A Case For Better Action Movies: In LIFE AFTER FIGHTING, Bren Foster Understood The Assignment
Life After Fighting is now available in select theaters and on digital from Vertical Entertainment
5.5 min. read
Small scale, independent martial arts action movies are at the heart of what I cover on this platform. It takes a lot of effort to make these kinds of films happen, and in doing so, it also takes a great deal of talent and creative moxie to not only make these movies, but to make them fantastic, and memorable.
I’m pretty picky about these movies too, having come up from supporting a number of indie action stunt teams in the last twenty years, and subsequently cutting my teeth as a film critic on both sides of the scrutiny fence. As such, I’m not inflexible as a fan of the genre, but I know what I want, and equally, what I don’t want.
This was still the case last year when actor and martial artist Bren Foster premiered the first teaser footage online for his feature directing debut, Life After Fighting. I’ve rooted for Foster since the Invincible co-star popped back on my radar once more in Keoni Waxman’s Force Of Execution, a 2013 action thriller in which despite headlining the likes of Steven Seagal and Ving Rhames, Foster was the scene stealer. While Foster has accrued a plentiful screen resumé in the years thereafter, his freshman outing with Life After Fighting, hailing from his shared Spinning Plates production label, feels like exactly the kind of film I’ve waited to see him in for the last decade.
Foster leads the cast with a story he wrote that focuses on Alex, a versatile martial arts instructor whose school remains his sole focus after years of wear and tear from competitive fighting. Nevertheless, his retirement doesn’t prevent the occasional bogart looking to challenge the man who was once at the top of his game.
Apart from his school which he runs with Julie (Annabelle Stephenson) whose daughter Violet (Arielle Jean Foster) is also a student, Alex leads a pretty idyllic life at home, single and alone after a previous romantic falling-out. That all eventually changes when he meets a woman named Samantha (Cassie Howarth) who, along with ex-husband Victor (Luke Ford) pursues to enter their son Terry (Anthony Nassif) for classes.
To say the least though, Victor is far less personable and accepting when it comes to Samantha and who she chooses to spend her time with. Making matters worse is the sudden surreptitious troublemaking by a few instigators entrenching themselves in Alex’s classes, on top of a YouTube rivalry set in motion by a competitive champion fighter (Eddie Arrazola) itching to measure himself against Alex.
The story takes an even darker turn when Violet and another student are kidnapped from the school grounds one day. The incident sets off a panic as the weeks roll by with Alex and Julie dealing with the turmoil and dwindling prospects of ever finding the two girls.
The crime has also affected Samantha who soon uncovers a shocking twist that draws her closer to the truth than she and Alex ever imagined. Thrust into danger, the two are lastly cornered in Alex’s school, pitting the beleagured martial arts teacher against the odds as his school becomes ground zero, in a ferocious, bloody battle against a small, ruthless army of child traffickers.
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Life After Fighting resonated with prominently positive reactions via social media from viewers over its initial release weekend. The only nitpick some had about the film pertained to its runtime, which didn’t feel as problematic to me as it might have for others.
At just over two hours, the movie proffers a sizeable playing field for Foster to test his dramatic muscles in comparison to the action caliber he’s accumulated in more than twenty years in film and television. The result is a raft of compelling performances from the cast, including some of the younger talents. Topping it all off is the leading man we get to see in Foster who takes what we see in the film’s strong drama, and multiplies it with thrilling action to make it worth our while.
The movie is peppered with martial arts throughout its exposition and development, with the story focusing on Foster’s character, the details of his struggles both physical and mental, and how it all comes to pass between the action. When he fights, it’s not fighting for fighting’s sake.
The action is as purposeful as it is increasingly brutal, as an extension of our protagonist who is forced to cope with segueing from conflict avoidance to his inevitable transformation as a fighting force willing to take a life. The movie culminates this very aspect the latter end of its second hour, with fight sequences that are hard-hitting, bone-breaking, and unflinchingly violent to levels the likes of which fans of Gareth Huw Evans, Jesse V. Johnson, Koichi Sakamoto, and Timo Tjahjanto would grow euphoric.
The kind of story seen in Life After Fighting is also ripe for a time when filmmakers are keen on raising awareness on protecting children. There’s at least one movie in the last few years that’s little to do with the subject matter and more ado with the controversy behind its core personality. For that reason, it’s a film I have zero interest in, whereas I can earnestly assert that here, Life After Fighting is a movie that gets it right.
Removing the politics and taboo cause célèbre from its m.o., Life After Fighting promises moviegoers a unifying, simple, stripped-down thriller, one chock-filled with high drama and rewarding knock ’em dead martial arts action that solemnly delivers. In doing so, Foster ekes out one of the finest independent action cinema ventures in recent history, which should signal anyone to be ready to add another name to the pantheon of modern action cinema greats in due time.
Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!
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