• LIKE on Facebook   • FOLLOW on Twitter   • FOLLOW on Instagram

• SUBSCRIBE on YouTube   • BUY ME A COFFEE on Ko-Fi

Stars: Rico Verhoeven, Frank Grillo, Marie Dompnier
Director: Todor Chapkanov
Distributor: The Movie Partnership

“I’ll kill everything you love”

Kickboxing giant, Rico Verhoeven, takes the fight to Frank Grillo’s crime underworld in a European adventure that combines personal tragedy and quick-fire action.

Opening in Hamburg, a classical music rehearsal hits a killer note when a hostage situation takes place, entailing a ransom of 300,000,000. A special forces / tactical unit is present to save the day, featuring sniper specialist Matteo (Rico Verhoeven). When the rescue mission turns sour, Matteo’s senior and close friend is killed in action, leaving the sniper operative to subsequently lead a life of painful reminiscence. 

Five years later, Matteo finds himself working in the sawmill, keeping a low profile as best as possible. Eventually deciding to return to Amsterdam, the departure from his Romanian-based lifestyle finds himself reconnecting with the family of his former friend. Widower, Helene (Marie Dompnier), and her daughter, Angie (Pippi Casey) – the latter being Matteo’s goddaughter also – have moved on from tragedy as best they can in the capable hands of Helene’s latest husband, Paul (Peter Franzen). Except, not all is squeaky clean with Paul – he has been  hosting the finances of gangster criminal Saban (Frank Grillio), and the crime boss wants his 15 million. Of course, the inevitablities of kidnapped children take place, and only one man can save the day… Guess who.  

For a 90-minute film, the consistent action only engages from the halfway point. Beforehand, much of Black Lotus depicts the mental trauma endured by Matteo on a daily basis. Flashback after flashback, though not quite to the levels present in First Blood, a great amount of effort is placed into the PTSD element of the Matteo character. A giant of a man is depicted as vulnerable. A human machine.

Embodying the low-profile, “Who’s this guy?” role, Verhoeven quite obviously evolves into the, “Oh, you shouldn’t have f*cked with this guy!” as an all too familiar trope is predictably present. The logical issue, however, is that Verhoeven is a big guy, and quite obviously a skillful powerhouse. Any shock or surprise presented by Verhoeven’s opposition is virtually unbelievable because of the obvious attacking wealth he entails.

Ultimately, under Todor Chapkanov’s vision, Black Lotus is almost too generic of an action film. Whilst elements are certainly admirable, the formulaic concepts have been reloaded to death. Grillo, as ever, is excellent when tasked with depicting villany, and Verhoeven has come a long way since his role in Kickboxer: Retaliation.

Many thanks to Strike Media and The Movie Partnership for the pleasure of this film.

2 Stars

Dom.

For John.

---

This article’s featured image: By Source, The Movie Partnership, Fair Use