Customer Reviews

Undisputed II - Last Man Standing

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I wish that I could fully describe how great this movie is but I will try. If you are a fan of B-movie martial arts flicks then you will know this storyline well. It is your typical prison movie where they have kickboxing matches between the inmates. What makes it stand out from the rest of the pack is that it is the most groundbreaking martial arts movie I seen in a very long time. It has a ton of top notch Hong Kong action type of moves, new, inventive ones I might add, but the mixed martial arts incorporated into the fighting is equally impressive. There has never been a definitive movie that showcased MMA properly. 'Undisputed 2' does not take a Ken Shamrock fight move by move and shoot it on screen, but the realism in the fights cannot be matched by any other movie. Spinning back kicks come out of nowhere. Leg, arm, and ankle locks are worked seamlessly into the fights without cutting frames or using trick editing. It has numerous techniques applied and you will watch this over and over just so you can take it all in. There is a bit of undercranking and some film tricks are used, but no wires, and some of the moves being pulled off are jaw dropping. A fantasy film for fight fans and it has the most realistic yet stylishly choreographed one on one fights imaginable. J.J. Perry has to be mentioned for choreographing these brilliant fight scenes making it look like an event you would actually pay to see.

Michael Jai White from 'Tyson' and 'Spawn' stars as the current boxing champion who gets framed while working in Russia and goes to prison. He actually takes on the role that Ving Rhames played as George "The Iceman" Chambers in the first 'Undisputed' but this movie is pretty different. The prison is owned by the mob who hold illegal UFC types of fights. It is actually the villian played by Scott Adkins who steals the show. Michael Jai White is great but Adkins really gets to show off everything he has. His presence is amazing and I loved him in every scene. There is a good job of character development with friends of Jai White helping him along, and holding him up.

While the fights in this movie are truly second to none, the story is very well done also. Don't expect your typical Jean Claude Van Damme movie where we have to just accept that it is going to be badly done, though it may have some good action. This movie is expertly directed by Isaac Florentine. The plot is totally unbelievable, but still well written. With this, Florentine looks like he will finally take off as a big time director. I think he can handle it and this movie shows that. Don't expect action from start to finish but it has plenty of fights. Florentine takes the time to set everything up so we actually get a very good overall movie. Like most all great martial arts films, there is a training sequence. This happens before the final fight for Jai White, but Adkins gets to show off the most throughout the entire film. Great acting by everybody also helps this movie out tremendously. Don't expect your typical B-action flick. It has a good ending and is a worthwhile movie to watch all the way through.

It is amazing that this did not have a theatrical release but I look forward to seeing more from everybody involved in this. Most of all I am looking for Michael Jai White to get better roles now that he has shown he has some very good acting skills. This is what a fighting movie is supposed to be, a good movie with great fights. Too bad it rarely happens. It is a masterpiece of the martial arts genre and action movies in general.

This is a great release from New Line Entertainment with booming sound and good picture quality. The picture is grainy at times but still very good and is also widescreened. They don't skip out on the special features either. There is a 20 minute making of with behind the scenes and interviews with the cast and crew. Nice to see director Isaac Florentine showing off his moves. Also included is a commentary track with the stars Stott Adkins and Michael Jai White and the director. This is a great conversation of everything that went into making the movie and their thoughts on it.

just like every other reviewer here, i was surprised by how good this movie was. i was in awe while watching how quick these fighters moved and i was extremely glad that someone recommended this to me because i wouldn't have even thought twice about it.

not much to say about the plot other then it has been done to death by other movies. don't let that discourage you, it's still well worth a watch. the only thing that i wished was different was that it wasn't a sequel to the first undisputed. the character differences of Iceman were unbelievably noticeable and that is why i would like to make it clear that i rated this movie as a movie all on it's own, not as a sequel. there were no references to the first one and if it weren't for the name of the champ as well as the movie title, you wouldn't even know they were one in the same.

Not often do sequels come out better than the original especially when you're talking about B-Movies but this film is the exception to the rule. I rented it and I swear I didn't want to give it back. This movie shows that you can have good action fighting without biting the Matrix. If you like fight flicks then you'll love this one. I'm sure this will become an underground classic.

michael jai white performed an amazing role in this feroucious fighting movie. although a quite cliched jail fight screenplay, but he played so well and so convincingly sincere that made this movie one of the best boxing and martial art mixture movies ever made. added up with tony yaa's two great movies, 'ong bak' and 'the protector/honor to the beast', together these three movies viewed in 2006 have been a great satisfying pleasure.

