A brutally entertaining action war movie “throwback” from just last month has now quietly been added to Prime Video. Inspired by the horrific true story of the Bataan Death March, which saw thousands of Filipino and U.S. prisoners of war being forced to walk between 60 and 70 miles following the Japanese victory at the Battle of Bataan, the action thriller is led by John Wick star and underrated genre icon Scott Adkins and has been hailed as one of the actor and martial artist’s best ever efforts.
Titled Prisoner of War, the action war flick was given a limited theatrical and digital release in the United States back in September and has now landed on Prime Video in the United Kingdom. While there was little fanfare surrounding its streaming debut, hopefully action and Adkins fans will hear word quickly and rush to watch Adkins do what he does best in a World War II setting.
Directed by Louis Mandylor, who previously shared the screen with Adkins in the Debt Collector franchise, Prisoner of War features an all-star international cast alongside Scott Adkins, including Michael Copon (As Good as Dead, Power Rangers: Time Force), Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (3 Days in Malay, The Equalizer 2), Michael Rene Walton (Reptile), Gary Cairns (The Channel, Justified), Shane Kosugi (Nine Deaths of the Ninja), Masanori Mimoto (Baby Assassins, Hydra), Gabbi Garcia (Unbreak My Heart), and Peter Shinkoda (I, Robot, Daredevil). You can check out the official synopsis for Prisoner of War below…
“Starring martial arts icon Scott Adkins as British SAS officer James Wright, Prisoner of War tells the story of a soldier captured by the Japanese and held in a Philippine POW camp. Before the entire colony embarks upon the Bataan Death March, Wright and his fellow prisoners are forced to compete in brutal death matches for the entertainment of their captors. Adkins puts in a career-best performance as the man who may be able to save them all.”
‘Prisoner of War’ “Stands Out as One of Adkins’ Best”
This unashamed blend of B-movie action spectacle and harrowing true war story has been met with solid reviews from critics, landing a “fresh” score of 69% on Rotten Tomatoes. Harris Dang of Their Own League awarded Prisoner of War a near-perfect 4/5 and concluded, “Prisoner of War stands out as one of Adkins’ best due to its emotional sincerity in its formula narrative, powerful fight scenes and effective performances.” John M Jerva of action-flix.com, meanwhile, gave Prisoner of War another near-perfect 4.5/5, declaring that Scott Adkins’ name deserves to be spoken in the “same breath as other icons like Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Van Damme and Norris” before calling Prisoner of War “pure, unfiltered and savage Scott Adkins at his bruising best.”
Fred Topel of United Press International describes Prisoner of War as a “full-bodied throwback to physical action movies where the heroes really get their hands dirty,” while, finally, Flick Feast’s Dallas King praised the action outing for delivering “brutality and entertainment in equal measure,” as well as being “a testament to the strength and honour of the men who fought in those conflicts.”
Scott Adkins is on a hot streak this year, with both Prisoner of War and Diablo showing the action star at his absolute best. Adkins has several exciting projects currently in the pipeline, including the sci-fi action sequel Skyline: Warpath, the 1700s-set revenge tale Bedlam, and the Netflix action thriller The Rip, which also stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
- Birthdate
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June 17, 1976
- Birthplace
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Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, England, UK
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
