One Shot Hits the Mark

One Shot is the latest outing from director James Nunn (Eliminators, Tower Block) and leading man Scott Adkins (Avengement, The Debt Collector), arriving with plenty of anticipation and fanfare. For action enthusiasts or even casual viewers who’ve grown increasingly familiar with the “one-er” approach used in the likes of Atomic Blonde and Extraction, or Hong Kong classics like Hard Boiled, there’s a lot to live up to, especially for a more modestly budgeted film like One Shot.

However, where a long action take already sounds impressive, One Shot takes it much further, daring to create not just a sequence, but a feature length, tension-filled experience with all the action, violence and heightened emotion one would expect. This comes as a result of meticulous planning and rehearsal to orchestrate a tense, exciting story playing out in real-time. The good news is these efforts have absolutely paid off and created one of the most satisfying Adkins action pictures in recent times, and undoubtedly the most ambitious and accomplished film of James Nunn.

In the story of One Shot, working to prevent a terrorist attack on Washington D.C., a team of Navy SEALs led by Lt. Jake Harris (Adkins) and a junior CIA analyst Zoe Anderson (Ashley Green, Twilight franchise, Accident Man) make their way onto a Guantanamo-style black site island prison to retrieve a terrorist for questioning. But during the handover with site manager Jack Yorke (Ryan Phillippe, Way of the Gun, Shooter), the base comes under attack by insurgents leading to a violent and drawn out siege.

Playing out in real time over approximately 90 minutes, there is an intensity and exhausting pace which drags the audience in. The visual approach and camera movements are technically very proficient (and clearly well drilled) but don’t distract or infuse style for the sake of it. Every movement serves a purpose to either showcase the overwhelming odds stacked against the protagonists, or allow clarity to see and appreciate some very impressively staged set pieces. One highlight sequence involves Adkins on solo stealth duty wielding a knife and dispatching multiple enemies. Fans may even draw parallels with Jean-Claude Van Damme in John Hyams brilliant Universal Soldier: Regeneration, again fitting with the survivalist approach.

Seeing the “one take” format referenced in a handful of snobbish reviews as “gimmicky” is both untrue and completely misleading. In fact, the feature was not filmed in a single take but has been explained as several stitched together long takes, where anyone would be hard pressed to spot a cut point. Most importantly after a while, you stop trying. It’s not a visual gimmick so much as a mood, a relentless journey through hell for a small group of soldiers caught in the crossfire.

With fight choreographer and frequent Adkins-collaborator Tim Man on fight duty, there is undoubtedly a short-hand to creating action which lends itself to Adkins’ physicality, but avoids the extravagance of martial arts movies like Ninja: Shadow of a Tear, the Undisputed franchise, or even Eliminators, which had its own stylish flare. Using tactical gunfire, tight cover formations and ruthlessly efficient hand-to-hand combat, these characters fight for survival and the action feels grounded and believable. Dan Styles, who handled fight duties on the Taurus Award-nominated Avengement, leads the stunt coordination here which works hand-in-hand with the fight sequences.

While the pace is relentless once under siege, we still catch a welcome glimpse into the bond and brotherhood between the SEALs, which carries over once we see them under fire. Even supporting roles like Zoe, Yorke - proving himself more capable than the average desk jockey - and assistant site manager Shields (Terence Maynard, Avengement) get considered moments of drama and reflection inside the chaos. Suspected terrorist Mansur (Waleed Elgadi, Mosul, Four Lions) is first seen being tortured and pleads his innocence throughout. There may be more to this character than meets the eye, but he’s never shown to be a generic terrorist, nor an obviously innocent party.

One small note is it would have been satisfying to see more emotional reflection for Lt. Harris, to better understand who he is and who’s waiting for him at home. The SEALs make a few early references to wives and Skyping daughters and, while it’s peripheral, since Harris is put through the wringer more than anyone, understanding the personal stakes may have added a layer to his ordeal. Still, through his performance, Adkins channels Harris as a man-on-a-mission with razor-like focus and tunnel vision for taking care of his team and completing the mission. Anything else is a distraction.

In a story like this, heroes need worthy villains and they surely find them here. The insurgents are led by Hakim, played by retired MMA fighter Jess Liaudin (Night Fare, Big Brother) who commands a very imposing presence, yet manages to inject nuance, humanity and believability into a terrifying performance. This could easily have been a two dimensional baddie role, but beyond his physicality, he brings weight to this wanted mercenary who has an axe to grind. Liaudin deserves to be cast in more major roles. He is backed up by his second-in-command Dhelkor, played by former Kickboxing champion Lee Charles (Gangs of London, Final Score), who also holds a menacing presence and fear over the young guns. I’m a big fan of authenticity on camera because it can’t really be manufactured, even by a performance. These very bad men walk the talk and when they show up, you know our heroes are in trouble.

Throughout all of this, remarkably One Shot never feels claustrophobic. With the camera weaving seamlessly through the siege, focusing on our heroes fighting to establish comms, then moving across to the insurgents plotting their next attack, there is a throat-grabbing intensity that never lets up. Taken as a good old fashioned genre film, a tactical action thriller or even a feat in technical filmmaking, One Shot is a very impressive and commendable effort where the long take is a vehicle for the journey, one that will leave you breathless and rattled.

One Shot is now showing on Sky Cinema in the UK and out now on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital in North America