Sometimes, you just get lucky. A couple of days ago, I was bored out of my skull. I’ve scrolled through all my YouTube subscriptions and didn’t see anything new. So, as usual, I went to my Netflix account and see if they had anything new. Lo and behold, there was something I actually did want to watch! It wasn’t one of those new Netflix exclusive films they pump out each and every week. No, the thing I saw was a sequel to an action film I liked but I simply forgot. Still, when I saw it show up in Netflix’s New Arrivals section, I had to see it lickedy–split.

That movie was Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday.

Now, you may not know about Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday and you might not even be aware that it’s a sequel. But I have! I saw the first Accident Man a while back and I positively enjoyed my time watching Scott Adkins play the titular hero. So, the mere idea that I could watch another flick with him kicking as much butt as he did then, well, I just had to see Hitman’s Holiday, didn’t I?

First things first, this will be a SPOILER FREE review. Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday just popped up on Netflix Philippines and, according to uNoGS, a neat little site that tracks down global releases for the streaming network, it’s only available in a few Asian regions. Because of this fact, I’m not sure how many people will be able to watch this, let alone know about it. So, yeah, I will have to make this review a SPOILER FREE one, even though it was officially released a couple of years ago.

Anyway, Scott Adkins once again plays Mike Fallon AKA the titular Accident Man. He got his moniker as he’s an assassin who makes his hits look like accidents so the police won’t investigate them. He has now set up his base of operations in Malta due to the events of the first film. However, when the son of the head of the local crime family has a contract put on him, they kidnap Accident Man’s lone friend and force him to be his bodyguard.

Okay, that seems like a very quick synopsis of the plot. But then again, there really isn’t much plot. Sure, you may have to see the previous film to fully grasp the situation but the movie does a fairly fine job of covering what’s transpired with broad strokes. Then again, you don’t really need to know the story to enjoy Hitman’s Holiday as the filmmakers and Scott Adkins (who helped write and produce it) focus on why you’re watching the movie: the fights.

The fights here in Hitman’s Holiday are glorious as there’s nary an gunfight or explosions during them. It’s just pure martial arts madness, which does seem like a rarity in movies nowadays. Some of the cuts are actually long and, considering one singular fight scene can go for around five to fifteen minutes each, I just have to imagine shooting a single fight scene must have taken a week or so to piece together! And that’s just just filming the darned things! I haven’t even factored in the planning for the fight choreography and all the rehearsals just to get things right!

And there are a lot of fight scenes! In fact, the majority of the movie is just the Accident Man going from fight scene to fight scene. Oh, once in a while, we’ll get some story here and there but, for the most part, it’s just wall-to-wall action.

However, just having fight scenes can be boring if the characters aren’t charming enough to care about or hate. Thankfully, both the heroes and villains in Hitman’s Holiday fill out both parts really well. Scott Adkins isn’t a face you may know but you’ve probably have seen him in other movies. He usually just plays one of the heavies the hero would have to dispatch but he has had played some high profile heavies, such as Weapon IX in Wolverine: Origins and, most recently, the fat guy in John Wick: Chapter 4. So you know he’s really good if he can still do fancy kicks and flips while wearing a fat suit!

His performance is also pretty good as Mike Fallon/Accident Man. There’s a certain “rough around the edges” type of personality he pull off so well. The rest of the supporting cast is also pretty good but they do come off as a little more cartoony and goofy. That’s fine as each of their eccentricities help define their roles, making them easy to distinguish from each other. I particularly enjoyed Sarah Chang as Wong Siu-Ling as she moves and behaves like a character from an old martial arts film! She pulls off the mannerisms incredibly well. So well that I hope this was intentional!

While the plot is extremely thin, I will have to give the story credit as things do flow together neatly for the most part. The first third of the film does show Accident Man performing his hitman duties before we do get to the fights galore for the rest of the movie. Those didn’t feel slow as listening to the characters interact with each other lets you get to know them in a deeper way. I will say there is a subplot regarding the friend’s reason for being in Malta in the first place which didn’t really go anywhere. I also didn’t like how the movie ended as it was just a voiceover explaining what did happen instead of, I don’t know, actually filming a scene showing what happened. It feels like they ran out of budget so they just did a voiceover as it was the cheapest way to go.

Overall, I really did like Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday. It’s a throwback to when martial arts movies were king and it shows why they were the king. The fight scenes are well planned and filmed so you see the action clearly. The characters have their own distinct charm and, while the plot is razor thin, you don’t really mind because you’re just too hyped from all the action to care. If you’re in a mood for a good martial arts flick, I say go watch Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday. You won’t regret it.

Have you seen Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments section below!