The Fifth Commandment

The Fifth Commandment 2008
Director: Jesse V. Johnson
Writer: Rick Yune
Starring Rick Yune, Keith David, Bodeem Woodbine, Dania Ramirez and Roger Yuane

Rick Yune is probably best known as the main heavy fro the final Pierce Brosnan Bond film Die Another Day. He was one of the few shining points of that film and here he takes the lead and does a admirable job. The action is fast and fierce and the story moves by at a brisk pace, so there is not too much dwelling on the lesser exciting parts. The film is also helped by a fine supporting performance by the always entertaining Keith David. The climactic fight scene at the end is a real visual treat and one of the best fight scenes I have seen in awhile. The film is very stylized in a hyper realized comic book style that really works for the film. Also, the themes of brotherhood, loyalty and revenge are central to the film and they all end up relating to each other as the film progresses. The hero is very much of the anti hero style, but somehow the viewer still empathizes with him and stays with him till the end of his journey. The film is high octane action from beginning to end without trying to bog you down with too many confusing plot points and that is why the film is so enjoyable.
The plot basics are this, Chance (Yune) is a skilled assassin who watched his family brutally killed as a child and is reared by another assassin, the Jazzman (David), who raises and trains him in the art of killing. Years later, Chance is a highly proficient assassin and is offered a contract to kill a pop singer (Ramirez) but declines it when he finds that his half brother (Woodbine) is in charge of protecting her. He meets up with his brother and agrees to help him protect her form the swarm of assassins that will be coming out of the woodwork to kill her, including the same assassin that killed Chance's parents. Chance fails in stopping the killing of his brother, but is now on a mission to protect the girl and to finally decimate the killer of his family and he will do whatever it takes to see this job through.
This is a solid piece of action filmmaking. The direction by Johnson is very fluid. He sets up the fight scenes very well and shoots them beautifully. They are never to hard to grasp and always leave you wanting more. The gunplay scenes are very renascent of films by John Woo and Cory Yeun and those influences really make it a film worth watching. The script by Yune is very good, it gives you all the requisite characters and motivations you need in a film like this. The character of the Jazzman is by far the most memorable character in the film and the most enjoyable to watch. The cast is excellent too. Yune is a charismatic lead hero and pulls off the almost laconic hero role very well. Keith David is phenomenal as Jazzman and his performance really makes the film more than a standard B movie. Woodbine as Yune's half brother is very good too and I never knew he could pull off fight scenes so well. Yuane is a good heavy that you really love to hate as the film goes on and the final battle between him and Yune is a treat to watch, with a fire erupting around them as they battle to the death. Ramirez is a good damsel in distress, but is nothing exceptional. It seems any starlet could have pulled off that role. The action sequences in the film are quite volatile and at times bloody. The big rainy fight scene between Woodbine and all the assassins is one of the best ones in the film. If you enjoy Hong Kong action films I would definitely say seek this one out.
This one gets 4 out of 5