Every six years, an ancient order of jiu-jitsu fighters joins forces to battle a vicious race of alien invaders. But when a celebrated war hero goes down in defeat, the fate of the planet and mankind hangs in the balance.
It appears that the battles every six years between the ancient Jiu-Jitsu fighters and Brax, an alien creature just to see who is the most powerful and can save or destroy humanity, could be done more often with less fanfare. When the film opens, Jake Barnes (Alain Moussi), a master Jiu-Jitsu fighter, appears to have been attacked by a meteor and is left to die except for the fact that a fisherman (Raymond Pinharry) and his wife (Mary Makariou) end up with the responsibility of dealing with the leftovers. When the fisherman declines the offer from his wife to take him to the soldiers, she reluctantly takes the journey on her own after stitching him back together. When she reaches her destination, the soldiers are clueless as to what she is trying to say so they employ one of their own to translate and his worthless interpretation is possibly one of the funniest parts of the film.
Jakes’s inability to remember who he is and what his mission was before being aborted carries so much of a load for the majority of the film that it becomes irritatingly redundant. Wylie (Nicolas Cage), who has been appointed chief rescuer by his own admittance, has to remind Jake often that he is “The rabbit” and in order to stay alive and not destroy the mission, he must do what is asked of him. Myra (Marie Avgeropoulos), who is trying the soft approach in helping Jake recover, isn’t quite sure whether he really has no recall or whether instinct has kicked in to protect him from his enemies.
The biggest problem amongst the fighters is Jake refuses to face Brax, and they aren’t sure they can trust each other and they never quite know when or where the real enemy will attack them. As Jake regains part of his memory and more of his strength, he still isn’t quite sure why Brax is saving him for last as he brutally kills each of his suitors one by one while those that are left alive try to figure out an aggressive form of insurmountable defense.
Those who are truly martial arts lovers will appreciate the finesse in which the fighters use their swords and their bodies to relieve each other of their strength and prowess. Every individual battle is both epic and debilitating as the soldiers never quite know when to give up even though their physical losses are mounting. Some unique facts about the film are that it was shot in just six weeks and it was the first Hollywood production filmed on the island of Cyprus. Director Dimitri Logothetis did an excellent job assembling a talented cast of fighters including Tony Jaa (Keung) and JuJu Chan (Carmen), however, a more engaging storyline with less predictable outcomes would have been far more interesting. If you appreciate any form of martial arts, sans a good plot, it still may be enjoyable to some.
Now available on Blu-ray and DVD
