Director: Dimitri Logothetis
Writer: Dimitri Logothetis, Jim McGrath (Screenplay)
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Marie Avgeropoulos, Frank Grillo, Tony Jaa, Ricky Yune, JuJu Chan, Alain Moussi
Plot: The future hangs in the balance as a being from another world returns to Earth to face off against the best warriors the human race has to offer. From special ops soldiers to the best martial arts experts, an epic battle for survival will place humanity on the brink of extinction.
Runtime: 1 Hour 42 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Jiu Jitsu starts when Jake (Moussi) is found injured in Burma, taking to a local military facility, Myra (Avgeropoulos) looks to help him unlock him memory. When Kueng (Jaa) helps break Jake out, he returns him to a unit run by Harrigan (Grillo) who wants answers, showing the unit being a group of elite soldiers, that will eliminate anyone in their way.
When Jake starts trying to put more of the answers together, he is visited by Wylie (Cage) who teaches him about a mysterious visitor that is looking for a fight, with answers about the fighting technique of Jiu jitsu.
Thoughts on Jiu Jitsu
Characters – Jake is the soldier that has lost his memory, he is left in a condition that needs to recover, but he has people searching for him, soldiers, fighters and a mysterious visitor, he needs to remember before he gets into conflict where he can handle himself with ease. Myra is the US soldier that is trying to help Jake learn the truth, being the only one of the base that will give him the time of day to learn instead of making him out to be an enemy. Wylie will help Jake remember the truth, show him who he is and what the battle will mean against the visitor, reminding him how important this is. Harrigan leads the field side of the unit that Jake was once part of, he expects him to pick it up and return to the conflict they were preparing for. Kueng is the one that rescues Jake to return him to the unit, he is the fastest and most skilled member of the unit, outside of Jake.
Performances – Alain Moussi in the leading role continues to shine in the conflict heavy positions, building on his more serious side of his performances too, Nicolas Cage is always a joy to watch, this is no different, even if he doesn’t reach the full clown crazy we know off. Frank Grillo is strong in the supporting role, with Tony Jaa bring even more action to the film, stealing most fight sequences. Juju Chan bring yet another fighting style to the film, which will give us everything we need, to show different styles coming to life.
Story – The story here follows a soldier that has lost his memory, as he looks to prepare to fight against a visitor looking for a fight of honour, which will help give him his memory back. This is a story that does a clever mix between the soldier who has lost his identity and Predator, giving us a reason for the fight to happen, that isn’t just a hunting, with it being more of a fight for honor between the galaxy. This does seem to have plenty going on, which will use the idea of a comic book to build a world that we could see even more from.
Action/Sci-Fi – The action uses the single take idea, with Kueng’s introduction playing out following the action instead of cutting between the blows, along with the unique first person prospective Jake has, which easily swaps between a camera on him, to seeing him involved, transitioning between the two.
Settings – The film is set in Burma, which will show us how America could have mission in smaller nations, along with playing into a cultural temple that is where the fight needs to take place.
Special Effects – When it comes to the effects, we are looking at the visitor, Brax that is a mix of Predator, with the costume that requires CGI and the weapons that can play into it, even if a lot of the combat is in your face battles.
Scene of the Movie – Brax versus Wylie.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Blink at you miss it death.
Final Thoughts – Jiu Jitsu is an entertaining action sci-fi movie with a great cast, that does feel like a Predator movie we have been waiting for.
Signature Entertainment presents Jiu Jitsu on Digital HD 21st December and Blu-ray & DVD 4th January
