Absolute Dominion: The Kumite of World Religions

Athletes talk about God all the time, but it is weird when Sagan Bruno does it. That is because he is sponsored by the Institute of Humanism and Science (IHS). He represents secular humanism in the global kumite to determine which faith will rule the world. Yet, lately, he has heard God speaking to him. Of course, he is the first to agree he maybe just took a few too many to the head. Regardless, he must keep fighting to save the world from all the rival theocracies vying for global supremacy in director-screenwriter Lexi Alexander’s Absolute Dominion, which releases today in theaters and on digital.

Fix Huntley (a very shticky Patton Oswalt) was just another loud-mouth influencer, until he jokingly suggested an MMA battle royale featuring each faith’s standard-bearer settle the religious wars devastating the planet. The idea caught on like wild fire. The “Absolute Dominion” treaties were codified, fighters were trained, and Huntley grew to prophet-like status. Through a loop-hole, the IHS had a sufficient ethical framework to submit their own fighter. Lacking an inventory of holy warriors, they genetically engineered Sagan (in honor of Carl?) Bruno.

His father, Dr. Yehuda Bruno, is a scientist and his coach. His mother is an Olympic gymnast and Rhodes scholar, but she and Sagan aren’t close. Arguably, Bruno’s trainer Anton Moskovitz is like a second parent. However, Bruno will quickly develop a close rapport with Naya Olinga, his bodyguard during the wild card tournament. Weirdly, she volunteered, even though Bruno is considered the longest of long shots.

Nevertheless, Bruno quickly emerges as a bracket-buster, breaking multiple Absolute Dominion records. Naturally, all the media attention concerns the Absolute Dominion organizers, who fear a victorious atheist would launch fresh waves of sectarian violence, so they leak surveillance video in which Bruno talks about the possibly divine voice that speaks to him (unheard by the audience). Frankly, that makes many people even more intrigued, which means Olinga will be very busy during this assignment.

First of all and perhaps most importantly, Absolute Dominion works pretty well as a no-holds-barred beatdown. Lead actor Desire Ma is clearly a natural athlete and he broods with considerable screen presence. He also gets terrific martial arts support from Junes Zahdi and Fabiano Viett as Bruno’s greatest rivals (who want to beat him fair and square in the ring).

The religious politics are murky, but sometimes interesting. Perhaps understandably, no real-life religions are mentioned by name. For instance, the Brazilian Capoeira contender, Mestre Gato Santos (portrayed with considerable flair by Viett) represents Celestianism (as in the Celestine Prophecy?). Although the film starts with the unspoken premise all organized religions are inherently violent, it eventually challenges Bruno’s own atheism, when he possibly receives divine communications.

Absolute Dominion is competent in the ring and it is not the knee-jerk attack on Christianity that you might expect. (Bizarrely, the Absolute Dominion bouts are held in the “Shalom Stadium,” which often looks like a toy model.) Yet, viewers should understand it is still a grungy, low-budget B-movie. There is not much closure either. Apparently, Absolute Dominion was originally developed as a series, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Alexander simply converted the first batch of projected episodes into a feature. Still, it is memorably different from other near-future martial arts VOD releases, which is something. Recommended as an odd novelty to genre fans, Absolute Dominion releases today (5/9) in theaters and on digital.