The English-born martial artist, is undoubtedly one of the best action stars to date, and most certainly one of the most underrated. Many will know his face for small roles in movies like Doctor Strange, Zero Dark Thirty, The Expendables 2, The Bourne Ultimatum, and most recently, Netflix’s Day Shift. True fans, however, know Scott Adkins for his brilliant role as Yuri Boyka from The Undisputed movies.
As one of the best martial artists in cinema, Adkins is responsible for countless exhilarating action scenes.
Known for his brutal and furious kicks, Adkins is super-fast, and incredibly deadly in all of his action scenes. This makes his showdowns between other phenomenal martial artists so special and exciting, including the many showdowns with Michael Jai White, a frenetic beat-down between Adkins, Tony Jaa, and Iko Uwais, and most notably, going toe-to-toe against the legendary Donnie Yen. All of Adkins’ movies are exciting, action epics that deserve to be watched by a larger audience. So with that, here are the best Scott Adkins movies.
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17. Avengement (2019)
Adkins brings it all in his most powerful and nuanced performance yet, screaming at the top of his lungs in many fight scenes, to encourage his enemies to attack him. Similarly, the fight scenes are some of the most vicious in Adkins’ career so far, with a brutal curb stomp, a few shotgun shells to the head, and even Adkins’ punches and kicks are incredibly visceral. The acting is spectacular all across the board, with Craig Fairbass and Nick Moran delivering brilliant performances in their usual Cockney outings. The story is simple, yet very engaging and heartbreaking, making the film feel somewhat grounded in reality, and more emotional. Avengement sees a small town criminal who breaks out of prison and embarks on a journey of brutal revenge, as he hunts down those who turned him into the monster he thinks he is.
16. Accident Man (2018)
Based on the comic book of the same name, Accident Man sees Adkins in his most unique and stylish film yet. Accident Man is a fun, zany, and action-packed thrill ride. The film sports a phenomenal cast, with Michael Jai White, Ray Stevenson, Perry Benson, and Amy Johnston, with the cast all delivering exceptional performances as well as spectacular action scenes. While all of Adkins’ movies are brilliant for their action scenes, Accident Man deserves credit for being a lot of fun and almost borrowing some style similar to a Guy Ritchie movie. We are very excited about the film’s sequel, Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday, dropping in theaters and on digital October 14th. Accident Man follows Mike Fallon, a deadly hitman known for making his hits look like an accident. However, after the death of his girlfriend, he is forced to target and terminate his own friends and crew to find out who is responsible.
15. Triple Threat (2019)
Triple Threat is nothing short of a martial arts movie fan’s dream. A star-studded martial arts-filled cast, beating each other to a pulp in many surreal action scenes. Never did we think we would see Iko Uwais, mostly known for The Raid movies, and Tony Jaa star of The Protector and Ong Bak (who are also set to star in the upcoming Expendables 4), tag team against the great Scott Adkins in one of the most underrated action scenes of recent years. The film can be best described as The Expendables for martial arts action stars, which is just as fun, if not in some instances better, than the blockbuster franchise. Triple Threat follows a small band of down-and-out mercenaries who must protect a billionaire’s daughter, who has recently had a hit put out on her by a deadly crime syndicate.
14. Ninja: Shadow Of A Tear (2013)
Ninja: Shadow of a Tear is the sequel to the 2009 Ninja film. Shadow of a Tear follows Scott Adkins’s returning hero, Casey Bowman, who seeks revenge after his pregnant wife is murdered by a group of bandits. The film received mixed reviews from critics but proved generally popular among Adkins’s built-in fanbase. Shadow of a Tear did manage to outshine the original film in terms of quality but has yet to receive any word regarding another installment in the franchise.
13. American Assassin (2017)
American Assassin is a 2017 action film based on the Vince Flynn book of the same name starring Dylan O’Brien, Michael Keaton, and Taylor Kitsch. Therein, Scott Adkins appears as Victor, a member of the same black ops team as O’Brien’s protagonist. While anticipation for American Assassin was high, the film underperformed. Nevertheless, Adkins had the opportunity to prove to a wider audience that his action skills were still top-tier, paving his way for future appearances in big-budget films.RELATED:
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12. Criminal (2016)
Criminal is an often forgotten action-thriller with a star-studded cast that includes Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner, and many more big-name actors. Starring alongside this impressive cast is Scott Adkins, who portrays a CIA agent named Pete Greensleeves. Criminal failed to catch on with the general public, with critics complaining that the film was ultimately unimpressive and droll. Nevertheless, the film gave Adkins some much-necessary face time with several impressive stars that he had never worked with before in his career.
11. Savage Dog (2017)
A low-budget action movie set in the jungles of 1959 Indochina, Savage Dog was the point where Jesse Johnson began to rise up the ranks of straight-to-video action filmmakers. Adkins’ Ex-IRA soldier Martin Tillman is trying to leave his life of no-holds-barred fights behind. After the murder of his friend, Valentine, played by played by Keith David, Tillman embarks on one last mission of payback. Adkins and Johnson have become as exemplary a director-star package as Adkins has long been with Isaac Florentine, and Savage Dog squeezes everything it can get out of its limited budget, with explosions and gunplay one wouldn’t readily expect from an action movie of this scale.
10. Eliminators (2016)
2016’s Eliminators would pit Scott Adkins against Stu Bennett, know in the WWE world as Wade Barrett, and the movie is a curiously under-the-radar offering from WWE Studios. Adkins’ Former U.S. special agent Thomas McKenzie lives a quiet life in London under the Witness Protection Program but is forced to spring back into action when his former father-in-law hatches a plot of vengeance. The villain plot is a little more layered and personal than one might expect, which adds some emotional weight to the story of Eliminators. The action scenes are also top-of-the-line, with Adkins even trading fisticuffs with Aaron Gassor, known on YouTube as Ginger Ninja Trickster.
