Ninety minutes of action-packed, over-the-top pure fun. Directed by Brandon Slagle, who takes the throne and once again gives us an eye-opening experience. The Mahal Empire's newest "Arena Wars" does not disappoint. This is an escape room on steroids. You're front and center to the most horrific sporting event in history. The year is 2045, convicted criminals are given the opportunity to compete on the world's #1 televised sporting event, Arena Wars. They must survive 7 rooms and 7 of the most vicious killers in the country. If they win, they regain their freedom. Who do you root for here? The criminals of serious crimes or the vicious killers? They are pretty much equal. The criminals have been convicted of not petty crimes but murder and rape, so there is no feeling sorry here. As the viewers in the movie, you too are propelled into this futuristic society where violence and punishment are front and center of prime time.
The concept is you either fight for your life at any cost or are met with death. You have 7 levels of horror that if you complete, your crimes are forgiven and you're set free, no questions asked. Yeah, no simple task. You know you're in for some fun when your host Holly Daze, played by Sheri Davis, greets you with a warm greeting of "What's up, B*****?"
The first set of 10 are not very successful and there is no winner; they need a rating booster, so in comes what they think will boost their ratings. Robert Lasorda is among the first bunch and as usual, is a standout as a killer convicted of 57 murders. His presence always is so skillfully played out in anything he does. He truly shines here in the opener.
Ten more are ready for Arena Wars but its group is different. Luke Bender (John Wells), a decorated marine wrongly accused. So it's a real rating grabber, an innocent man fighting for his life. It's customary in these movies, like Total Recall, to have the innocent hero wrongly accused. A ratings grabber by the people in charge of the game promotes that aspect to have a cheering section for the underdog. He takes responsibility for leading his ragtag scums of society into taking down these 7 maniacs in 7 arenas of death.
We are now thrust into the Mahal world of never shying away from anything and throwing buckets of blood and every imaginable way of death that will have you look away but childishly look back with a smile, saying to yourself, "now that's entertainment." There's never a time to breathe; once things get started, they won't let up till the end credits. But as true tradition in these movies, you're always met with that "what the eff" moment.
These kinds of movies are never complete without someone to announce all the action unfolding. Michael Madden is perfect with his sick-minded, almost sadistic commentaries, along with the equally talented Robert Donavan. They are the hosts with the most and then some. Great chemistry and commentary move things along and take off the edge when things get really crazy. Their opening remarks on each of the gladiators are historic.
Special note on the cinematography, as always, is remarkable by Michael Su. The guy is the master of his craft and just adds to every project he is part of.
