Released: October 2017
Director: Martin Christopher Bode
Not Rated
Distributor: Vision Films
Genre: Action
Cast:
Mark Dacascos: Gus
Brandon Rhea: Doc
Matthias Hues: Frank Radowsky
Mike Möller: Benny
Mike Leeder: Joachim “Joe” Weller
Wolfgang Rhiem: Hans-Georg Sturm
Verena Konietschke: Nicole Schweizer
Over the past few months, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing some pretty decent independent movies. Movies like Fist 2 Fist, Weapon of Choice, and Paying Mr. McGetty have all been really, really good. I even managed to catch a German film called One Million K(l)icks, which was mostly fantastic. Some of the best action movies I’ve seen all year have been straight-to-video or released digitally. Now there was a film that I’ve been keeping an eye on for a while now. It’s had issues with post-production for the past couple of years, but it’s finally seen a release on video as of this writing. The film I’m speaking of is Ultimate Justice, a new action-thriller featuring the talents of Mark Dacascos, Matthias Hues, and newcomer Mike Möller. It was pitched by some websites as a low-budget Expendables-type film. So, now that the film has finally been released, how is it?
The film opens as Gus’ team are hunting down a criminal who has taken somebody hostage and attempt to rescue the hostage. After the hostage is retrieved, several members of the team are captured. Gus disobeys orders and goes back to retrieve them, which results in the deaths of two members. After the fiasco, Gus leaves the security team that he helped build. Some time later, Gus and his former commander, Hans, sell the firm to somebody. Several years later, Hans is married and has a child. That night, Hans and his family are attacked leaving him for dead with his wife raped and murdered and his daughter kidnapped. After learning of this, Gus decides to re-assemble his team. The story, while formulaic and predictable at times, isn’t awful. In fact, there was a twist in the film that I didn’t see coming. It was a surprisingly hefty twist. I’m not going to spoil, but for those who have seen the film will know what I’m talking about.
So….does Ultimate Justice deserve to be called an Expendables-type film? Unfortunately, no, and it’s not because of the film’s low-budget and independent nature. The Expendables had characters that you genuinely liked and were performed by an all-star cast. Most of the characters in Ultimate Justice are…well….expendable. There are a couple of standouts here, and thankfully, most of them are the good guys. Mark Dacascos is one of the best American martial arts actors in the industry, and he’s okay here. Brandon Rhea plays Doc, who has a mean streak as he tortures people for information. Brandon’s acting isn’t the greatest, but he sells the character with sheer physicality. Matthias Hues, who played the evil alien in Dark Angel(I Come In Peace)gets a shot at playing a good guy here, and he does quite well. The guy’s huge so he is not lacking any physical presence. Mike Möller, plays Benny, the shortest guy in the group, but probably the most agile. I’ve seen Möller before in One Million K(l)icks, and the guy can move like there’s no tomorrow.
Unfortunately, the acting is hamstrung by some of the worst dubbing and ADR I’ve ever heard. A good chunk of the actors in the film are German and you can tell that they are speaking in German, but the sound that’s supposed to be coming out of their mouths is a poor attempt at an American accent. Dubbing in a film can be good if it’s done right. I picked up Ultimate Justice on DVD, but there was no option to see the film in it’s original language, which was German. Obviously, you had some actors that could speak English like Mark Dacascos and Brandon Rhea, but everyone else should have just stuck to speaking German. I’ve gone on record saying how much I fucking hate dubbing in foreign movies. I will always prefer to watch the film in its original language whenever possible.
The action in the film is clearly what people come to movies like this for. The action in Ultimate Justice is actually very good. I think the camera could have been a little less shaky, but it’s not the worst I’ve ever seen. Mike Möller choreographs the fights in the film and he’s really good. He’s also one of the biggest highlights of the film. For a guy that’s less than 5 and a half feet tall, he’s like a human tornado. He’s one of the new up-and-coming martial arts superstars that people should pay attention to. Most of the actors get their moment to shine. Matthias Hues uses his size to advantage and throws and kicks people through walls. The one guy that really gets the short end of the stick, however, considering his martial arts background is Mark. For a film where he gets top billing, he doesn’t use his martial arts background as much as one thinks he should. I’ve seen him in a lot of other movies and he’s got one hell of a repertoire. He’s also a good actor, but instead of throwing down with his hands and feets, he mostly uses guns. I will say this, though: The movie doesn’t pull any punches. Nobody is safe and anybody could die at any time. I really loved that sort of unpredictability. It’s just something that I think could’ve been used in a better movie.
At the end of the day, Ultimate Justice isn’t a complete waste of time. The action is fantastic with some excellent fight choreography. Unfortunately, the film is truly let down by some highly questionable dubbing and the complete misuse of Mark Dacascos’s talents. It’s not the worst movie I’ve seen, but it’s definitely not one of Mark’s best. He can do better. He has done better. That being said, if you can ignore the god-awful dubbing, there is quite a bit to enjoy here, especially if you’re an action junkie.
My Final Recommendation: This is not The Expendables movie you’re looking for. 7/10.