This movie is actually pretty good for a sequel, as most sequels usually range from bad to terrible. The main focus and forte of this movie are the actual fight scenes, as both of the main stars in this flick do really have martial arts skills and use no doubles in any of the fight scenes (save for the dining area brawl where the two guys crush a table). As a result, the fight scenes are really cool, but for me the fighters lack the personality and charisma of Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames in the original (who are mainly actors and not real boxers, of course). Still, there are some fine supporting performances in this sequel given by Ben Cross and Eli Danker.

The story line is kind of weak in places. For starters, George Chambers comes to the prison as strictly a boxer, and within a few weeks of training by an old inmate (at least that's the timeline I inferred), he's ready to kickbox toe to toe with the undefeated champ--ehh, not likely! Also, when Chambers makes a deal with the head mobster, he demands that all the prisoners that were banished to stay outside in the cold be given brand new, expensive coats to wear to keep warm. Hello--how about demanding that they be brought back inside? What's the point of keeping them outside if they're going to stay warm in their coats?? Save some money!

Which brings me to my other nitpick...Chambers' character and personality changes too much between the beginning and end of this movie. At the beginning, he has the same chip (boulder) on his shoulder attitude as Rhames displayed in the first movie, rude, crude, and obnoxious... "F--" this, "F--" that. However, his conscience and regard for humanity DRASTICALLY improves to where at the end of the movie, he has a big heart of gold, practically shedding tears of joy at the sight of his old friend reuniting with his niece. Chambers had just spent the last month or whatever in one utter hell of a prison--I would think his attitude toward life in general wouldn't have improved much. I mean, it's great for someone to turn over a new leaf and be a better person, but that was a bit unrealistic for George Chambers, I think.

Yeah, so the ending was pretty corny...hardly befitting the overall vibe of both Undisputed movies--short on sensitivity and brains, high on testosterone! (Hey, I dig movies like that once in a while!) Still, the fight scenes make the movie overall enjoyable, so I would still recommend it, especially for fans of the first Undisputed flick.

Unlike most of these kick-the-crap-out-of-the-bad-guy martial arts flicks we've been subjected to, this film effectively deals with another element nobody seems to hit on here. It hits on the culture of a prison environment--period...You've got your gangs running drugs and bullying inmates and dirty officers right along in there with them. I enjoyed this movie, but I tend to watch other elements and think outside the box for a bit. Ben Cross does an outstanding job playing the junkie inmate who has to choose between his life and his friend/cellmate. You can't help but empathize with him--and I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it, but he's the one to watch for a bit. He's an outstanding actor who doesn't get enough attention because he chooses roles for their quality and not the monetary amount. That character had been beaten down and subjected to so much, that even as a junkie one can empathize with him given the other crap that goes on in a prison. It deals effectively with a topic I deal with at work each day, being that I'm a sergeant of corrections officers, but I don't tell what it is because I don't want to give it away, but if you want to watch a good example of what certain signs are in an offender, this is the video to get because Cross did an excellent job of portraying the character and his struggle with addiction. Even for those not into this genre, it's worth watching because one can learn from it.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give the world's next great martial arts hero, the latest of the superkickers of martial arts cinema, a modern day Hwang Jang-Lee.

Scott Adkins.

Scott is easily the best thing to happen to American martial arts movies since KILL BILL, and UNDISPUTED 2: LAST MAN STANDING, directed by Isaac Flornetine (whom I consider to be the Yuen Woo-Ping of American martial arts movies) is his first great masterpiece.

Uri Boyka (Scott Adkins) is stuck in a Russian prison, and has dreams of proving himself the Undisputed greatest fighter in the world. The Russian mafia own his prison, and orchestrates a serious of mixed martial arts tournaments pitting prisoners against one another, and Boyka is undefeated and hailed as the most dangerous man alive. Unfortunately, it's reached the point where no one will bet against Boyka, so the mobsters frame has-been former Heavyweight boxing champion George "The Iceman" Chambers (the one and only Michael Jai White, who unfortunately, given his role, must restrict his arsenal of martial arts skills in U2:LMS, but still kicks ass) for drug possession and Chambers is sent to Boyka's prison. Chambers soon learns that his own manager has helped orchestrate it all, as both he and the mobsters see it as a chance to rake in a truckload of dough. Chambers is told that he will be released if he gets into the ring and defeats Boyka. To chambers, Boyka is the only thing standing between him and his freedom. To Boyka, Chambers represents his opportunity to prove to himself and everyone else that he is the Undisputed best fighter in the world.

