Scott Adkins‘ dream project – his first as producer, co-writer and star, based on a British comic-strip – is a seething, potty-mouthed, unapologetic action comedy. The film’s barbed political incorrectness champions a loutish and somewhat dated male attitude, and makes attempts to sympathise with a materialistic misogynist. Mike Fallon is an against-type role for Adkins, who is normally a lot more charming than this. Its dark humour is very much in keeping with the original anarchic comic-strip from the 1990s, focusing on Fallon’s exploits as a high-class hitman who makes all of his kills look like accidents. When his pregnant eco-warrior ex-girlfriend is off’ed, Fallon becomes suspicious of his own crew of pub-dwelling cartoon super-killers – who each have fun nicknames like ‘Poison Pete’, ‘Carnage Cliff’ and ‘Big Ray’, which makes them sound more like TV wrestlers than cold-blooded psychopaths – and his investigations soon cause the network of assassins to unravel. If the film’s verbal attacks don’t always land, thankfully the film’s physical attacks are more compelling. Adkins recruits Eliminators and Boyka: Undisputed fight choreographer Tim Man to choreograph the exhausting, excellent fight sequences, and some of the best in the business turn-out for Scott’s pet project. Highlights include an extended two-on-one duel with Michael Jai White and Ray Park, and a sword-slicing smash-up with Lady Bloodfight‘s Amy Johnston. This won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but for Adkins, its a brave, bold and risky endeavour, and refreshing to see the martial arts star stretch himself with challenging material.