9. One Shot (2021)
Adkins’ third film with director James Nunn that unfolds in a single unbroken shot, One Shot follows him as Navy SEAL Jake Harris, arriving at a CIA prison to escort suspected terrorist Amir Mansur (Waleed Elgaldi) off site. When a group of insurgents storm the base to retrieve Mansur, government liaison Zoe Anderson (Ashley Green Khoury) realizes that he’s the only shot they have of stopping a dirty bomb from exploding in Washington D.C. With single-take action scenes leading to the rise of whole single shot movies like 1917, One Shot is one of the best to ever pull that gimmick off. One Shot is consistently gripping with the protagonist’s bottle-necked into an office while trying to hold the incoming attacks at bay.
8. Wolf Warrior (2015)
Wu Jing had back-to-back hits in 2015, starring in SPL 2: A Time For Consequences alongside Muay Thai maestro Tony Jaa, and directing and starring in the Chinese Rambo with 2015’s Wolf Warrior. Wu Jing plays Chinese soldier Leng Feng, who finds himself defending his unit during an attack by Western mercenaries hired by the vengeful drug lord brother of a terrorist Leng Feng previously killed. Scott Adkins plays the mercenary Tom Cat, and though martial arts is a secondary element of the movie, it doesn’t neglect to go out on a battle between him and Wu Jing. Two years later, Leng Feng’s first mission was completely overshadowed by the monstrous success of Wolf Warrior 2, but the original is still a briskly-paced action film with some martial arts fights added in, and boasting the talents of Wu Jing and Scott Adkins, it’s not one to miss.RELATED:
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7. Hard Target 2 (2016)
Landing a whopping 23 years after the 1993 Jean-Claude Van Damme original, 2016’s Hard Target 2 is a belated but very worthy straight-to-video sequel. After highly formidable MMA fighter Wes “The Jailor” Baylor ends up killing his best friend in the ring, his guilt haunts him as he competes in underground fights in Thailand, before the promise of a big fight leads to him being hunted through the jungles of Myanmar. Hard Target 2 oddly shares Boyka: Undisputed’s plot device of Adkins playing a skilled MMA fighter who accidentally kills an opponent, but their similarities end there. True to the original, the movie is packed with plenty of gun-fu and martial arts, the latter being a more prominent element this time. A great cat and mouse game in the jungle and another fantastic leading man turn from Scott Adkins, Hard Target 2 is a case of better late than never.
6. The Expendables 2 (2012)
This star-studded film is often considered the worst installment in the franchise, but certainly wasn’t lacking in the casting department. Plenty of big-name stars appeared in the action-heavy film, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Bruce Willis. Scott Adkins plays the henchman of the film’s antagonist, Jean Villain (Jean-Claude Van Damme). His character proved to be as equally skilled as Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), but he eventually met his death when he was punched straight into a helicopter’s tail rotor.
5. Ninja (2009)
After many supporting and villainous roles in the early 2000s, Scott Adkins graduated to leading man status with Ninja. The movie sees Adkins portray American Ninjutsu master Casey Bowman, who, along with his fellow student Namiko, played by Mika Hiji, must protect a chest of weaponry wielded by ninja warriors known as the Yoroi Bitsu from the bloodthirsty Masazuka, played by Tsutoshi Ihara. Ninja wasn’t quite as out-of-this-world as many had hoped. Its surprisingly brief run time makes it the rare case of an action movie being a little too fast-paced, and the final battle also blurs together otherwise excellent fight scenes. Nevertheless, Ninja is a fun modern update of the ’80s ninja movie craze, and showed that even when the Adkins-Florentine duo only earns a B, it’s what an A+ would look like for countless others.
4. Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019)
Scott Adkins takes a villain turn in this iconic martial arts franchise. Ip Man was made famous by Donnie Yen’s impeccable performance, as well as the jaw-dropping fight scenes; some of which are among the best in cinema. It was rumored that Scott Adkins would appear in an Ip Man sequel, which got fans giddy with excitement. Finally, we were able to live our dream and witness Scott Adkins as he takes on legendary martial arts icon Donnie Yen. The film itself was incredible, with more impressive action scenes, an engaging story, and a tragic end to Ip Man’s real life story. Ip Man 4 follows the martial arts master, Ip Man, as he travels to the United States to rescue his student who caused conflict within the martial arts community.RELATED:
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3. Boyka: Undisputed (2016)
Adkins returned as Russian fighter Yuri Boyka in this fourth installment of the hit Boyka franchise. In the film, the eponymous character aims to face the biggest names in the MMA industry and make himself a true legend. His dreams are threatened, however, when he accidentally kills an opponent in the ring. Boyka is consumed by guilt when he finds out that the wife of the man he killed is in trouble because she owes money to a mobster. This pits him against dangerous people, and he is soon forced to kill again, finding himself back in prison. The deep character work and relentless action make this film one of Adkins’s very best.
2. Undisputed 3: Redemption (2010)
Adkins returns once again to his iconic role of Yuri Boyka, delivering scene after scene of spectacular action. The Undisputed franchise is criminally underrated. Sure, the stories and acting from the supporting cast may not be so great, but the action is better than many of the action scenes from a big budget Hollywood movie. Each fight feels like watching an MMA match, from the amazing cinematography to the brutal, fast, and impressive choreography and physicality from all the actors. Once again, Boyka must compete in a prison fighting tournament, to earn his freedom. However, this time, Boyka injures his knee, meaning he must fight through the tournament with one leg.