Where do you begin in writing just how amazing U2:LMS is? It should have been just another straight-to-dvd sequel to a big budget Hollywood movie minus the original stars; Instead, not only is it ten times better the the first UNDISPUTED, It's easily the first great American martial arts movie of the 21st century. This is the first time Michael Jai White has played the lead in a martial arts movie, but since he's playing a boxer who just begins to learn a bit about martial arts, this really doesn't count toward that. In the recently released BLOOD AND BONE, Michael gets to show off the full spectrum of his abilities and does not disappoint.

But as far as martial arts goes, Scott is the Undisputed real star of U2:LMS. Drawing off of his background in Wushu, Tae Kwon Do, Kickboxing, Judo, Krav Maga, and Jujitsu and his years spent as a stuntman and supporting hero, Scott displays enough charisma and fighting ability for twenty movies. He seemingly invents moves that I've never seen before, and definitely earns his place among the class of the Superkickers of martial arts cinema. I venture to say, as I have before, that Scott is a modern day Hwang Jang-Lee.

To top it off, Scott and Michael are two of the few martial arts heroes who are also equally talented actors!!!

U2:LMS is certainly not the last we'll see of Scott and Michael in martial arts cinema. As I mentioned, Michael recently starred in BLOOD AND BONE, which is essential view for anyone who saw him in U2:LMS and wanted more.

And Scott, after making a fantastic appearance as Weapon XI/Deadpool in X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, has finished work on his first two leads, both directed by Isaac Florentine: UNDISPUTED 3, in which Boyka becomes the hero, which will be released in 2010. And NINJA, Scott's first turn at the hero wheel, which will be released sometime later in 2009. The whole world is just on pins and needles waiting for the release date, and it's gonna be awesome.

But for most of us, I think, Scott's signature character will be Uri Boyka in UNDISPUTED 2: LAST MAN STANDING, the Undisputed first great American martial arts movie of the 21st century.

"Undisputed II" film is a godsend to the world of DTV cinema. Just when I thought that I would have to put up with substandard production values, stupid storylines, and talentless action scenes forever, along came director Isaac Florentine and gave us a break via this spectacular martial arts masterpiece. It seems as if Florentine's work had been building up to this movie the whole time - that the likes of Cold Harvest and US Seals 2 were merely vehicles used by the director to perfect his technique, which comes to a masterful head in "Last Man Standing". I'm flabbergasted why this never made theaters, but in the end, all that matters is how very good it is.

The story: former boxing champion George Chambers (Michael Jai White, Black Dynamite) is filming a low-key vodka commercial in Russia when he's framed for trafficking drugs and sent to a prison owned by a mobster (Mark Ivanir, Schindler's List) making money off open-bet, televised fights between inmates. The criminal's plan: pit Chambers against his own champion - the sadistic martial artist Yuri Boyka (Scott Adkins, Ninja) - for the big payoff. The question is, will the proud Chambers agree to take part in the circuit? - and if so, does he stand a chance?

Let it be known that Michael Jai White is an amazing and underutilized action hero who has yet to see his best days...but Scott Adkins is clearly the star, here. Those of you who have never heard of Scott Adkins before will probably think I'm exaggerating, but he is without a doubt the single best movie martial artist of the modern scene. His acrobatic fighting style lacks definition but is more exhilarating to watch than any wire-worked stuff on the market today. His ability to throw a jumping roundhouse kick, twist in midair, and deliver a heel kick before he's even touched ground is unparalleled and would've made a lesser opponent than White look embarrassing by comparison. White does himself proud by playing the boxer and laying off the kicks for the most part. Their styles mesh well, but Adkins is the star of this squared circle. Expect a half-dozen fights of pure athleticism.

