Bullet Points: Xtreme

Sometimes you finally have to give in and watch a damned movie. I have seen gifs of this one for a little while now and I’ve gotten tired of skipping past it on Netflix knowing that it has some high-quality ass whoopings in it. Let’s hope it’s more than just a gif-able movie.

Synopsis: Two years after the murder of his son and father, a retired hitman sets in motion a carefully crafted revenge plan against the killer: his own brother.

• Meetings are the worst: We start the film with a couple of our heavy hitters in the mob world of Spain exchanging money. Lucero is there to pay off 500,000 euros per month in order for a rival group to support them at the next meeting of The Conclave. What’s The Conclave? It’s a group of all the mob bosses who run the crime in the city. If you have the power of The Conclave backing you then you’re good. It’s a wonder that Lucero makes it through the meeting after he swerves the other guys and delivers a human head instead of the money. We get our first taste of action as we see Lucero’s lust for blood and the skill and precision of his “brother” Maximo.
• Papa don’t preach: It’s hard to get the respect of your kids all the time. Especially when you’re forced to discipline them often. Lucero’s old man is forced to disown the man after his erratic behavior and Lucero offers him one final disrespect as he kills his own father and takes over the family.

• Don’t let the door hit ya: Maximo is advised by Lucero to hit the road but he isn’t exactly going to have a clear path. Lucero sends a small army of men to take him out along with his young son. It’s yet another scene of pure action as Maximo (Teo Garcia) is a one-man wrecking crew against the hired guns sent to his home. In the end, the place is left a fiery inferno and Max is thought to be dead.

• He’s just not the same: Lucero gets a touch more backstory throughout the film as we see him trying and ultimately failing to live up to his father’s name. He was sent away once to Japan where he learned all sorts of bad habits from the Yakuza, but he did get some sweet tattoos and some formal training in swordplay. I wonder if that will come into play later?
• Fast forward: The film jumps ahead two years and we meet a young drug-dealing kid doing his best to provide for his family. He gets into a mess of a situation and Max shows up looking all homeless and shit for the save. They strike up a friendship and a mutual admiration over the next part of the film and we get our first moments where the movie seems to drag a bit. We lose a sense of the mission of Max as he starts to lose his focus and attempt to help the kid.

• Finito: One of the characters who ended up being totally awesome in an “I can’t wait for him to die” kind of way is Sergio Peris-Mencheta’s Finito. He has a long history with Max and Lucero and it was him who killed Max’s son and pronounced the man dead. Now, he has his eyes fixed on young Leo and his connection to Max. The man is brutal in his methods and even slams a woman through a table ala the Dudley Boys. ECW! ECW!
• Give me more Andrea Duro: While the character of Maria is introduced early on it isn’t until we start to learn about her and Max’s plan that she gets to truly get some screen time. It definitely wasn’t enough as she is one fine specimen and extremely useful for the duration of the film. The plan also starts to come into play more as Max and Maria edge their way ever closer to getting their revenge on Lucero for killing Maria’s father and ruining Max’s life.

• Garage wars and the club scene: While the middle section of the film drags a little with the introduction of Leo and the lack of more Lucero awfulness, the final third goes wild with the action. Max beats the hell out of dozens of nameless dudes both in a garage (with all sorts of great tools) and at the nightclub. At this point in the film, Max appears to be on a suicide mission while Maria is trying to talk sense into him and come up with a usable plan.
• Never stop fighting: When Xtreme is delivering action it is absolutely top notch. It’s exactly the type of film that can be successful despite not being in English. The fight choreography speaks volumes and it shows you just what you could have if Hollywood films weren’t run by massive corporate dumbasses. Max continues to layeth the smacketh down upon people while also showing he’s not an idiot. Some peak action sequences, folks.

• Let us duel: A fantastic finale as Lucero finally mans up and faces Max with a pair of katanas. At this point in the film, Max has sustained no less than 148 wounds and is lucky to be alive but we still get a sweet-ass sword fight that sees the return of both Finito and Maria.

The Verdict: I had so much fun with Xtreme that it could be one of those films that I watch again. That may not sound like much praise to some of you but with so many quality action movies out there it’s hard to find time to re-watch movies like this. Maximo is a solid character who gets fleshed out early on in the film and then becomes more likable as we realize that he’s more than just a really good killer. Maria adds that depth to Max’s character arc as we become aware of the long plan to remove Lucero from his post. The action is the most important aspect of the film and the part that will get talked about for years to come (hopefully). The title “Xtreme” may seem a bit default-y but it certainly fits when describing the fight sequences. Teo Garcia and Oscar Jaenada (Lucero) are excellent in their roles and fit far better than the some actors in bigger budgeted films. It’s not The Raid-level awesomeness but Xtreme is an absolute joy for this action fan.