Filmmaker Xavier Q. Kantz is someone who I’m more than humbled to have in my own film viewing repetoire. My earliest experience was his 2002 direct-to-video sophmore actioner, Love And A Bullet featuring Naughty By Nature’s own, actor Anthony “Treach” Criss. To say the least, it wasn’t a perfect film but it’s a great headliner to get some worthy insight into a director’s vision for action, and while a Mighty Morphin Power Rangers fan, the addition of Walter Emmanuel Jones in an R-rated actioner for a change, certainly drew my interest.
In The Intermediate, which Kantz himself describes as “All of my favorite genres mashed up into one.“, Lukata will play Noah Boudreaux, a corporate bagman who has moved millions of dollars for several notorious crime families, and other shadow entities that want to remain anonymous. An expert marksman, martial artist and mathematical genius, Noah has retired from the “business” a wealthy man. Now with young wife Paz Boudreaux, and son, Noah is living the good life in the suburbs. Life is grand until Noah’s violent and troubled past comes knocking on his door with a shotgun blast. With a bounty on his head, for reasons unknown, Noah is pursued by an unstoppable killing machine, known as The Samoan, and his many accomplices. Forced to protect his family, Noah uses all of his past skills to protect his present, and future.
Joining Lukata is a cast including some of Film Combat Syndicate’s prolific favorites, with Sam Puefua, Jasmine Hester, Jordan Lawson and Pretty Bhamidi, with Darren Holmquist and Ishida Sachiko also starring. The film is scripted by Kantz and co-scribe Marco Lopez, produced by Rick Irvin, and executive produced by Darus Richmond and Parris Washington with Henry Fayson Jr. and Raenae Kuaea serving as associate producers. The Intermediate is expected to commence this summer.