Isaac Florentine is a name that's become quite familiar to fans of b-level martial arts flicks. Since making his debut with 1992's Desert Kickboxer, the Israeli born Florentine has gathered a decent following by injecting more style to his recent flicks than you'd probably expect from DTV actioners. Undisputed III: Redemption marks the second time he's visited the series with star Scott Adkins returning from the previous entry but you don't have to worry if you're not familiar with the prior flicks to enjoy what's on display here.

After receiving a nasty injury at the end of the second part (which we're quickly shown in flashback), the beaten-down Boyka (Adkins), and his bum knee, has been biding his time in a maximum security Russian prison. He's pretty much accepted a life where he has constant pain from his injury and works mopping areas of the prison with a dirty, makeshift broom but that's all about to change when word of a prison fighting tournament comes down the pipe.

Re-strengthening his knee using cobbled together pulleys and exercise equipment, Boyka proceeds to kick-ass in the prison's qualifying matches to go on to the big tournament. It's here that David N. White's script does the expected set-ups for the various fighters from prisons around the World that are going to be part of the action. Boyka finds a foil in the form of a cocky American dubbed "Turbo" (Mykel Shannon Jenkins) and, after much brawling and tough work breaking down rocks, they become friends and find out that the entire thing is just a set-up by the warden so that his fighter can win and he can get a huge pay-out. Even the promise of freedom after the convicts have fought turns out to be a bullet to the head.

Plentiful fights, mild drama, and escape plans follow as Boyka and his newfound friend set-out to win the tournament and get revenge of those that have set them up - getting free from prison is just an added bonus.

For a sequel to a franchise I had absolutely no past history with, I was fairly excited going into Undisputed III: Redemption. The fact that the 2002 original was helmed by one of my favourite (and unsung) action directors Walter Hill (The Warriors, 48 Hrs., Johnny Handsome and Extreme Prejudice all reside on his resume) was a positive kick-off point and I'm also a sucker for any fight/martial arts based movie set in an ominous prison setting - there's a reason I count Death Warrant amongst my favourite 90s action flicks and it's not because of Van Damme.

We all know that the fights are the main reason anyone is even going to bother with a DTV b-movie like this in 2010 and, in the capable hands of Florentine, I'm glad to report that they're a satisfying batch of fisticuffs due to being staged with a whole lot of kinetic energy, some slo-mo I probably would've toned down and a whole lot of blood. It's also great that Florentine and his crew didn't feel the need to subscribe to the modern "action direction handbook" where everything is so sped-up and chaotic - you can see who's getting hit, and how, which is definitely an awesome thing though I could've done without the constant rap/rock soundtrack blaring along in the background.

In the lead Adkins, whom I mostly remember for being Jet Li's opponent in the kick-ass empty swimming pool brawl in 2005's Unleashed, doesn't get to say much but when he's so busy beating the Hell out of people, it isn't really necessary. Even his Russian accent isn't bad considering he's a Brit. As his sidekick, Jenkins brings just the right amount of swagger to things and has decent chemistry with his co-star. Veteran character actor Robert Costanzo (he of over 200 credits) marks a familiar face amongst all the real-life fighters cast in role and vaguely familiar European actors filling out the cast.

I'm sure that fans of UFC/MMA style fighting will find a lot of enjoy in Undisputed III: Redemption but it holds a surprisingly high entertainment value for people like me who grew-up on a steady diet of Philippines-shot action fodder from the likes of Cannon and New Horizons. The main draw here, the fights, are well staged and well choreographed, our lead brawler has good charisma, and the story (while basic) is more engaging than most of its type. Fans of this kind of fare shouldn't hesitate it checking it out. (Chris Hartley, 7/2/10)

Directed By: Isaac Florentine.
Written By: David N. White.

Starring: Scott Adkins, Mykel Shannon Jenkins, Mark Ivanir, Hristo Shopov.

Picture Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen.

Picture Quality: This looks really good on the HD format. Despite being a lower-budgeted effort the detail here is sharp, the blood and sweat just oozes off the screen, and the grimy prison surroundings are captured perfectly. It's nice to see a b-level film getting such a good looking transfer.

Extras: Sadly, there's absolutely no special features anywhere to be found here with not even a trailer (or trailers for the previous Undisputed entries) to chew on. Instead, if you purchase this on blu-ray you'll get both a DVD copy of the film as well as a digital copy - I still don't understand the worth of digital copies but it's here if you dig them.

Visit the Official Website for more info.