Mark Ivanir – Action Hero Movies

With Undisputed II, the plot has improved a bit since the last one (although to be fair, any plot at all would have been an improvement).

Scott Adkins does alright here as Yuri Boyka – we don’t see much of his character come out until half way through the movie, since he’s meant to be a cold character, but when he realises his opponent was drugged so his victory was not legitimate, we see a bit more of what he’s about and can begin to sympathise with his character. For what script he’s been given, he does very well with it. He makes a convincing character, and his high spinning kicks & tricks are quite incredible in this movie.

This may also be one of Michael Jai White’s best performances, as the world heavyweight champion George Chambers who’s had drugs planted on him just to get him inside a mafia-controlled prison in Kiev so that Yuri Boyka can have a challenge in someone decent to fight. I’m not the biggest fan of MJW as an action hero, but he holds down this role very well.

Supporting cast range from mediocre to decent – not quite the circle of legends from the original Undisputed (2002) who were twiddling their thumbs trying to make a movie without a script; but still there’s some credible supporting actors here, especially Mark Ivanir who performs impressively in the role of the mafia boss called Gaga, and Eli Danker who does a decent job as Nikolai aka Crot the old man who helps George Chambers a bit.

It would have been nice to have another strong character in this movie, since Scott Adkins has such a cold role here, and there’s no women involved, making it a bit of a dull movie but still not as bad as the first in the Undisputed saga. It’s actually got a surprisingly good ending considering how slow it can be at other times. Don’t miss the further sequels as some of these issues may be rectified a bit.

This is a much better movie than Undisputed II, which itself was a much better movie than the original Undisputed movie.

In ‘Undisputed III: Redemption’, Scott Adkins reprises his role as Yuri Boyka, now crippled with 1 broken leg after losing the last fight, and outcast to the filthy depths of Gaga’s prison – a similar position the Nikolai, the man in the wheelchair who helped his rival in Undisputed II.

Undisputed III is about the crippled beaten fighter, recovering to a level where he can fight again, but not yet fully recovered. This time, he surprises everyone by beating Gaga’s new champion Sykov, to earn himself a shot in an international prisoner tournament, then surprises everyone again by beating the guy given favourable treatment by the establishment. That’s literally the script in a nutshell, hence why I don’t rate it highly on plot, and the action is a bit monotonous, but it’s still clearly better than Undisputed II.

Other contestants include an American boxer called Turbo (played by Mykel Shannon Jenkins), a talented Brazilian capoeirista called Santiago Silva (played by Lateef Crowder), etc.

Undisputed III is like a cross between Van Damme’s movie In Hell (2003) where he fights prison battles organised by the wardens, and Van Damme’s other movie Bloodsport (or The Quest) where tournament contestants come from all around the world, showcasing their different styles.

I won’t spoil the story by going into further detail, I’ll just say this movie is a level above the ones before it in the Undisputed saga – a series of movies where each one is markedly better than the one before it (so far).

Scott Adkins does a good job, as do most of the other significant cast members, including Mykel Jenkins the American boxer who befriends Boyka; Mark Ivanir who plays Gaga; and Marko Zaror who plays Dolor, the Colombian fighter who is the main antagonist in this movie aside from the prison bosses & military leaders in charge.

In-keeping with the pattern of improving upon the last one, Undisputed III also has a good ending, even better than that from Undisputed II.