I’ve seen more of Scott Adkins’ YouTube interview series Art Of Action than I have the half-a-dozen DTV Scott Adkins’ action movies that come out every year. Adkins is a great interviewer of action stars and stunt people, always delighted and respectful to the people he’s talking to. Aside from Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning, the other movie of his I’d heard good things about was The Debt Collector (2018). Set in Los Angeles, Adkins plays a martial arts instructor with a special forces past (naturally) who is running behind on his dojo payments. As a screen presence, Adkins has a Jason Statham-esque British tough guy quality as he hits up another teacher at the dojo with mob connections (Michael Pare) to earn some money on the side as a debt collector. Taking a classic weekend buddy movie structure, from 48 HRs to Training Day, Adkins is shown the ropes by a seasoned professional played by Lucas Mandolyr who is the secret weapon of this movie, well, not so secret since he’s second billed. Mandolyr breathes life and commitment to this archetypical over-the-hill wise-guy mob enforcer, blonde crew cut and open green shirt, giving a diamond-in-the-rough performance that establishes an entertaining dynamic with Adkins. They drive around in a vintage car, running down a list of money owed to the gangster they work for (Vladimir Kulich), getting into fist fights with targets delinquent on their payments, inevitably learning to respect each other, yada yada, ya know the drill. The Candyman himself, Tony Todd, also shows up as a gang leader. Filled with plenty of banter and beat-downs, which is all filmed on a low budget, the movie is amiable and laid-back until it gets serious and sincere in its third act. To me, it was entertaining all the way through. There’s also a faint LA neo-noir vibe, definitely paying homage to the cinematic work of Walter Hill and Shane Black. Directed by Jesse V. Johnson. Available to stream (along with its sequel) on Netflix. Recommended for action fans.
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