Martial arts action cinema has seen a ton of glory in the field of film for many years with a multitude of memorable and iconic characters to lend credit to. One such role as of late has been actor Scott Adkins's delivery of born-again Russian mixed-martial arts champion, Uri Boyka, following two principle roles in the direct-to-video end of the Undisputed franchise, with the sequel and threequel in 2006 and 2010 respectively, from director Isaac Florentine.
Clock into 2015 well long after the third film as fans remained sizzling with hope for another installment and fans evidently got their wish in late 2013 prior to principle photography earlier this summer, and no less with a meaty handful of top notch action actors from select parts of the world all congregating in Sofia, Bulgaria for the production of Boyka: Undisputed IV. Adkins and Florentine are reunited once more with co-star and fight choreographer Tim Man since putting together the dazzling action in Fantastic Fest 2013 favorite, Ninja: Shadow Of A Tear - another title that is still garnering fandom in support of another, and granted, one that will assure fans more to come from Adkins and those in his corner.
Of course, none of this forward-movement is easy to come by. It took a really, really long time for another Undisputed movie to emerge, and now with its completion of principle photography, it's onto the next phase which is post-production, and hopefully it won't be long within that period before we see some footage. Until then, we can rest ourselves in the fact that another is in the can with an invariably exceptional amalgam of screenfighters - several of whom I have written about before on any number of indie projects. This, coupled with a great plot guarantees the franchise even further greatness for a character that has cultivated a generation of martial arts fans and athletes with the purposing of an idol that brings a world of electricity to a niche that will never run out of enthusiasm.
On that note, it's Adkins himself who had something to say to his followers via social media regarding the new film, its stunt players, the possible future of the character he plays, and more:
That's a wrap on Boyka: Undisputed IV. I've put my heart & soul into this shoot and pushed my body to it's absolute limit to bring you the next instalment of the greatest martial arts movie franchise the West has to offer.
Yuri Boyka will face many new fights in this chapter, but none more dangerous than the fight within himself.
I'd like to thank Teodora Duhovnikova, Paul Chahidi and Alon Aboutboul who brought their characters to life with and supported my performance in the best way possible.
The fighters Emilien De Falco, Trayan Milenov, Andy Long, Brahim Achabbakhe and Martyn Ford for giving it their all (especially Andy Long who I sent to the hospital - sorry Andy).
Tim Man, our fight choreographer, we couldn't do it without you my friend (2 more sections please).
All the Bulgarian cast & crew for all their hard work and dedication.
I love playing this character and we already have ideas on where to take him next so do me a favour - if you want to see more of Yuri Boyka and don't want to wait another 6 years to see it then please, please support this movie through the official channels and not illegal downloads. It needs to make a profit to justify a sequel, it's plain economics.
Time for me to rest my aching bones.
Cheers,
Scott
"If I'm the champion of the toilets? Then what does that make you when I kick the fucking shit out of you?!"
~Yuri Boyka
So, for all intents and purposes, it's quite simple, really. Grant your monetary support to this movie and support Adkins and the cast and crew of his film the right way, and we will see plenty more. The same goes for his recently-completed craft of action with Florentine for Close Range, which still awaits a date; You can also catch Adkins opposite Wu Jing on September 1 when Well Go USA releases Wolf Warrior on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Stay tuned for more info!
