Avengement (2019)
Avengement is a 2019 British action film directed by Jesse V. Johnson, starring Scott Adkins, Craig Fairbrass, and Thomas Turgoose. The film follows Cain Burgess, a prisoner who escapes police custody after his mother’s death and visits a private bar, holding its members hostage as he starts revealing his past and what led to him becoming a violent fighter. Avengement was released on 24 May 2019 on VOD and in selected theatres. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who highlighted the action sequences and Adkins’ performance. In 2020, a special edition was released, containing an uncut version of the film.RELATED:
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Plot
Prisoner Cain Burgess is being escorted by police to a hospital where he learns of his mother’s death. After seeing her corpse, he fights off the cops and escapes their custody. He then visits a private bar, entering it after attacking the bouncers. While having his drink, he overhears one of the patrons named Tune describe how an unknown assailant killed a fellow gangster named Rook. Cain intervenes with his laughter, only to invite the wrath of Tune, his fellow patrons and Bez, the bartender. Claiming himself to be a friend of Lincoln, the owner of the bar, he tells everyone he’d walk away after finishing his drink, but gets into a brawl, acquires a double-barreled shotgun and holds everyone hostage.
Soon, Lincoln’s lieutenant Hyde arrives, recognizes Cain as Lincoln’s brother and is also held hostage. One of the patrons trying to intervene is shot in the kneecap by Cain, who blames Hyde and Lincoln for his condition. Cain then starts narrating that he got sent to the notorious London prison HMP Belmarsh and had to fight for survival in prison due to a £20,000 price put on his head.
It is revealed that Cain used to be a skilled but quick-tempered martial artist who caused Lincoln, a loan shark, and several gangsters to lose substantial amounts of money every time he wins. Seeking to invest in a legitimate business, Cain comes to Lincoln for financial help, and is pulled into the world
of crime when he is asked to rob a mark who has retrieved a package from one of Lincoln’s gangsters, in exchange for money. Cain succeeds in stealing the package from a middle-aged woman who pursues him and gets killed in an accident during the chase. Cain is arrested and charged with manslaughter. Detective O’Hara explains that Lincoln’s scam baits marks into acting as a bagman to forgive their debts. Lincoln arranges for someone to steal the bag, causing the mark to owe Lincoln even more money than before. When Cain refuses to cooperate with the police, a corrupt cop, Sgt. Evans, beats him up.
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Production.
Avengement is the sixth collaboration between director Jesse V. Johnson and Scott Adkins. Johnson’s script was inspired by a 1962 samurai film called Harakiri by director Masaki Kobayashi. Adkins had been looking for a film project based in the United Kingdom and Johnson selected Avengement, one of his older scripts. Stu Small was brought in to rewrite the dialogue and tailor it to Adkins. Stu extensively rewrote the script, and updated older parts of the script. Shortly before filming began Johnson watched a documentary on crime in the UK and used it to add true crime elements to the story.