1 of 5 | Mike Fallon (Scott Adkins) returns in "Accident Man: Hitman's Holiday." Photo courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- For fans who have followed Scott Adkins since the Undisputed sequels and Ninja, Accident Man: Hitman's Holiday is the most anticipated franchise entry of the year. The film, in select theaters and video-on-demand Friday, is more exciting than most studio tentpoles.
Mike Fallon (Adkins) has moved to Malta after tearing through the London assassin world in the first film. He reconnects with his old pal, Finicky Fred (Perry Benson), who chased an online catfish to Malta.
Fallon wisely rejects a contract on mob boss Mrs. Zuuzer's (Flamina Clinque) son, Dante (George Fouracres). But, he gets wrapped up with the Zuuzers, anyway, when Mrs. Zuuzer hires Fallon to find the hitman who attempted to collect on the contract.
Actually, hire is the wrong word. She kidnaps Fred and forces Fallon to take the job.
As expected, the second Accident Man film features incredible fights. It's not only a vehicle for Adkins, but for other impressive martial artists -- some new discoveries and some who have worked with Adkins before.
One of the assassins pursuing the Dante contract is Big Ray (Ray Stevenson), Fallon's mentor from the first film, who still is upset Fallon went rogue. So, Fallon not only has to protect Dante, but also has to clean up the mess from the first movie.
Each of the assassins who is pursuing Dante has a unique persona. Accident Man was a comic book, but Hitman's Holiday invents some new, distinct characters.
Freya du Preez (Zara Phythian) combines machine guns and martial arts. Ghanese hitman Yendi (Faisal Mohammed) calls himself The Vampire and likes to taste blood. He fights Fallon with axes.
Silas the San Francisco Strangler (Peter Lee Thomas) uses his hands. Oyumi (Andy Long) is just super fast with kicks and spins.
But the hitman who's going to stand out is Poco the Killer Clown (Beau Fowler). As if clowns weren't disturbing enough, this one wields a cinder block mallet and feels no pain, so nothing but a finishing move will faze him.
Fallon has an ally in Siu-ling (Sarah Chang), a local he has hired to attack him randomly to help him stay alert. It looks like she'd beat him if he didn't have a safe word, but she helps him when the hitmen descend.
All of these fights are complicated by Dante bumbling around in the middle of them. Not only does Fallon have to fight off the assassins, but he also has to keep them away from Dante, who makes himself an easy target.
The nature of the wild characters gives an impression of the film's humor. Accident Man: Hitman's Holiday extends that dark sense of humor in between action scenes, too.
Fallon becomes frustrated that he can't find any Maltese in Malta and makes fun of Fred for falling for a dating scam. He also takes joy in his ultra-violent kills, which he makes look like accidents, hence his name.
Yet, despite all this violence and dark humor, Accident Man: Hitman's Holiday has a heart. Fallon and Fred's friendship is sincere, and Fallon has to reconcile his past with Big Ray.
Accident Man always was intended to launch a franchise of further Mike Fallon adventures. If they can all be as fun as Hitman's Holiday, Adkins can count on Accident Man as another reliable one.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001 and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
