All hail Bren Foster. LIFE AFTER FIGHTING is a bold announcement that there is a new martial arts action hero on the block.
The film tells the story of a martial arts instructor who ends up tangling with human traffickers after a couple of his students are taken. Not one to idly sit by while kids are carried off, Foster wades in and kicks ass breaks bones and crushes trachea.
Okay, let me address the elephant in the room. this film is way too long. Sure it is full of fights, but the listed run time of 126 minutes is a bit too long and there is a point where you feel overwhelmed. It's far far from fatal, but there is a point where you feel if this had been trimmed it would be hailed as one of the best films of the year.
The over length aside this film kicks serious ass. Foster is a big bad martial arts machine and he is fun to watch as he kicks ass and breaks heads. The fights are beautifully staged and you can feel every bone crushing blow. This is one of the few recent films with hand to hand combat where you end up wincing with the strikes. How it it that the people on the receiving end Foster's blows are in one piece?
This is popcorn action cinema at it's most enjoyable.
Watching the film alone on a screener I was kind of saddened that I didn't see this at the Big Bad FIlm Festival with an audience of action film lovers. This is an audience film and needs to be seen where a bunch of people can react to it together.
I had a blast and as such LIFE AFTER FIGHTING is highly recommended.
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