Hard Redemption is now available on Digital from Ammo Content. Rent or buy today via Prime Video.
My last viewed work of actor and martial artist Jino Kang was Fist 2 Fist: Weapon Of Choice back in 2017. That was nearly a decade ago, so catching up with his latest indie action affair with Hard Redemption was essential at this point.
The film also marks another return to the badass teacher subgenre of action cinema if you’re the type who’s fond of The Substitute films or other throwbacks like The Principal or Only The Strong, or that one episode from “Walker, Texas Ranger.” That’s pretty much the target audience in mind here from Kang who co-directs with Christine Lam, coupled with all the low budget tropes characteristic of hit-or-miss flicks like this depending on your tastes.
Kang and Lam direct from a script written by Lam and co-scribes Dustin Leimgruber and David J. Moore which follows James Park (Kang), a new summer hire for a GED program at a school that suddenly becomes ground zero when gangsters break in looking for a student. Between a janky security system and terrified students and faculty, it’s up to Park and a few of the brave staff members to take it to the hoodlums from one hallway showdown to the next, right down to the gang’s notorious leader, Solomon (David Kurzhal).
The drama is what you can expect for a film of this caliber, despite a few passable moments and exchanges and the same goes for a bit of the writing which includes some of the most cringe enthusiasms over ninjas I’ve ever seen and heard. It’s like the writers tried a little too hard to make it stick along with the subpar acting and it just wouldn’t, and there are at least a few scenes that make it challenging (to say the least) to sympathize with a majority of the students in Park’s class as they’re panicking about what to do when the gangsters arrive.
Kang lends an amiable presence in the lead role who can chew up some lines and put together some palatable fight scenes. Save for our hero’s one bout with a goon whose weapon of choice is an arsenal of ninja stars followed by a raft of inane POV shots, the action scenes are as choreographed as they look on screen but they get the job done, doing enough to service the cast as much as possible, including Jessie Pettit and Lou Ferrigno, in addition to Kurzhal who’s grown a handful of screen credits in recent years since building his community through the Viking Samurai YouTube channel.
Hard Redemption starts with an opening preface that’s never addressed directly for the rest of the film, but does set a tone for nuance upon meeting our protagonist and observing the film’s overall themes and character development. As far as its intent, checks all the necessary boxes and sets up nicely for a bit of genre fare for fans looking to see Kang in his element, but it’s nothing to really phone home about if you’re expecting more than what it can offer. Personally, I’m ready to see Kang in something even bigger, and better.
