RAF pilot James Wright (Adkins) is shot down while on a mission during WW2 and is swiftly captured by the Japanese army. Taken to a POW camp, he incurs the wrath of the camp’s merciless leader and is forced to fight in bouts of hand-to-hand combat with other soldiers/prisoners. However, Wright is a gifted fighter, having honed his skills while growing up in Hong Kong, proving more than a match for his opponents and gaining the trust of the other prisoners he hatches a plan for them all to escape.

A sort of mix of a martial arts movie and ‘The Great Escape’, ‘Prisoner of War’ sees action star Scott Adkins bring his considerable fight skills to the war film. Re-teaming with his frequent co-star and filmmaker Louis Mandylor (‘The Debt Collector 1 & 2’), the two have crafted an entertaining war picture that satisfyingly blends action and drama. Slickly made, ‘Prisoner of War’ may walk some familiar paths narrative wise but feels like a fresh spin thanks to a likeable supporting cast, solid direction, and a good amount of crisply choreographed fight action.

The tournament-based aspect leads to a surfeit of creatively choreographed fight scenes where Adkins once again gets to show off his considerable fight talent. The action is fluid and sustained, allowing the choreography to flow and be appreciated. The action is a high selling point of the film, and it excels here, but ‘Prisoner of War’ brings some grit and character along with it: the attempts to flee the prisoner camp just as exciting as all the fight scenes. It may play fast and loose with historical accuracy but for the most part, the film is a gripping and entertaining POW based action film.

The narrative is relatively straightforward and perhaps stretched at an hour and fifty minutes, and its low budget/B-movie-ness shows through on occasion (Adkins seemingly self-cleaning white t-shirt sometimes an unintentional humorous distraction!). However, Adkins is a dab hand at the action movie now, and it’s good to see him trying something a bit different here, while Mandylor is proving to be a director to watch, this being his most solid effort yet. Pulp WW2 action done well that should appeal to both war movie enthusiasts and martial arts fight fans.