Main cast: Scott Adkins (Yuri Boyka), Mykel Shannon Jenkins (Turbo), Mark Ivanir (Gaga), Hristo Shopov (Warden Kuss), Robert Costanzo (Farnatti), Vernon Dobtcheff (Rezo), and Marko Zaror (Raul ‘Dolor’ Quinones)
Director: Isaac Florentine
I have not watched any previous Undisputed movies, so I dived into this one on a clean slate. From what I understand, some enterprising people decide to hold an international fighting tournament. It’s illegal, but they will circumvent the law by bribing and making all kinds of deals to bring together the most promising fighters from prisons all around the world. And in this movie, there are no shortage of street fighters in prison for homicide and what not, so these guys are in for the long haul.
Our hero, Yuri Boyka is, from what I understand, the villain in the previous movie. Now defeated and disgraced, sporting a painful knee injury, he is a prisoner given janitor duties in a Russian prison. When he realizes that they are holding a preliminary tournament, the winner getting a chance to compete in the international tournament, he wants to be given a chance to compete. If he wins, he has a chance at freedom. If he loses, well, it’s not like he has anything to lose. The warden and some guy named Gaga, who used to be his former manager, decide to give him a shot at it. Guess what happens.
Yuri discovers that all is not well when he arrives at the prison Gorgon to compete. The fix is in for Dolor to win, so the other competitors are forced to do hard labor while Dolor relaxes and enjoys steroid jabs on the house. Yuri’s chain gang buddy is Turbo, an African-American. Being manly men, they both get on each other’s nerves, fists fly, but eventually they become best friends, although it seems inevitable that they will have to trash each other in the ring soon. What will happen now?
Undisputed III: Redemption is all about the fighting. The plot is just enough to provide ample excuses for these guys to fight, and the movie delivers plenty of pugilistic goodness. The choreography is not too fantastical, with some flying kicks now and then to liven up things, but otherwise, the guys get down and dirty without coming off too much like cartoon heroes. The cast are complete stereotypes: Koreans who go acho-acho, black guys who won’t shut up, dirty cheating Eastern Europeans, and greedy Russians. Our hero Boyka seems to be the exception here, if only because while he’s a stereotypical quiet and mean SOB, he’s Russian, and in this kind of movies, Russians are rarely the good guys.
This movie is predictable, as the dramatic moment involving Boyka’s injured knee is telegraphed from the very beginning. But the non-stop fighting can really liven up a boring afternoon. This one won’t be winning awards anytime soon for its story, but it gets the adrenaline going, which is what it is designed to do in the first place. File this one as a pretty decent time-waster.
