Accident Man (2018)—or as I like to call it, British John Wick—actually turns out to be a riot.

I’m not going to pretend this isn’t derivative. You’ve got a professional assassin, Mike Fallon (codename: Accident Man), who specializes in disguising murders as freak accidents. You’ve got a secret hangout where killers trade war stories over pints. You’ve got a code of rules that Fallon inevitably breaks. And yes—just like John Wick—he’s out for vengeance after someone takes away the one thing that gave his life meaning. It’s paint-by-numbers stuff.

But here’s the twist: it stars Scott Adkins. And whenever Adkins is involved, you know the fight scenes are going to be immaculate. That’s because he didn’t just star—he co-wrote, produced, and built the film as a personal passion project after chasing the rights to Pat Mills’ early-’90s Toxic! comic strip for years. He even roped in his go-to action designer Tim Man, who not only staged the carnage but also shows up on screen for a scrap. It gives the movie a distinct Adkins flavour—more bruiser grit than balletic elegance.

The cast is stacked like a dream-team pub quiz for fight fans. Ray Stevenson plays Fallon’s mentor, Michael Jai White and Ray Park tag-team as brawling duo Mick & Mac, David Paymer pops in as Fallon’s sleazy handler, and Amy Johnston swings a katana as Jane “The Ripper.” Johnston practically steals the show—her fights are crisp, vicious, and make you wonder why she isn’t fronting her own franchise already.

Not everything lands. Ashley Greene is saddled with a flatly written role that amounts to “the lesbian who makes life difficult.” It feels more like a box ticked than a character arc.

This thing is drenched in Brit grit—Hackney pubs doubling as assassin HQ, slang flying everywhere, London backdrops that keep it grounded. The film even has an American character who moved to the UK so he can live out all his British fantasies.

This had all the makings of a disposable knockoff—the kind of direct-to-video filler that clogs bargain bins, rubbing shoulders with Star Crash, R.O.T.O.R., and Atlantic Rim.

But Accident Man is no mere knockoff. The script (co-written by Adkins), the fight choreography, and the sheer enthusiasm of the cast lift it higher than it has any right to be. It’s cheeky, violent, and—if you’re an action junkie—highly entertaining.

Recommended without reservation.

Where to watch:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgE20NdIHXo

Plex: https://watch.plex.tv/movie/accident-man

Prime Video: https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0T62ASNJ418YU0IHUPRAY6X29H/

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