ACCIDENT MAN (2018) ** ½

Scott Adkins stars as a hitman whose specialty is killing his targets and making it look like accidents.  When his ex-girlfriend is murdered, he investigates and learns it was the work of some of his fellow employees.  He then goes up the food chain looking for the person who ordered the hit.

We know Scott Adkins can kick ass with the best of them, but it’s always nice when a film allows him to stretch his acting muscles a bit.  While he acts like your typical Adkins character for most of Accident Man, the role does give him a few opportunities to show off his dryly humorous side.  Likewise, the movie is a rather straightforward affair.  It’s not without its occasional comedic touches.  You almost wish it veered into comedy territory more often.  At least that would’ve helped it stand out from the rest of the pack.

I liked the John Wick-ian aspects of the plot.  Instead of a hotel that acts as a safe haven for assassins, Accident Man has a pub that’s home to hitmen who have their own intricate code.  I also liked the fact that all the assassins had their own little gimmicks.

Accident Man gets off to a solid start, but the placement of Adkins’ longwinded origin story right smack dab in the middle of the movie stops things on a dime.  It would’ve been better if his origin took place in the beginning of the picture (or was excised completely).  The ending is a bit anticlimactic too as the final confrontation lacks the piss and vinegar of the previous fight scenes.  

Overall, this is still a decent vehicle for Adkins.  It doesn’t attain the crazy heights of his previous collaboration with director Jesse V. Johnson, Savage Dog, but it’s an agreeable enough effort.  Johnson delivers a handful of memorable fight sequences.  Adkins' brawl with Amy (Lady Bloodfight) Johnston is a lot of fun, and his run-in with an axe-wielding maniac is full of carnage.  No matter what missteps Accident Man makes, it’s hard to hate any movie in which Scott Adkins fights Michael Jai White and Ray Park.  If you ever wanted to see Spawn and Darth Maul team up to fight Boyka, here’s your chance.