I don't know how the Irish martial arts cinematic scene is doing, these days, but I would not be surprised if the last 17 years have not been enough time to recover from this debacle. To be certain, FATAL DEVIATION – apparently the first Irish martial arts film – is a no-budget feature that deserves some slack given its obvious limitations, but I just couldn't find any fun in it to justify a higher rating. This is a simple movie made with the most basic means, but unless you like "bad" films for the sake of badness, I can't recommend it to you.
The story: A young martial artist (James Bennett) returns to his hometown to avenge the death of his father at the hands of a murderous drug lord (Michael Regan).
The only substantial thing the film has to its credit is its lead star. James looks great and has some cool moves, and I was genuinely surprised to realize that he's had nothing resembling a solo career since this picture...but then I remembered that the world already has a Jean-Claude Van Damme. Admittedly, no Caucasian karate star can avoid being compared to Van Damme, but both Bennett and the filmmakers go out of their way to make this as much of a JCVD homage/knockoff as possible. Bennett's character (1) must avenge a family member, (2) enters a tournament, (3) is trained by a master, (4) performs the splits, (5) performs helicopter kicks, and (6) must topple an unbeatable opponent.* Aside from such general resemblances, there are several blatant lifts from HARD TARGET, and man! – does it ever look silly to see these guys trying to ape John Woo's style without a penny to their name.
However, the vast majority of the film is unambitious to a fault. On one hand, I commend the filmmakers for knowing their limitations and keeping the plot as basic as possible, but on the other, it's disappointing that they did not exploit the creative freedom intrinsic to indie filmmaking a little more. But perhaps I am asking for too much, because these guys really don't have much to work with: there isn't a skilled actor among the cast and the technical limitations of the filming equipment are apparent in every poorly-lit and color-blinking shot. The fight scenes are the only aspect captured with anything resembling flair, but despite their quantity, few fights are filmed well enough to stand out and few fighters other than Bennett have enough screen time to make an impression.
Despite its short runtime, FATAL DEVIATION has a meandering pace that makes it a chore to watch, and the odd pop-polka soundtrack certainly did not help me pass the time faster. Simply stated, this movie is no triumph. While I would be delighted to see James Bennett headline another feature, I desperately hope for any kind of a budget for the poor guy.
*Credit to the original "Van Damme Checklist" belongs to Jason of Amazon.com.
