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Highly Overrated But Still Good

Great Film overall

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Chilean director Ernesto Diaz Espinoza, best known for his 2012 film "Bring Me the Head of the Machine Gun Woman," has helmed an exciting but complicated martial arts melodrama, "Redeemer," with actor and fight choreographer Marko Zaror, who earlier collaborated with Espinoza on both "Mandrill" (2009) and "Mirageman" (2007). Mind you, "Redeemer" is not your ordinary martial arts epic, and Zaror's acrobatic martial arts choreography elevates it above the formulaic standards. For example, the hero is a tortured individual. Pardo (Marko Zaror of "Mandrill") plays one-shot Russian roulette with himself on a daily basis. He loads a solitary bullet with a scorpion embossed on the cartridge casing into a revolver with a cross carved into the grips. Pardo's archenemy, Scorpion (José Luís Mósca of "Solteiros"), who stalks him, lives to undermine Pardo's search for redemption. You see, Pardo shot and killed Scorpion's young adolescent son with a bullet through his head. Written by Espinoza and producer Guillermo Prieto, this dubbed thriller develops an interesting storyline, features an entertaining variety of characters, but clocks in at a nimble 90-minutes. Initially, the protagonist Pardo has stopped killing for the cartel and turned himself into a vigilante. Like "The Equalizer," Pardo helps others who cannot possibly fend for themselves. He dresses himself inconspicuously and conservatively in a tattered jacket with a large hood that shadows his face. Typically, he approaches his adversaries and instruct them to bow and pray for forgiveness. Afterward, he knocks them down as if they were tenpins in a bowling alley. While "Redeemer" surpasses most hackneyed martial arts epics, Zaror distinguishes it with his looming, taciturn presence. The way that he stages close quarters combat sequences is often hypnotic and occasionally stunning. For example, an assailant attacks our hero from behind, and Redeemer slam-dunks the villain's head into a boat propeller blade! Espinoza often dilutes these skillful exercises in violence with slow-motion cinematography that aestheticizes their savagery. Pardo is the kind of guy who isn't afraid of contending with more than one opponent. Although his opponents arm themselves with a variety of weapons, they don't stand a chance against him. When Pardo isn't making life miserable for a happy-go-luck American who has come to Chile to become the equivalent of Scarface, he tangles with a worthy adversary, the Scorpion who has a long-standing complaint with him. Predictably, Scorpion and Redeemer resolve their mutual problem, but the resolution is surprisingly exhilarating!

The Chilean martial arts film REDEEMER is a real treat for fans of the genre. I was expecting nearly nothing from this film given my previous experience with Chilean films and star Marko Zaror in the form of the horrible KILTRO, a story I thought was quite terrible. The good news is that REDEEMER is nothing like that film; instead it's a gritty thriller laced with endless fight scenes which are brutal and wince-inducing.The template here is obviously the likes of THE RAID and WARRIOR KING and the film is all the better for it. The fights are brutal and bloody and inevitably feature gruesome special effects. Zaror is a fine screen fighter and he really looks the part here, hulking and yet fluid with some incredible kicking action. The CGI blood is pretty realistic looking and my only problem was with the random slow motion moves which don't look good, but these aren't enough to detract from the excellent fights.The story is routine and involves the usual quest for redemption, with a lot of religious undertones as you'd expect from a Catholic country. The narrative basically sees Zaror going from one fight to the next although the action is never repetitive, instead feeling fresh each time, and the violence is incredible. Low budget films like this one are the type that restore my faith in action cinema.

Since Boondock Saints this isn't the first attempt to capture that formula. But this Spanish effort does have something in or rather up its sleeves that other knockoffs probably didn't have: decent stunts and action sequences to support the rather predictable story. Though it does surprise in the end I reckon.Whatever you think about redemption or if you're religious or not, the movie tries to cover a lot of bases. But never loses focus of what makes it great or at least good. The main actor may not have so say much with words, which may play in his favor, letting his actions speak louder than words. Whether you see him as anti-hero or something of a saint is up to you as the viewer. It's not the only challenge the movie gives you ... the humor is questionable for some I guess, but I did like it

Action fans may remember Marko Zaror from "Undisputed III" . If you loved that movie and other great martial arts action films of the recent past like "The Raid" or "Ninja II", you will definitely enjoy "Redeemer". Marko Zaror further proves how underrated of an action star he really is in this solid B-movie which features wall-to-wall action packed, violent fights from start to finish that will have you saying holy sh*t at least once. The action and fights are inventive and feel fresh, gritty and realistic compared to most PG-13, shaky cam and CGI bloated action films that come out of Hollywood. Fans know that in these types of low budget B movies, story/character typically come secondary. surprisingly enough, the story is engaging and plays out like a classic western. The character is also given a little more depth and back story than you'd typically expect. This is one of the best and at the same time least known action movies you will see all year. Fans of such modern action stars like Scott Adkins, Donnie Yen and Tony Jaa. Welcome Marko Zaror to the club as he proves he can kick some serious ass. Overall, for the real action fans out there, your faith in modern action movies just may be redeemed after watching this !8/10