Tim Allen playing the bad guy is not what we've come to expect. For decades, Allen embodied the quintessential suburban dad while grunting through home improvement mishaps on television. He also voiced one of the most recognizable animated characters ever known and loved, Buzz Lightyear. But there was a moment in Allen's career when he flipped the script for 2008's mixed martial arts (Mma) movieRedbelt, written and directed by David Mamet, a clever wordsmith known for Glengarry Glen Ross, American Buffalo, and other acclaimed plays and films.

Typically, Allen portrays the warm protagonist, slightly flawed but good-natured. That's not to say he hasn't played characters with more of an edge in a few works, such as Jason Nesmith in Galaxy Quest and the profane losers Eliot Arnold in Big Trouble and Larry Roth in El Camino Christmas. But Redbelt is the only time he played a conniving villain. Allen's cynical,...