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I’ve asked this question before, but I’ll gladly ask it again. Why the hell is Bren Foster not a bigger action star? Foster is savagely legit when it comes to hyper-kinetic and hyper-real martial arts action design and has ushered in a new phase to his career as an indie filmmaker who gets what fans want to see on the screen. Why have someone else direct and make your film when they can just utterly screw it up? The answer. Just do it yourself and pour all your blood, sweat and tears into it to bring out the best the genre has to offer. Foster is now accepting the assignment (and trust me, he gets it) to bring audiences ultra extreme martial arts mayhem that rivals anything you’ll see in such iconic films as The Raid or John Wick coupled with characters, you’ll become invested in and heartfelt human drama that will justify the violence that comes as a last resort. With Life After Fighting, Foster’s directorial debut, the Australian action powerhouse has crafted a tier one action/drama that leaves it all on the mat when all is said and done.
I’ve been following Foster since his early days on Nat Geo’s Fight Science where he showcased his sick skills for the first time and having a love for cinema, Foster wanted nothing more than to translate on film what he can do with his body and some kick ass choreography. Having starred in a few action pics with Steven Seagal, Foster stole the show more than once in films like Maximum Conviction and Force of Execution. The latter was a starring role where he proved that he had more than what it takes to be a leading man of action. To watch a fight sequence involving Foster is like a religious experience of ferocity and fierceness that is unrivaled. With The Last Ship, Foster would create his most popular character yet in Scpo Wolf Taylor and for four years on that show, he demonstrated that he was no fluke when it comes to beating stuntmen into submission with extreme martial arts moves that also featured body piercing power on another level.
With Life After Fighting, Foster has given his fans his true passion project that uniquely combines heavy human drama with fight action that delivers with such effect that the viewer feels every hit and blow. This film also cements Foster as a true action star and one that needs as much recognition as he can get. Foster also stars as Alex Faulkner, a martial arts school owner who was once a celebrated champion in the ring. After years of punishment and surgeries, Faulkner’s body has betrayed him to the point where in his final fight, he basically quit on himself for reasons only he knew. Years later, he is living a quiet and idyllic life teaching what he knows to his students. Faulkner has regrets but with his students, he finds purpose and a reason to go on.
Enter Samantha (Cassie Howarth) who walks into Alex’s school one day to enroll her son Terry into classes. It is here that the plot takes off as Samantha has a history with her ex-husband Victor (Luke Ford) who is as vile as they come and plays prominently into the movie’s plot. Samantha and Victor have been divorced for three years but someone forgot to send Victor the memo and each day he proceeds to make Samantha’s life a living hell by stalking her and tormenting her and using Terry against her. This doesn’t stop a blossoming romance between Alex and Samantha that just further infuriates Victor to no end. Victor proceeds to send adult aged bullies to Alex’s school in a pathetic attempt to deter Faulkner from continuing said relationship with Samantha but each try is met with failure as Alex easily ejects each opponent.
The real plot ensues halfway into the film as Alex’s cousin Julie (Annabelle Stephenson), who also works for him at the school, experiences the unthinkable as her daughter Violet (played by Foster’s real-life daughter Arielle Jean Foster) is abducted along with another student outside of the Karate school. What follows is a nightmare decent into the ruthless and unforgiving world of child trafficking as Alex breaks into action to find Violet and other girls that have met the same fate at the hands of the worse that society has to offer. This is truly ripped from the headlines and an issue that is near and dear to Foster who made this movie to shine a light on this awful atrocity. It’s a hard subject to know of but one that needs our full attention as millions of children disappear every year.
I’ve followed Life After Fighting ever since its initial conception so to finally see the finished product and Foster’s freshman effort in filmmaking was a delight to say the least as in a year where we have been spoiled by numerous action films that have risen above the competition, Foster has given us one of the best action films of 2024. The movie is a near perfect blend that gives audiences an emotional and heart tugging drama and then proceeds to turn it upside down on its head and materialize into a brutal and savage martial arts actioner full of pulverizing and bloody carnage that is just as good, if not better, then some of those other films we always mention.
