Redeemer (2014)

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Chilean director Ernesto Diaz Espinoza, best known for his 2012 film "Bring Me the Head of the Machine Gun Woman," has helmed an exciting but complicated martial arts melodrama, "Redeemer," with actor and fight choreographer Marko Zaror, who earlier collaborated with Espinoza on both "Mandrill" (2009) and "Mirageman" (2007). Mind you, "Redeemer" is not your ordinary martial arts epic, and Zaror's acrobatic martial arts choreography elevates it above the formulaic standards. For example, the hero is a tortured individual. Pardo (Marko Zaror of "Mandrill") plays one-shot Russian roulette with himself on a daily basis. He loads a solitary bullet with a scorpion embossed on the cartridge casing into a revolver with a cross carved into the grips. Pardo's archenemy, Scorpion (José Luís Mósca of "Solteiros"), who stalks him, lives to undermine Pardo's search for redemption. You see, Pardo shot and killed Scorpion's young adolescent son with a bullet through his head. Written by Espinoza and producer Guillermo Prieto, this dubbed thriller develops an interesting storyline, features an entertaining variety of characters, but clocks in at a nimble 90-minutes. Initially, the protagonist Pardo has stopped killing for the cartel and turned himself into a vigilante. Like "The Equalizer," Pardo helps others who cannot possibly fend for themselves. He dresses himself inconspicuously and conservatively in a tattered jacket with a large hood that shadows his face. Typically, he approaches his adversaries and instruct them to bow and pray for forgiveness. Afterward, he knocks them down as if they were tenpins in a bowling alley. While "Redeemer" surpasses most hackneyed martial arts epics, Zaror distinguishes it with his looming, taciturn presence. The way that he stages close quarters combat sequences is often hypnotic and occasionally stunning. For example, an assailant attacks our hero from behind, and Redeemer slam-dunks the villain's head into a boat propeller blade! Espinoza often dilutes these skillful exercises in violence with slow-motion cinematography that aestheticizes their savagery. Pardo is the kind of guy who isn't afraid of contending with more than one opponent. Although his opponents arm themselves with a variety of weapons, they don't stand a chance against him. When Pardo isn't making life miserable for a happy-go-luck American who has come to Chile to become the equivalent of Scarface, he tangles with a worthy adversary, the Scorpion who has a long-standing complaint with him. Predictably, Scorpion and Redeemer resolve their mutual problem, but the resolution is surprisingly exhilarating!

First of i want to make it clear that i only watch this movie because the main character Marko Zaror will face off with Scott Adkins one of my favorite martial artist/actor in the upcoming Savage Dog and you guys know what this movie indeed a little surprise.I may not familiar with some of Marko older stuff but with this movie i finally know what this guy capable of and it bloody awesome.With the title like Redeemer you may think it had a heavily religious aspect but in the other hand it quite a violent action movie with a very depressing theme.The action scene is very well choreographed with some of the best hitting sound i see in this kind of movie,every time Marko show up on screen his charm and badassness always caught me off guard when he slay enemies room to room leaving a bloody mess behind.The negative for this movie is although he really good at fighting but he terribly at cover up the trace lead up to the death of many people he saved which i find very dumb and stupid.The bad guys is also very annoying when the movie always cut back to a American drug dealer that keep making unfunny joke and a guy that support to be the big thread to the main character but he barely show up until the final fight and in some flashback scene to remind the viewer how bad he is

Sometimes I like to take a chance with a movie I never heard of when I shop the discounted DVD racks at my local Walmart or Target, especially if the cover reviews are good and the premise sounds interesting. In this case, my gamble on "Redeemer" paid off handsomely with a sort of Chilean Western-cum-old-school-Kung-Fu tale of vengeance and redemption.Of course, the violence is in the new vein of Krav-Maga with broken rhythms, joint attacks, grappling and gun-play that have come into vogue since "The Raid". It's well staged, high-energy and invigoratingly brutal. And we all know that's what you came here for (don't be ashamed, it's what *I* came for too), so that's good.But the director and screen-writer managed to work in a stark, elemental feel of Good vs Evil that works splendidly in the stripped down environment of an isolated town jammed up against mountains and sea coast. That allows for some wildly beautiful photography that allows the viewer to catch his breath (I say "his" because I can't imagine a typical female viewer wanting to watch this.) But it also throws the human actions and emotions we see into sharp relief. That's some careful and inspired film design right there. This is a "B" picture all the way, about as subtle as a shot of "Red- eye" whiskey. But even so, the actors here get the job done, in spite of an indifferent job of dubbing into English (I wish I could have watched this in Spanish with just English subtitles). Marko Zaror may not have a lot of dramatic range, but the movie showcases all his acting strengths and none of his (undoubted) weaknesses, so the end result is both enigmatic and instantly identifiable - he's the Hero on a Quest, and you know what drives him (because the movie shows you in flashback what happened), but at the same time you don't know him at all. Put the character in a tuxedo at a party, the actor might stumble badly - but here, in this, he's perfect.So, if you are looking for a fresh take on martial arts action, this is worth your time. If you are a fan of this kind of movie, you should seek it out and take the time to watch.

Since Boondock Saints this isn't the first attempt to capture that formula. But this Spanish effort does have something in or rather up its sleeves that other knockoffs probably didn't have: decent stunts and action sequences to support the rather predictable story. Though it does surprise in the end I reckon.Whatever you think about redemption or if you're religious or not, the movie tries to cover a lot of bases. But never loses focus of what makes it great or at least good. The main actor may not have so say much with words, which may play in his favor, letting his actions speak louder than words. Whether you see him as anti-hero or something of a saint is up to you as the viewer. It's not the only challenge the movie gives you ... the humor is questionable for some I guess, but I did like it