Absolute Dominion: A Cheap Throwback Action Film

Forgotten by the 1980’s throwback cinema trend is the once formidable action subgenre of the tournament film. Action stars such as Jean Claude Van Damme cut their teeth on films such as Bloodsport, Black Eagle, and Lionheart; this subgenre even extended further to the Karate Kid films and a chain of DTV Kickboxer sequels. The tournament subgenre has made somewhat of a return through Cobra Kai, but Absolute Dominion seeks to distill it to its purest form. It is a tournament film at its purest, taking the structure of many a Mortal Kombat video game campaign.

Set in the year 2064, the film shows the world recovering from war and global unrest with many seeking refuge in slums hoping to be saved and given hope in a new future. This hope comes in the form of a poorly formatted Patton Oswalt, pleading to viewers worldwide that the remedy is simple, a global tournament pitting all religions in ‘Mortal Kombat’ against each other in a sanctioned martial arts tournament. The religion that wins the tournament will be the one to help shape and push humanity into the future, a future hopefully void of nuclear holocaust.

Absolute Dominion focuses on the Humanists (or atheists) as they fight for a world of choice, fighting for those unbeholden by a legacy of hate and violence. Entering the tournament on their behalf is Sagan Bruno (Mia), a genetically modified combatant who has trained for this tournament his whole life. Accompanied by his father, Dr. Jehuda (Alex Winter), and trainer A. Moskovitz (D’Leon), he must fight through adversity in and outside of the tournament to guarantee humanity its best chance at survival. Similar to the plot of most tournament films, its real conflict takes place out of the ring, with most of the in-tournament conflict being a showcase for some of the films great fight choreography, choreography which emphasizes each religion’s distinct fighting style.

The film’s fight sequences feature a good variety, and do not struggle to feel the same, at least in their choreography. Due to Bruno’s mixed martial arts background, the film plays with matchups in exciting ways, from freestyle wrestling, to judo, to capoeira, the film has a variety of styles to lean on across its fight scenes, which is easily its greatest strength. The film’s fight scenes are also well shot, with director Lexi Alexander capturing the fluidity and artistry found within martial arts using slow motion, highlighting key moves in combat. Meanwhile, Mia, and his flexibility, excel in sequences where he pulls off exciting transitions and combinations. Fans of mixed martial arts will have much to like in these fight scenes, which owes themselves to Alexander’s Kickboxing background. Her appreciation for combat sports translates well to the screen even if it needed to be a bit more impactful with its sound design.

Where the film falters is primarily due to budgetary constraints. The film has a cheap digital look to it, one which stops being endearing once a CGI bullet train whizzes to its destination. The poor CGI and look to the film begin to become a larger issue once the film’s narrative and more reactionary politics begin to take center stage. The performances largely feel hollow and stilted, while the dialogue becomes wince inducing. This unfortunately culminates in an uneven experience, one wherein the value lies almost exclusively in its action. Luckily for action fans, there is a good amount of action, but the film’s narrative and budgetary constraints become unavoidable flaws the more the film chugs along to its finish.

Lexi Alexander’s latest comes fifteen years after the excellent Punisher: War Zone, displaying some of what made her an exciting action director. Unfortunately, Absolute Dominion fails to reach the same highs and merely feels like a cheap facsimile of the 1980’s tournament film infused with modern commentary, a combination that leads to a largely negative experience.  

Score: 45/100

still courtesy of Giant Pictures

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Brad Simon

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