POSITIVES…
Efficient. In 3 mins, you already know the relevant background history of the main character, what he can do, and the premise.
Isn't exactly breaking new grounds in the martial arts action genre, but there is a comfortable familiarity for those who like these kinds of movies.
Story moves at a good enough pace, and keeps you generally engaged as much as it possibly could.
The martial arts work by Ken Zheng is essentially the main reason to watch this.
Kudos to Madeline Zima who is a real trooper in this.
It's nice to see some familiar faces in John Savage, Tony Todd, Keith David, Sean Patrick Flannery (who looks amazing in his 50s!), and even François Chau who shows up in an almost cameo fashion.
I think the concept and idea to the premise is solid enough that it could absolutely work as a procedural TV series. I probably would watch it.
NEGATIVES…
Cliches. Tropes. Conventional. Unmemorable. You know what to expect.
There are some eye rolling plot conveniences and plot points here.
Wished the camera work would have been better for the action scenes.
Although understandable, this can't quite get away from looking like a film with low production value.
Almost felt like it struggled a bit to make that barely 80 minutes run time.
Drinking game challenge: Take a shot whenever you see or hear the name “Vortex.”
loveditenjoyeditlikedit IT’S OKAY itsmehitsterrible
