WHAT’S IT ABOUT
Follows Pete, a professional hitman, as he faces a group of assassins after the boss of a crime syndicate suspects disloyalty due to his attendance at Workaholics Anonymous meetings.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
Michael Jai White proves once again that he’s not just a martial arts master – he’s a comedy goldmine waiting to happen. In “Hostile Takeover,” the 57-year-old action star delivers his most entertaining performance since the brilliant “Black Dynamite” back in 2009. This new film may not hit those legendary heights, but it gets mighty close to recapturing that same fun energy that made us love White’s comedic timing in the first place. The movie opens with one of the funniest opening scenes I’ve seen all year. Picture this: Pete Striker (White) sits in a Workaholics Anonymous meeting, sharing his deepest thoughts about work-life balance while simultaneously beating down a bunch of thugs in an elevator. The split-screen action had me cracking up from minute one. This is the type of self-aware humor that White did so well in “Black Dynamite,” but with a grown-up twist that acknowledges his age without making fun of it. What makes this work is how the writers – Michael Hamilton-Wright, Christina Laughlin, and Burton L. Warner – created a story that played to White’s strengths but also embraced a sense of honesty about where he is in his career. Pete isn’t some unstoppable young assassin anymore. He’s getting older, moving slower, and honestly just tired of the killing game. When his boss Matteo Arcado (John Littlefield) mistakenly thinks Pete is snitching because he’s attending those support group meetings, it kicks off a wild chain of misunderstandings that had me laughing throughout. The humor isn’t quite the same as in previous films directed by White. Remember the deliberately ludicrous nature and over-the-top comedy of the film “Black Dynamite”? That film was pure cartoon. “Hostile Takeover” leans towards a more grounded story, where the humor stems from Pete’s normal life. The ludicrous running gag about him stealing other people’s accents is comedic gold, and his aversion to socializing with fellow killers is surprisingly relatable. It feels like watching your cool uncle trying to navigate modern living. Director Michael Hamilton-Wright understands what it is that works in White’s performance style. The fight scenes are deliberately paced to let White showcase his still-incredible martial arts skills without pushing him beyond his limits. Sure, he’s not flying through the air like he did in “Undisputed II” or “Blood and Bone,” but watching a master craftsman work within his current abilities is actually more impressive. The choreography is physical and grounded, which makes each kick and punch have more heft. The supporting players are doing good work, especially Aimee Stolte as Mora, Pete’s potential love interest, who also happens to be the boss’s daughter. Their chemistry seems authentic, and the romance is a subplot that doesn’t interfere with the action like in so many movies. Aleks Paunovic brings some fun energy as the Russian assassin Reaper, though I wish the script had given him more to work with beyond just being “the Russian guy who likes dodgeball.” Here’s where the movie stumbles a bit – the other villains Pete faces feel pretty generic. Unlike “Black Dynamite,” where every character was a memorable parody, most of the assassins here blend together. There are Mingjue, Thanatos, and Gabriel, but honestly, I wouldn’t be able to tell you anything about any of them beyond their names. They came in, made a few jokes with Pete, fought him, and left. It’s not awful, but it feels like it could have been more interesting character work. The film is structured in a pretty straightforward way: Pete sees each assassin to clear up the misunderstanding – things go south, they fight, rinse and repeat. It’s repetitive, yes, but the individual sequences are entertaining enough to avoid dragging it through the mud. The character introductions in video game fashion are cute enough to bring some personality to a surface-level approach. What I appreciated most is that the film embraces Pete’s age. Instead of glossing over the fact that White is no longer 35 years old, the script allows White’s years and wisdom to inform the character. He isn’t just some old guy trying to keep up – he is an experienced veteran who knows all the moves and has seen everything before. To me, this is similar to how “The Expendables” used its aging action stars, but I felt the writing for “The Outlaws” was considerably better and more heartfelt. The humor works best when it’s character-driven rather than situational. Pete’s dry observations about the assassination business and his genuine confusion about modern life create the biggest laughs. When the movie tries too hard for physical comedy or gore-based jokes, it doesn’t land as well. White’s natural comedic timing, which we first saw hints of in “Spawn” way back in 1997, has developed over the years. Visually, the movie looks good despite what seems like a limited budget. The action scenes are nicely shot and easy to follow, which is more than I can say for many of the larger, bigger-budget action films nowadays. The filmmakers knew how to utilize their resources wisely. If you’ve enjoyed White in the past, Hostile Takeover is exactly what you’d expect. There is no attempt to be Black Dynamite 2, and that’s for the best. What instead comes across is a mature, funny, and enjoyable action-comedy that proves White can still deliver as an action star and a comic. Yes, the film isn’t perfect – the potent villains of the film lacked personality, and some of the jokes hit the mark and others didn’t – but it is a legit entertainment that is respectful to not only the actor starring in it, White, but also the audience. For those who have no clue what to do with 90 minutes of their time and are looking for a great way to spend it, Hostile Takeover gets comfortably between action and comedy without overstaying its welcome. And sometimes the strongest approach is to know exactly what you are and succeed in parodying it.
OUR RATING – A COMEDY-ACTION 7