Released: November 2021
Director: James Nunn
Not Rated
Run Time: 96 Minutes
Distributor: Screen Media
Genre: Action/Thriller
Cast:
Scott Adkins: Jake Harris
Ashley Greene: Zoe Anderson
Ryan Phillipe: Jack Yorke
Emmanuel Imani: Brandon Whitaker
Dino Kelly: Danny Dietler
Waleed Elgadi: Amin Mansur
Jess Liaudin: Hakim Charef
Lee Charles: Dhelkor
The idea of a “one-shot” movie is not new. There have been attempts at doing a movie like that for decades. Most films that have tried tend to not be any longer than say 50 minutes. Pulling off a one-take scene is difficult enough with the amount of preparation that goes into something like that. Most scenes like that generally don’t last more than a minute or so, but there have been some really notable exceptions over the years. It’s even more difficult to do that in an action movie, simply because it’s impractical. The physicality involved in trying something like that would probably kill people, or at the very least, leave them severely injured and exhausted. You can do something like that with a dramatic scene and be okay with it, but action? That’s another beast, entirely. But it hasn’t stopped people from trying…and failing. When the war movie 1917 came out, it was a technical achievement unlike any other. It was a movie that delivered the illusion that it was done in one shot. It couldn’t be further from the truth, and One Shot does something similar, but on a much smaller scale.
One Shot follows SEAL team leader Lt. Jake Harris and a squad of soldiers as they are tasked with recovering a prisoner from a CIA Black Site so they can prevent another terrorist attack on American soil. After a heated conversation between CIA analyst Zoe Anderson and head honcho Jack Yorke, the base comes under attack from a group of radical insurgents, intent on capturing/killing Amin Mansur, the man wanted for questioning. That’s pretty much it for the story. It’s a get in/get out kind of movie and it’s surprisingly effective. One Shot is not going to win awards of any kind for story-telling, let me be clear. We’ve seen this story hundreds of times. What we haven’t seen a lot of, is an action movie presented like THIS. After 20 minutes, the movie kicks into high gear and is a non-stop thrill-ride to the end.
The inherent problem with one-take sequences is the amount of preparation that is needed to set them up properly. The long ones, in particular, can be problematic if not planned right. But for a full feature-length film? The problems involved with something on that scale are enormous. But, as 1917 proved, it’s almost impossible to do something like that and make it worthwhile. For physically demanding action sequences, you’ve got to have cuts and edits. It’s incredibly impractical to do so otherwise. Now, to be fair, Tak Sakaguchi did a 77-minute long single take action sequence for Crazy Samurai: 400 vs. 1, but that’s pretty much an outlier. He had to sacrifice a lot to be able to do that. He had to really simplify that action choreography and re-use the same stunt-men over and over again. But between action sequences, we saw his character get a drink and take a bit of a breather, because the actor also required it. It was an interesting experiment that really only works on one viewing. One Shot, like 1917, uses multiple long takes, but they’re edited in such a way that it looks like a single take. Unlike 1917, where you could pretty much guess where the cuts were, I couldn’t tell you were they were in THIS movie, that’s how good the editing is, and the pace of the film makes sure the audience doesn’t notice. So, what 1917 and One Shot are doing in terms of editing is what you should be doing for movies like this. A true one-take is simply not feasible, especially if somebody screws up with the acting or action. You would have to start that sequence all over again, and that takes time and money. It’s the main reason why these kinds of shots aren’t attempted more often. It’s great when they get it right, but it’s horrendous when they don’t. Thankfully, One Shot got it right.
Thankfully, the action in this film is top-notch. With actor Scott Adkins involved, you can bet your bottom dollar that he’s going to be throwing everything he’s got into it. He’s actually pretty convincing here as a SEAL team leader. Some might complain that he’s not showing off his acrobatic skills and flashy kicks, but that’s not what the character’s about. The character of Jake Harris is a special forces operative, so his fighting style has to be extremely close quarters, and that doesn’t leave ANY room for spinning hook kicks or crazy flips. It’s down and dirty and it’s really satisfying, thanks to the efforts of Tim Man, who has collaborated with Adkins before on other movies. It’s brutal, fairly realistic, and the most important part: You can see it. Despite the cameraman moving in and out of the action, you can still see a lot of what’s going on. I was actually impressed with the amount of action that I could see in this movie. The cameraman will periodically move from the good guys to the bad guys and back again, making what’s happening clearer. The best parts are when Scott Adkins goes lone wolf and stealthily takes out multiple enemy combatants and takes on the bad guys’ leader and second in command. It’s outstanding, and it’s bloody.
It has to be said: I don’t necessarily think that Scott Adkins is an a-list actor. Far from it, but with the right material, he can be the best option in terms of physicality and acting. His performance in this film is pretty solid, even though I don’t find his American accent all that convincing. But everybody else steps it up, particular the SEAL team. These guys are cool. But the best performance in the film has to come from Waleed Algadi, who plays the prisoner Mansur. While Ashley Greene’s character is the moral compass here, it’s Waleed’s Mansur who is the heart of the film, strangely enough. When you understand why he’s there and what his endgame is, you begin to understand his motivations. The villains are suitably ruthless, as they have no compunctions about shooting innocent people. Jess Liaudin is the main bad guy, Hakim Charef. He and his henchman, Dhelkor(Lee Charles), are surprisingly intimidating, and they give as good as they get when fighting Adkins.
If there’s one real complaint I have about this movie, it’s that the structure of the film and its pacing don’t allow for a whole lot of character development. The movie almost literally hits the ground running and there’s very little time to take a breather and take stock of what’s happening. As far as negatives go, that’s pretty much it. This was a surprisingly good action thriller that doesn’t skimp on the goods and actually has a decent emotional payoff towards the end. One Shot, I think, is one of Scott Adkins’ better movies that he’s been a part of. I’m a big fan of indie film-making and James Nunn’s movies are strong examples of how to take an idea and make it work for an incredibly low budget. If you’re a fan of Scott Adkins, One Shot is a movie that should be on your list.