I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Wow, this movies is like a roller-coaster ride. Not in a very good way, unfortunately. The action is varying to say the least. Some of it, mostly the fighting, is pretty cool. Not shaky, you see whats going on, decent choreography, pretty cool at times. Not overly edited, either.But the gunfight are not that good. Some of the shoot-outs just keep going, on and on, with no progress. The same shots recycled several times. Goes on for several minutes (felt like) then they change spots, and repeats the same thing. That's pretty dull. It reminded me of how in a video game, if you're in a gunfight, and your objective is to reach a checkpoint or something, but as long as you don't go forward, the gunfight just keeps happening, with no real progress. Get it? No, yes? Anyway, that's the feeling I got from some of the action scenes.However, super generic gunfights are followed by pretty awesome fights. (well, one or two times, at least one!) My guess is that the second unit director made some of the filler gunfights, and then the main director made the better ones. (Or maybe the other way around?)Close Range has a couple of sweet moments, the first action scene is probably maybe the best one, but mostly it's just very generic. Too much filler, dammit.

This film was fairly hard to sit through. The characters were all out of a cartoon. All cardboard. The corrupt sheriff. The Mexican gangsters. The ex-husband of his sister. All poorly written. There was not much to hold my attention. Not ever much satisfaction derived from the bad guys going down, as there was nothing invested in any of the characters. Adkins is capable of so much more. Unfortunately, his stunts were kind of wasted on this turkey. I cannot recommend it, with any degree of sincerity.Hollywood, it seems, is running out of action stories. How anyone green lighted this film, is beyond my comprehension. It could not have looked good on paper.

"High Voltage" director Isaac Florentine's straightforward, formulaic, B-movie melodrama "Close Ranger" qualifies as a nimble, fast-paced thriller that displays Scott Adkins' enviable martial arts skills. Our resilient hero contends against all odds, with a murderous Mexican drug cartel. Adkins served as executive producer of this predictable but exciting low-budget, nonsense brimming with stock stereotypes. Florentine and Adkins stage several adrenaline-laced shootouts, close-quarters combat encounters, and vehicle chases. Of course, you've seen all this done before, but it is carried out this time with a modicum of style. Incidentally, the indestructible Adkins hero imitates Rambo in his skillful ability to outwit his adversaries, and he shows no compunctions against killing his enemies even when they don't have guns in their fists. At the same time, Adkins' hero is anti-heroic because he is a fugitive. Nick Chinlund makes a corrupt, nasty sheriff, and Tony Perez earns out wrath as a slimy villain. Tal Lazar's dynamic cinematography is always in the right place to capture the gritty action. "Close Range" boils down to a search for a flash drive that means everything to the chief villain."Close Range" unfolds with this preface: "In ancient Japan, a soldier was called a Samurai, meaning 'the one who serves.' When the Samurai became masterless, he was called a Ronin. Some Ronin became wanders helping those in need. Others became outlaws. A few were both." The mayhem erupts in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Colton MacReady (Scott Adkins of "Expendables 2") ambles into an official building that bears the seal Poder Judicial De La Federacion. Armed with nothing more than a small knife that masquerades as a belt buckle, he kills at least ten Mexicans, stabbing them to death, and then rescues a girl, Hailey (Madison Lawlor of "Brush with Danger"), who had been taken hostage but not harmed by her captors. Cartel leader Fernando Gracia (Tony Perez of "Gang Related") has the underling who fled the fracas to warn him about it killed not only because he abandoned his compadres but also because he lost a flash drive on the key chain. After she escapes captivity, Hailey wants to know why they took her hostage. Colton suggests that Hailey ask her step-dad as they cruise back into Santa Cruz County, Arizona. Later, we learn from a cartel lieutenant that Hailey was their "go-between in Nogales." When Walt Reynolds (Jake La Botz of "Rambo") supplied them with narcotics at his farm, one of the cartel henchmen thought the package felt light so they abducted the girl. They took the girl. Meantime, Gracia contacts the man on his payroll in Arizona, Sheriff Jasper Calloway (Nick Chinlund of "Eraser"), who feels reluctant about working for Garcia. Calloway identifies Colton as Walt's wife's brother. "He was a soldier," Calloway tells Garcia, "but nobody has seen him around for a few years. He's been on the run." Garcia vows to deliver justice for the deaths of his hombres and his gang, known as The Bulletproof Cartel, races across the border in their ominous black SUVs at Nogales. No sooner has Colton brought Hailey back home to his sister, Angela (Caitlin Keats of "Kiss of the Damned"), than Angela's scumbag husband arrives and rants about Colton's daredevil heroics and explains that he had the situation under control. Consequently, scenarists Chad Law and Shane Dax Taylor lay out all the narrative essentials in the first 2o minutes of this concise 85-minute epic about its hero, villains, henchmen, and their objectives. Forty-eight minutes into the action, we learn that Garcia wants the flash drive that Victor wore looped around his neck because it contains everything, names, bank accounts, stash house locations, etc. Indeed, the foolish Garcia made the mistake of putting all his private information about his drug operations on that flash drive. Calloway and his deputies arrive at Reynolds' farm, but his deputies are unable to arrest Colton. Later, when they try again, the Cartel has arrived. Garcia has shot Walt in the head at point blank range, and his henchmen have iced both ignorant deputies who didn't know that Calloway was on Garcia's payroll. Naturally, Garcia's men are no match for Colton who can out gun them, out kick them, etc. Eventually, Colton rescues Angela and Hailey and the three of them hole up in their ranch house while the Mexican lay siege to the place. No matter how many gunmen that Garcia sends into the ranch house, they cannot cut down Colton. The finale between Colton and Calloway has a touch of Sergio Leone with all its close-ups and dramatic suspense.Although it amounts to a low-budget shoot'em up saga, "Close Range" remains sufficiently invigorating to maintain attention throughout its 85 minutes. The biggest complaint is its hopeless adherence conventions. Character blast away with a hopeless number of bullets and hit their targets. The hero pours lead into a doorway when he should be firing at either side of the door where his assailants await him. The choreography of the personal combat fights is above-average. Florentine doesn't wear out his welcome, and "Close Range" is good to the last shot despite its shortcomings. Fans of the genre should be disappointed.

Close Range is the latest featuring action star Scott Adkins and as a fan of his films and other bone breaking martial arts action films, I was entertained. An action movie in many ways is as good as it's star, Adkins further proves he is one of the top actors in the genre today by delivering on what he does best - kick ass. Close range contains solid action from beginning to end with a solid opening fight sequence, plenty of bloody gun play throughout and a climax with hard hitting hand-to-hand combat that will definitely please fans of such films.The main character also has a bad ass name like any true action hero should - Colt Macready. The movie is not without it's flaws though, acting certainly isn't the strength of the movie and neither is the story. Overall, a good direct to VOD action film and I look forward to more from Scott Adkins including Undisputed IV and Hard Target II. If your someone who wants a fast paced, pure action film served rated R, done with no CGI and real stunts, your thirst for some real action will be satisfied.6-6.5 / 10