While this is a prison movie, it focuses less on realism and more on the competition aspect, so even folks who get squeamish about incarceration flicks shouldn't feel apprehensive. I like to compare "Undisputed II" to Jean-Claude Van Damme's In Hell from a few years earlier: while the Van Damme film emphasized depicting "every man's worst nightmare", Florentine's piece is more about surviving adversity and preserving one's fighting spirit. During his tenure, Chambers is forced to shower cold, beaten, made to shovel sewage, put into a submerged cell, and subjected to exposure, but he's never broken, and therefore, the movie is a lot less dark. The acting to support this tone is surprisingly good. White is very accomplished for a man who's made his career off of beating people up and more than up to the role. The British-born Adkins does an intense job at playing the heartless-but-religious Russian, who's found God in prison but will kill you if you interrupt his prayers. Eli Danker (Special Forces) likewise pulls a convincing Slavic accent and gives what's probably the film's best performance as a terminal inmate and Chambers' last hope for redemption. Ben Cross (The Russian Specialist) plays Chambers' conflicted cellmate and gives as close to a humorous performance as the film will allow, but shines nonetheless as a tragic victim.

With the exception of the bare opening titles, the production displays next to no evidence of its DTV budget. The only faults I can find lie in the two-dimensionality of the characters and that there aren't more on-level fights: White and Adkins have two confrontations (one which ends way too fast), but for the most part, the fights are very one-sided. Regardless, this is one of the best martial arts films of 2006, Hong Kong flicks included, and maybe even the very best as far as the careers of the cast and director are concerned. Quit stalling and get it.

Wow! I liked this way more than the original, and I liked the original. I've waited a long time for a prison fight movie with action that's this frequent and this good. The producers could have changed a couple more things and not had to slap this with a franchise tag but, after watching it, who cares? The fight choreography is some of the best I've ever seen from a U.S. production. Yeah, the story is silly and implausible, but this is a "B" movie, and fans of this type of thing will have much to relish.

There are some reasons it's a sequel: The character of George "Iceman" Chambers, and the story about organized fights in prison, including gambling and mafia-involvement.

The differences: Ving Rhames has become Michael Jai White; the antagonist has become the protagonist; the U.S.A. has become Russia; rape has become narcotics possession; and Western Boxing has become Mixed Martial Arts.

Our story begins with ex-heavyweight boxing champ Chambers, in Russia with his agent, trying to make some money doing commercials. He returns to his hotel to find some thugs going through his stuff. He attacks them, but is hit from behind and rendered unconscious. When he awakens, the cops are going through his possessions to look for any clues, and find a hollowed-out bible full of contraband. He is then taken to a prison where the current champ, Uri Boyka (Scott Adkins, "The Bourne Ultimatum") would like a shot at him. Chambers refuses to fight until the Russian mob pays him a visit to inform him that his lack of participation will only result in a longer, more unpleasant stay.

Michael Jai White ("Exit Wounds", "Spawn") finally gets a good lead role to show off his excellent fighting abilities and acting chops. He is one tough, profane Bad A--. However there's a problem: Scott Adkins steals the show. Other than this, I've only seen Adkins briefly in Jet Li's "Unleashed", but he is fantastic. Director Isaac Florentine has used him in every movie he has done since this. It's only a matter of time before other directors want to do the same.

My only gripe about the disc is that it is not widescreened. I gripe about that a lot. Though the entire film takes place in Russia, English is the only language spoken, but the DVD has optional Spanish subtitles. This New Line release features a "behind the scenes" extra, and audio commentary by the director and the two leads. If you like "B" movies with great fights, this has to be seen. I will be tracking the other collaborations between Florentine and Adkins. The only one that is currently available is "The Shepherd: Border Patrol", starring Jean Claude Van Damme. Though we can look forward to the upcoming "Ninja", and the rumored "Undisputed 3". RECOMMENDED.

2006

I really liked "Undisputed" so I was excited to see that a sequel was made. The fight scenes are really good. These types of movie usually aren't about having great plots, but I liked the plot here too. Micael Jai White is a good actor and I'd like to see hime in more action movies. He could've been a great Blade if Wesley (who did it well) didn't want the job. This version of "Iceman" Chambers is more more like a cross between Wesley and Ving's characters in the first movie. If you liked the first, you'll love this one. Even if you didn't like the first, give this one a chance. The stories are only connected by the main character. I recommend this one.