Nerdly » ‘Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday’ VOD Review

24th Oct2022

‘Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday’ VOD Review

by Phil Wheat

Stars: Scott Adkins, Ray Stevenson, Perry Benson, Sarah Chang, George Fouracres, Flaminia Cinque, Beau Fowler, Andreas Nguyen, Faisal Mohammed | Written by Scott Adkins, Stu Small | Directed by George Kirby, Harry Kirby

Not all comic-book movies have to be about superheroes or heroes at all for that matter. Case in point: Accident Man. Originally debuting in a series of comic strips in the 90s, Accident Man was created by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner – two legends of the UK comics scene. For those not familiar with the Mills and Skinner creation, Mike Fallon is a hitman, a stone-cold killer and the best at what he does. Yet he’s no ordinary hitman. Instead, Fallon has a very particular style of assassination: all of his jobs are completed by making it look like the target was killed simply by accident… Hence the name Accident Man.

It took almost two decades for Accident Man to hit the screen, as played by Brit martial arts legend Scott Adkins – in a role that he was born to play, embodying the anti-hero nature of Mills and Skinner’s character whilst at the same time packing Fallon with bucketloads of charisma AND delivering an action-packed film, Now, some four and half years after the original film debuted, Scott Adkins is back for a sequel, this time set on the island of Malta.

Once again co-written by Adkins and Stu Small, who also penned other Adkins’ films such as Avengement and the two Debt Collector movies, Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday see Mike Fallon laying low in Malta, staging the odd “accident” and being constantly fought with Siu-ling – who he pays to surprise him and keep him not only on his toes but also fighting fi. And he’s going to need it! You see someone has paid to get Dante (George Fouracres) the spoiled-brat son of mafia boss Mrs. Zuuzer (Flaminia Cinque) killed… Why does this matter to Fallon? Well it turns out Big Ray (a returning Ray Stevenson), who Fallon screwed over in the first film, tries his hand a the hit, making it LOOK like one of Fallon’s accidents!

But that’s not all. Big Ray is not the only one who’s chosen to take up the offer to kill Dante, five other assassins invade Malta to kill Mrs. Zuuzer’s son and Fallon is ordered to keep him alive. Which, for this film, means fight after fight, after fight, after fight. And when those fights are put together by the likes of Adkins and this films helmers, stuntman-turned-director George Kirby and his brother Harry, then you know you’re in for an action-packed, arse-kicking affair! But what Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday also provides is a boatload of laughs – from the inept nature of Finicky Fred (Perry Benson), who also returns from the first film; to George Fouracres’ Dante who, at one point – whilst Fallon and Siu-ling are fighting for their and HIS lives – is trying to shit out a tracking device he stupidly swallowed (literally toilet humour – very fitting give Accident Man’s kids comic book origins). There’s also a brilliant streak of dark, black humour in Mike’s takedown of the assassins and his relationship with Siu-ling… deliver with aplomb by an on-form Adkins.

Speaking of Adkins. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, his films never disappoint. Never. And it’s usually all down to Adkins himself – his charisma is off the charts, his fight work is impeccable and you can see that he gives it his all no matter the character or the film. It’s probably why he’s almost single-handedly keeping the DTV action genre alive. Yet he shouldn’t be; for when you’ve got a film whose fight scenes outshine Hollywood blockbusters like John Wick and pretty much all the Marvel movies, it should be given a high-profile theatrical release, finding an audience in not only action fans but a mainstream cinema-goers too. But hey, Adkins isn’t even appreciated in his home country as the British superstar he is, so I guess we fans will just have to make sure we keep supporting and keep singing his praises. Maybe one day mainstream audiences will listen!

For me, Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday improves on everything we got in that original film – from the fun to the fights, the characters to the comedy, this is EVERYTHING that I want from an action movie and then some. How the hell Adkins can top this is beyond me!?