• Crank it Up: Once the action finally cranks it up, you get some thrills and dropkicks from Scott. His fighting looks clean. His character is not a superhero. He has faults and flaws. You do get to see the vulnerable human side of Scott, instead of the fighting machine he is known for. But is that enough?

• Final Thoughts: Castle Falls is an affordable Walter Hill’s Trespass. Don’t go in expecting One Shot. Castle Falls has action star power, but I was left wanting more. I am not sure if Dolph’s directing helped or hindered. I do know that Castle Falls is Scott Adkins’ second best movie of 2021. He only released two this year, though.
• Grade: B-