Needs More Adkins
Summary
Day of Reckoning is an entertaining modern day Western however, Scott Adkins is underused so if you’re looking for lots of fight scenes then you’ll be disappointed. There are still plentiful shoot-outs and the performances are all first rate. It’s on Tubi now if you want to check it out.
Plot: A struggling sheriff teams up with a tough U.S. Marshal to detain a cunning female outlaw. As tensions rise within their posse, they must face an approaching gang led by the prisoner’s violent husband.
Review: This one slipped under my radar until this past weekend when Day of Reckoning showed up on Tubi. Scott Adkins has starred in Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, Dead Reckoning and now Day of Reckoning… again. That’s a whole lotta reckoning.
Scott’s role in this is smaller than I’d like as this is more Zach Roerig’s story who plays Sheriff John Dorsey. After a hostage situation goes wrong John loses his courage, but when Marshal Butch Hayden (Billy Zane) shows up asking for help to bring in criminal Kyle Rusk (Scott Adkins) he is forced to step up.
Sadly, Scott disappears for long periods during the movie and the film is at his best when he is on screen. The performances are all first rate and Zach Roerig is sympathetic as John. People think they can take advantage of him, but he has to show them why he is the Sheriff.
John, Hayden and a group of deputies hole up at Rusk’s house where his woman Emily (Cara Jade Myers) is staying. She hits it off with John and basically tells him to man up.
At an hour and 45 minutes Day of Reckoning could have maybe trimmed a few minutes as I found there was a pacing lag in the middle which is when Scott isn’t on screen. There is still some decent action including some shoot-outs and a final brief fight between Adkins and Zane.
If you’re looking for lots of fight scenes, then this likely isn’t for you as it’s mostly John and the crew fighting amongst themselves waiting for Rusk to show up.
The film looks nicely shot and has a cool selection of tunes which work in setting the tone. It’s too bad the film has been released to Tubi only as I don’t see many reviews for it anywhere.
Overall, Day of Reckoning doesn’t have enough Scott Adkins but the film is at its best when he is on screen; it is a surprisingly good character piece with solid performances from the entire cast and some decent action. There aren’t many fight scenes and the pacing does drag in the middle but this is still worth checking out once on Tubi.