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Jiu Jitsu DVD Review

“Jiu Jitsu” is worse than a kick to the face.

Every 6 years when a comet passes by Earth a destructive alien named Brax comes through a portal in Burma to fight. This time around, he’s set on battling one of the Jiu Jitsu warriors named Jake and will kill anyone in his path to get him. Alas, Jake gets injured and develops amnesia which causes him to be confused for virtually the entire runtime.

2020’s “Jiu Jitsu” is a baffling R-rated martial arts/sci-fi vehicle that feels like a collection of rip-offs more than an actual movie. Director/writer Dimitri Logothetis and co-writer James McGrath created a movie that is part Predator, part Tony Jaa martial arts movie, part Guyver, part Power Rangers, part Mortal Kombat, part comic book movie and part, well, anything popular. The story (if you want to call it that) is pretty much non-existent as its primary goal is to only service the action. The film is mostly just an endless string of run and fight action scenes so if you love action movies, you might get something out of this movie. Even though there are a few impressive hand-to-hand combat moments (mostly with Tony Jaa), the action becomes monotonous after awhile as the movie drags on with laughable dialogue, bad stunt doubles, cheap special FX, and a very 90s made for video vibe.

Perhaps the most puzzling aspect here is how so many stars were roped into this including big names like Nicolas Cage, Tony Jaa, Frank Grillo and a few noteworthy supporting players like JuJu Chan and Eddie Steeples. Cage fans out there wondering how Cage is will take solace in the fact that he gives the most memorable performance here as a Jiu Jitsu fighter that comes across as Dennis Hopper in “Apocalypse Now.” Unfortunately, lead actor Alain Moussi gets most of the screentime here. I say unfortunately because he is bland as can be. Sure, he has a few intense fight scenes, but it’s tough to create a compelling character when you lack a screen presence and have a character who is in a constant state of confusion.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 16:9. How does it look? The movie looks as cheap as it sounds. By the way, there is no hi-def release for this title.

Audio Track: Dolby Digital 5.1. How does it sound? The 5.1 track is adequate.

The lone extra is a Digital copy.

December 20, 2020 - Posted by nicklyons1 | DVD review | Action Movie, Aliens, Jiu Jitsu DVD Review, Martial Arts Movie, Nicolas Cage, Sci-Fi Movie, Tony Jaa