Hellbinders (2009)

[One Armed Boxer]

I've had this one sitting on the shelf for a while, and in anticipation of watching the soon to be released new movie from The Stunt People, 'Death Grip', I finally took it off to check it out on the basis that they both share the same star - Johnny Yong Bosch.

'Hellbinders' looks like an actions fans dream on paper - the match up of Bosch, Ray Park, & Esteban Cueto as the three heroes of the piece are equally matched by three directors, all well versed in the art of action film making in the shape of Mitch Gould, David Wald, & Hiro Koda.

Somehow though the whole doesn't quite match the sum of it's parts. The main problem is in fact the lack of action, yes it's there, but it's sporadic and there's no actual satisfying one on one throw downs. Those looking for any hand to hand work will be disappointed as well, Cueto gets to dish out a few punches which look like they'd shake down buildings, the guys a powerhouse and sells his moves well, but Ray Park is confined to gun-play, and all of Bosch's action is sword play based.

The lack of balls to the wall action only tends to highlight the lack of budget, which normally shouldn't be a problem in movies like this. The format is told like a comic book, complete with storyboard square montages in some places and various quotes appearing on screen to transition the plot progression....these devices surprisingly work well, but the problem comes with the almost threadbare settings. A concrete room with a few boxes and barrels against the walls is where the deals go down, what could possibly be the same room but just with a strip of red carpet in the middle, some wooden poles, and a buddha statue is then supposed to pass as the inside of a temple, and even Park's apartment seems to come with minimal furnishings....it just all looks very bland.

Still, I held out my hopes for the final big throwdown, the end builds up a brewing confrontation between the character of Bosch and that of Dan Southworth, who if anyone's seen the Alpha Stunts movie 'Broken Path' will know, their final confrontation was the highlight of that whole film. However the ending comes, and Bosch announces that Southworth is nowhere to be found, and the movie ends! Words can't quite sum up the level of frustration I felt...and I highly doubt that the sequel, which the end is obviously gunning for, is ever going to get made.

All in all 'Hellbinders' is one of those "could have been great if...." movies, the plot between the forces of good and evil is actually half decent, however the budget and clunky script lets it down. Considering the directors experiences they should have known that they could mask all of these issues by simply letting the three leads (& Southworth) do what they do best - kick ass. But for some reason the action is restrained, and all that's left is what feels like a missed opportunity.

leWWv---YUw