Reckless review (2026)
Reckless is an aggressively busy action comedy that would have been better if the filmmakers eased up slightly to just let the story play out.
It’s clearly influenced by Guy Ritchie’s black comedy classics like Snitch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. but the humor isn’t as crisp, the script isn’t sharp enough and the direction isn’t as confident.
What makes Reckless worth checking out is another committed fearless performance from star Scott Adkins.
Like fellow charismatic martial artist Michael Jai White, Adkins elevates average to mediocre material to at least make it watchable. Reckless doesn’t test Adkins’ limits, but there is a better film underneath the numerous distractions.
Adkins plays Devon, a career criminal who just made a retirement worthy score with his three buddies. Devon is all set to ride off to the sunset with his girlfriend, Veronica (Kirsty J. Curtis), when he realizes he’s been set up to take the fall for the robbery.
After a five-year prison sentence, he heads out to get some answers from his old crew starting with George (Jordan Long). Devon’s timing actually worked out for George’s bookkeeper Kimber (Nicole Deon, Heads of State) as he was forcing himself on her.
With George no longer in any condition to answer Devon’s questions and Kimber now caught in his mess, the unlikely pair are on the run together.
Adkins and Leon have solid chemistry. Their interaction is one of the high points of Reckless. Leon bounces off Adkins well especially during the comedic scenes. Kimberly makes a good straight woman when Devon starts spazzing out.
Screenwriters Matthew Robert Kelly and Stu Small get the mad dash unpredictable tone of Ritchie’s gangster classics right, but the comedy elements don’t land the same and come off sillier instead of funny.
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The dialogue isn’t as crisp as it probably should be in the non-action scenes. It’s not so much a function of the plot not working but how it’s executed.
Director Elliott Montello seems unsure of his approach for his first full-length film. There are plenty of Reckless scenes that show he can handle this style of film, but he undercuts it with extreme edits and loud, obtrusive songs that take away from the moment.
This is particularly frustrating given that Reckless features one of the best action stars of the the last two decades.
Adkins is a versatile action star. His fluidity in pulling off kicks, punches, blocks and even an occasional jumping spin kick gives Reckless the necessary credibility for intense action scenes.
Montello tends to miss the mark more when he relies less on Adkins’ physical prowess and leans into more slapstick style action.
Vinnie Jones plays Trent, the crime boss trying to keep his organization in line before Devon unravels all his plans. Jones doesn’t bring his usual smoke and brimstone energy to the more low-key Trent but still provides an extra level of gangster genre credibility.
Kris Johnson is police detective Jackson, who’s keeping close tabs on Devon since he’s sure he can lead him to whatever secret Trent is hiding. Jackson is an intriguing shades of grey character and Johnson plays him wonderfully ambiguous so it’s unclear what side he’ll be on when the end credits begin.
By its final act, Reckless ends up with a relatively satisfying conclusion with the hint of a potential follow-up. With some fine-tuning of the script and Montello gaining more confidence a Reckless sequel could cover most of the shortcomings of its predecessor.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Photo Credit: Sky Originals
After watching Reckless, check out Scott Adkins in Triple Threat on Blu-Ray on Amazon.
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