Atlas King is reminiscent of those underrated ’90s action films—where there wasn’t a big budget, and there were only a few big names, but damned if the movie wasn’t a hell of a lot of fun. In this case, Michael Bisping leads a group of several pretty good names in a film where the biggest problem is that it tries to have too much fun.
First and foremost, Atlas King establishes that Bisping can carry a movie, both on and off-screen. It’s ludicrous that anyone wanted to replace him as the lead. Obviously, his reputation as a UFC Hall of Famer is a big marketing hook for any independent movie. But past that, audiences may forget that he’s been acting for over a decade; this isn’t a vanity project. Atlas King gives Bisping the opportunity to show that while he obviously can play a tough guy, he can portray other facets of a character as well. Viewers get to see him have a substantive character arc for the first time since 2017’s My Name Is Lenny, and Bisping acquits himself well. In fact, the movie is actually less interesting when he’s not around.
But Bisping isn’t the only noteworthy player in Atlas King. Sarah Wayne Callies is underutilized as Penelope, the daughter of Atlas’ late friend Dutch; anyone who watched her in Colony or The Walking Dead is just waiting for her to get involved in the action. There’s also an appearance by François Chau in a supporting role. It’s wonderful to see both actors so ably fill their roles, even if their characters aren’t fully in the mix. The bulk of the action belongs to Bisping, George Finn as Dutch’s son Tommy, and John Edward Lee as Bender. There’s also Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. chewing all the scenery as Clay Emerson, the crime boss who once tried to get Atlas to throw a fight, and now has Tommy under his thumb.
From that, audiences might think they know what kind of film to expect, and they’re half-right. There is some underground fighting in Atlas King, but this is not strictly a fighting movie, nor does the fighting revolve around the title character who happens to be played by a UFC champion. At first Atlas is putting on fights in his gym, not headlining them. It’s actually Tommy who gets a bigger slice of the action. And then, about midway through, the film pivots to become a heist movie. This is both interesting and inherently risky. Certain viewers will be expecting more fighting. Others may appreciate that writer-director Nika Agiashvili doesn’t take the straight line of only telling a fighter’s redemption story.
Atlas King packs in a lot of different ideas, which results in some of them getting short shrift. One would expect it to be Atlas’ story given the title, and thanks to Bisping he remains the driving force, but a large portion of the movie is devoted to Tommy’s quasi-coming of age story and a romantic subplot within it. There’s also some exploration of Atlas’ past through his interactions with Olivia (played by Lara Wolf). It takes about the first half-hour before the audience can fully untangle all the connections between characters. Agiashvili clearly has several different directions to go in, and at points, one wonders if this could have been slimmed down or some ideas saved for a sequel (because the character of Atlas King could absolutely sustain one).
Yet even if it’s not exactly what audiences will expect, this movie is still an unabashedly fun experience. It serves up the key plot beats that everyone will want, and there’s enough action to keep the train rolling. In addition to the fights—none of which feel overly choreographed—there’s a shootout and just enough hero vs. villain banter to keep things spicy. This isn’t the most complicated film, but it’s a great popcorn movie. It would actually be a fantastic double feature with David Frigerio and Russell Crowe’s Beast; both are movies about former fighters coming back with a vengeance, and they each have a Strike Back connection.
Atlas King establishes Michael Bisping as a proven lead, and takes the audience on a wild ride in the process. It may not be the movie that the viewer initially expects and it’s not perfect, but that adds to its scrappy charm. There aren’t enough movies that are just fun from start to finish, and this is one of them.
Atlas King is now available on digital and on demand. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Saban Films.
Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.
