Whenever
an anti-hero gets talked into doing “one last job,” it is always a mistake. In
this case, it is really three last jobs, making it three times worse. Frankly,
French knows it is a bad idea to get back in the collections business, but he has
been really scuffling since the last film, so he lets his old partner Sue talk
him into an ill-advised trifecta in Jesse V. Johnson’s The Debt Collectors,
which releases this Friday on VOD.
Things
were looking dicey for French at the end of The Debt Collector [singular]
and even worse for Sue, but somehow, they both pulled through. Their old boss Big
Tommy told them to lie low after their fatal shootout with Barbosa, the
gangster, so it is ironic he now wants them to collect Barbosa’s old debts—too ironic.
In fact, they are being set up by Barbosa’s vengeful brother, but it will take
the knuckleheads a while to figure it out.
Of
course, the three collections are particularly hard cases. One of them is
played by Vernon Wells (a fan favorite from The Road Warrior and Commando),
so you know he must be tough. Basically, Johnson and co-screenwriter Stu Small
follow the successful formula they established in the first film: French and
Sue (but mostly French) bash away at the vigs’ henchmen, taking a good pounding
themselves, until the debtors finally pay up. However, there is probably a
greater sense of danger this time around.
Arguably,
the first outing had a lighter tone, which is why we would even compare it to a
lot of Elmore Leonard films, including Get Shorty. The new (plural) installment
is a bit heavier, but Scott Adkins and Louis Mandylor still have terrific
bickering-bantering-brawling buddy chemistry, as French and Sue, respectively. Obviously,
Adkins has all kinds of moves and muscle, while Mandylor looks like grizzled
gristle personified.
Vladimir
Kulich remains aptly steely as Big Tommy while Wells, Marina Sirtis (from Star
Trek Next Gen), and Mayling Ng add flare as various collection-related
antagonists, but the film misses a central villain with the flamboyance Tony
Todd brought to the original Debt Collector.
Regardless,
it is always entertaining to watch Adkins kicking butts (and heads). He has already
made a number of films with Johnson and Mandylor, so presumably they have a solid
working relationship—at least it certainly looks that way on-screen. This is
definitely a meathead movie, but it delivers. Highly recommended for fans of
Adkins’ martial arts films and wise-cracking knock-around gangster movies, The
Debt Collectors releases this Friday (5/29) on VOD platforms, including
iTunes.