Savage Dog

Savage Dog (2017)

Runtime: 94 minutes

Directed by: Jesse V. Johnson

Starring: Scott Adkins, Marko Zaror, JuJu Chan, Cung Le, Keith David

From: Several small movie companies in the United States

This is the first of two movies I'll be reviewing today. In some pockets of the Internet there is a fandom for both director Jesse V. Johnson and martial artist actor Scott Adkins; they frequently collaborate together so for their sake I should see more of both. I've often carped about big budget action movies in the 21st century... not all are terrible like Aeon Flux or Ultraviolet yet most seem to be mediocre and pale in comparison to all the memorable 80's action I've seen in my life... manly fare where awesome moments happen and they are either entertaining in a campy way or legitimately tell a compelling story with no logical fallacies and wafer-thin characters that you couldn't care less about.

The setting of “1959 Indochina” is not typical, yet the plot is: Adkins is a boxer who ended up in a prison camp and he fights in tournaments bet on by scumbags. Things happen, and he is looking for revenge. Turns out, it is sweet, sweet revenge. The story isn't any more complicated than that... and this is hunky-dory with me. Sometimes I am fine with a simple meat and potatoes movie which is not pretentious or intricately plotted. Sometimes some people want to see random SOB's being shot down or killed in brutal ways; in the back half Savage Dog has some moments of ultraviolence.

As mentioned before, I wish this era was like the days of old, where medium-sized R-rated action movies were the norm and martial artists could have a decent career starring in simple B genre films; in that world Scott Adkins would receive more of the attention that he deserves. For me it was nice to see him and others I am familiar with... such as Chilean action star Marko Zaror and Vietnamese MMA fighter turned actor Cung Le. Of course Keith David is always a treat; he has a supporting role and also delivers narration that wasn't really needed, although I never mind hearing his voice. Of course there are illogical moments and the low budget sometimes is a hindrance. For the type of people that will like this sort of thing, they will not care about that and instead they will enjoy the Vietnam setting (and it was filmed there) along with the graphic violence & over the top villains getting their comeuppance.