I’ve heard some people complain about the running time of the movie with it being over two hours long, but I was never bored or disengaged as Foster gives us the right amount of time with these characters so when the fists and feet start flying, you’ll care about our hero and those he will die to protect. Foster also makes sure that the bad guys are the right amount of loathsome so when they get their comeuppance it is incredibly satisfying on a whole new level. Foster plays Faulkner as sympathetic, likeable and honest and someone that you would love to get to know better. There’s plenty of time to see what he and the rest of the cast can really do dramatically, and everyone is more than up to the challenge delivering true and meaningful performances.
This is more than an average martial arts action film and Foster makes sure to take pride and care in all facets of it. We all know that there’s going to be a rousing display of fight action to be had but it has to mean something, and Foster makes sure to tell us that when it comes time to resort to violence, it’s only used as a last resort when evil is knocking on the door. There’s real emotion, a little dash of humor and equal parts drama to go along with all the adrenaline that will eventually happen.
In terms of action, Foster knows what fans what and he gives it to them in spades with numerous fight scenes peppered throughout the first two-thirds of the movie culminating with a 40-minute finale that is a barrage of insane action design courtesy of the star/director himself. Watching Foster in action is like watching a brutal ballet and his moves and the power behind them are insane. One has to wonder how a man can deliver extreme martial arts tricks with such devastating power, but he does it at every turn. Foster and his Elite stunt unit put their bodies on the line to the point where it’s hard to fathom that no one had to be rushed to the hospital when the dust settled. I winced more than once with each battle and that’s hard to make me do as I’ve seen countless movies like this one.
The finale is a 40-minute assault on the senses as Foster is in full on beast mode transforming into a punishing one-man army that stands his ground and takes on everyone to save the day as his Karate school turns into a battleground of unforgiving brutality. It is a relentless marathon of broken bones, blood sprays and bone cracking choreography that is the literal definition of fist pumping and chest thumping. This is essentially Foster’s coming out party as an elite action hero and he makes sure that he executes each and every jaw dropping move that he is best known for including jackknifes and his signature let me kick you four times in the air before I finally land on the ground. Foster also shoots the action in such a way that the audience can see every pummeling move and utilizes just the right amount of slo-mo to accentuate the money shots, so we definitely know that we just witnessed something spectacular in terms of pure unadulterated physical prowess.
Another aspect of the action design that is superb is that Foster expertly mixes it up between high flying extreme martial arts devastation and lethal ground and pound MMA action that looks as realistic as it gets just like it came straight out of the UFC. Fans are treated with ample doses of fists, elbows, flying knees, kicks, joint locks and submissions that are crowd pleasing and ferocious. Foster’s Faulkner takes on an army in the last minutes of the movie and he saves the best for last as he engages with the movie’s real villain, a henchman named Ethan played Masa Yamaguchi. If it wasn’t enough for what came before, the final fight between these two men is a pulsating display of master moves that leaves it all on the table and it comes to a point where you’re not quite sure if Alex will make it out alive. It’s essentially a true master class on how to properly and effectively showcase the best martial arts action possible on screen with impeccable timing, power and talent.
Overall, Bren Foster is a tier one martial arts action star and now filmmaker. Life After Fighting delivers everything a true fan who deems action cinema as a religion could ever want. Foster is savagely legit and is in full on beast mode here turning into a punishing one-man army for the finale and the fight sequences especially the last 40 minutes rivals anything you’ll see in The Raid or the John Wick franchise or any iconic fight pic and this is more impressive as Foster probably had a third of the budget those movies had. It just goes to show you that you don’t need massive amounts of cash to make a decent action flick. All you need is men and women who know what they are doing in front of and behind the camera and have a passion for the savage science onscreen. This is hands down one of the best action films of the year. If you love your action movies to contain heart and human emotion mixed with hyper-realistic empty handed fight chaos, then let me introduce you to a film called Life After Fighting and Bren Foster, the star and filmmaker that action cinema so desperately needs.
VERDICT: 5 Out of 5 Stars- A Leading Contender for Best Action Film of 2024!
Life After Fighting is a Hyper-Kinetic Merging of Heartfelt Drama and Unforgiving, Bone Jarring Martial Arts Action Design that Ushers in Bren Foster as an Elite Action Cinema Star!
Check Out My Exclusive One on One Interview with Bren Foster as We Chat Martial Arts, Training, Films and Life After Fighting!
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