Avengement (2019) *Spoiler* Review!
Avengement is a 2019 UK Action Crime film directed by Jesse V. Johnson and written by Johnson and Stu Small. It sees a lowly criminal while on a prison furlough, evade his guards and return to his old stomping ground to take revenge on the people who turned him into a coldblooded killer.
Jesse V. Johnson and Scott Adkins are truly the dynamic duo; for me, they're as synonymous as DiCaprio and Scorsese. I was a massive fan of the film they did together last year Accident Man and could not rave about it enough, so when I learned they had collaborated on another film I instantly had to give this a watch, and as predicted it did not disappoint. Avengement is an action film filled to the brim with non-stop gratuitous violence, and I loved every second of it. I've come to realise someone who has spent so many years doing stunts and stunt coordinating on various films - most of which I'm a fan of - is the ideal person to film an action movie. Johnson knows precisely how best to capture the action and stunts to truly make them shine and have your eyes glued to the screen. I'm still trying to detach mine as we speak.
I love how Johnson slows down and speeds up the frame in the middle of a stunt; it's indescribably pleasing to watch if you are an action fan. Recently I saw John Wick 3, and I felt that film was wonderfully saturated in fight scenes, but compared to Avengement I think John Wick is quite tasteful and tame, one of the significant differences being that John Wick displays very little blood, so deaths and kills are not too inappropriate. Avengement, on the other hand, will happily blast a man's shin bone to smithereens and display the appropriate amount of blood expected to come from such an injury. Several scenes had me cringing and gasping, and yet I could not get enough.
What makes this film so appealing aside from the action is that there is a real storyline and despite our leads many indiscretions, he continues to be a character you sympathise with and root for because at the end of the day, at his core he is a good person, but has simply been supremely screwed over. Scott Adkins plays Cain Burgess, a hot-headed guy who has simple aspirations in life. His brother Lincoln (played by Craig Fairbrass) on the other hand, is a big-time criminal, and it's thanks to this Cain finds himself in big trouble. A simple job results in manslaughter charges, and despite having no criminal record to his name, Cain is placed in the worst prison around, full of the scum of the earth. When they say prison changes a man, I don't think this is what the system was intending.
Cain spends the next seven years fighting for his life daily, as time and time again the inmates' band together to try and kill him, for reasons not made clear until much later on. Already a strong fighter, Cain survives knife wounds, assault and homemade napalm attacks while building his mental endurance with only one goal in mind, get revenge on the people who put him in jail and tried to have him killed and avenge all the people his brother has hurt. Cain has been set up, betrayed, nearly murdered several times, and while all he is doing is trying to protect himself, the system keeps seeing him as the bad guy. As you watch the story unfold, it is impossible not to have compassion for the character.
The moment that best depicts Cain's kind heart (aside from the events that unfold at the end of the film) is during one particular scene when Cain's mother visits him in prison. As Cain is about to reveal to his mother the truth about her supposed precious can do no wrong son Lincoln, she explains that she has cancer and will soon begin treatment. Cain, who loves and cares for his mother more than anything in the world chooses not to tell her the truth and keep it to himself, not wanting to cause her any more pain and heartache while she begins a fight for her life. Takes a good man to make that decision.
As I have said this film is packed full of action and violence which I am not complaining about, but it's not senseless, there is a point to all of this, and there is motivation and even evolution to Cain's character, which is excellent. Scott Adkins does a terrific job, not only with the fight scenes which he is very skilled at but in portraying his character's shift from the mild-mannered hothead to murdering criminal on the path of his brand of justice. What makes it all the better is that while aspects of the character change due to the events that conspire around him and all that he endures, at his core he remains the same person and I truly loved that.
I had an absolute blast with this film. I was engaged from start to finish and couldn't get enough. Our lead character is fantastic, our lead actor is excellent, and the stunts and fight scenes are fantastically brutal. It's everything you could want and to top it all off is accompanied by a wonderful composition by Sean Murray. I love Johnson, I love Adkins, and together I am a delighted movie lover. I honestly can't recommend this film enough so for all the reasons above I give Avengement a rating of 5/5 crystal balls.
