A Fight Filled War Epic
Summary
Prisoner of War is one of my favourite Scott Adkins movies; for me everything just gelled with great characters, a fast pace and plenty of brutal beatdowns.
Plot: During World War II, Japanese forces capture James Wright, a British SAS officer, and hold him captive in a prisoner-of-war camp in the Philippines. Before the entire colony embarks on the Bataan Death March, Wright and his fellow prisoners are forced to fight in brutal death matches for the entertainment of their captors.
Review: For some reason I got totally ignored in the press for Prisoner of War, so I didn’t get any interviews or screeners, but here’s my thoughts on the movie anyway… better late than never.
Louis Mandylor directs Scott Adkins in one of his best films to date; packed with fight scenes and tension, Prisoner of War is perfectly paced and rarely goes more than a few minutes without a well-choreographed beatdown.
Adkins plays James Wright, a British Air Force Pilot who crashes during the war in Japan and is taken as a POW. He joins a group of prisoners from around the world who have to stick together to survive the vicious Lt. Col. Ito (Peter Shinkoda). What could easily have been a cartoonish villain is a fascinating character as despite Ito’s utter ruthlessness he is a (sort of) man of honour.
He has a battle of wills with Wright who is forced to fight Ito’s men in brutal death matches; he keeps beating them which frustrates Ito and yet he seems to have a grudging respect for Wright as he sees him as a warrior. I loved him as a character and Wright is also a true-blue hero who leaves no man behind.
This feels like one of those classic old-school action movies like Missing in Action, but more serious with faultless performances all round.
What really stood out in this movie aside from the fantastic action was the gorgeous music score from Tasos Eliopoulos. It sounded huge, giving the film a grander sense of scale as well as more emotional heft so I hope it’s available at some point to buy. I also want to get this movie on Blu-ray; I don’t think Diablo even got a physical release yet which is worrying as I’m a physical media guy and like to have my own copies.
Anyway, Prisoner of War has a great supporting cast too, including Donald Cerrone and Shane Kosugi. It’s nice to see Gary Carins in a sizeable role too as Jonesy, who’s essentially given up any hope of escape or rescue but still agrees to help Wright.
Overall, Prisoner of War is one my favourite Scott Adkins’ movies and one I will return too many times in the future. It has awesome fight scenes and an amazing score while also having memorable characters too. I can’t wait to see what Louis Mandylor directs next…