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It’s hard to remember when The Blair Witch Project first stormed into theaters and kicked open the door on found-footage cinema. The marketing hit like a loaded .45, convincing audiences the nightmare was real, and the actors had to hit the talk-show circuit to confirm they were alive and, yes, it was only a movie. But the concept landed with a shotgun blast. Fast-forward to today and nearly every found-footage picture is trapped in horror, with only a few fantastical strays breaking formation. That’s why filmmaker James Cullen Bressack’s new revenge actioner The Workout comes roaring in like a long-overdue assault: action cinema was built for this point-of-view mayhem, and this film delivers a hard, legitimate entry.
Chronicling two former Army Rangers on a personal hunt for brutal vengeance, The Workout is a full-throttle missile that never takes its finger off the trigger. It blasts past its flaws to deliver action cinema’s first found-footage thriller, packing cleverly staged combat with heartfelt human drama and rolling both into one bruising package. Bressack came up through horror, but over the last few years he has charged into action, working with heavy hitters like JCVD, Mel Gibson, Steven Seagal, and Bruce Willis. He’s a true believer in the genre, and here he unleashes unflinching CQB combat, hard questions about justice and revenge, and the consequences of action—all driving toward a ballistic finale where right and wrong collide head-on.
The Workout stars Peter Jae (Darkness of Man) as Wyatt and Josh Kelly as Levi, whose world detonates when Wyatt’s wife Becca (Galadriel Stineman)—also Levi’s sister—is brutally gunned down while the three are making a workout video in their studio. Then the enemy twists the knife: Becca is pregnant, and although the baby survives, her death consumes Wyatt with a white-hot need for vengeance. Wyatt also suffers a severe brain injury during the assault, leaving his memory and cognitive functions fading under fire. Every second becomes a countdown.
With the clock running and his brain and body breaking down, Wyatt calls on Levi and their military comrade Tank (Ashlee Evens-Smith) to sharpen their lethal skill sets and launch a kill mission against organized crime, bringing those responsible to final justice. Along the way, Wyatt decides to document the whole operation so his daughter can one day understand what happened—and know her father was a good man who took vengeance into his own hands. He also wants her to understand that actions carry consequences, and that, for better or worse, they did what they had to do.
The Workout never breaks from its mission statement. It kicks the plot into gear and leaves precious little breathing room. Bressack knows exactly what the fans came to see, and he serves up a steady barrage of brutal beatdowns and firefights, staged with sharp purpose. Current technology works in the film’s favor, turning this into a slick, polished found-footage action picture that moves with confidence instead of looking cheap or lost. The audience sees the action and drama unfold in a smooth, feverishly rapid-fire charge that elevates the movie above standard revenge fare.
Peter Jae leads the charge and is sensational as Wyatt, a man living on borrowed time who wrings maximum power from every moment, whether he’s locked in a low-key exchange or a violent collision. Jae brings Wyatt’s rage and uncertainty roaring to the surface, and as a father, I could feel the character’s pain at every level. You see the torment in his performance. As his brother-in-law and former Army buddy Levi, Josh Kelly is the perfect counterweight, forced to see the mission through while protecting Wyatt and keeping him on target. Their chemistry feels authentic, and Kelly—himself a legitimate former Army Ranger—brings real tactical authority to the action, even helping establish the realism of the film’s combat movements.
Ashlee Evens-Smith brings up the rear as Tank and hits the screen like a one-woman wrecking crew. A real-life MMA fighter, Evens-Smith moves with brutal fluidity, and her action sequences rank among the film’s best, including a standout apartment fight that is long, savage, and executed with punishing precision. If anything, the role confirms that Evens-Smith has the charisma and onscreen firepower to headline more films of this kind.
If I’m going to talk shortcomings, the movie takes a few hits from CGI muzzle fire and suspect acting among parts of the supporting cast. That’s the price of admission in indie cinema, but none of it knocks the picture off its mission. I stayed invested all the way to the final blast. Some viewers will dump on the movie from behind their keyboards simply because they can, but Bressack, the cast, and the crew emptied the magazine and left everything on the field, delivering something that breaks from the usual path.
As stated earlier, Bressack loads The Workout with satisfyingly brutal action that swings between bullets and beatings. Lower-budget indie films often get trapped by limited money and time, but Bressack knows how to turn those restrictions into weapons, using creative methods to unleash ferocious set pieces. One sequence has Wyatt and Levi storming a mob boss’s mansion, an extended assault packed with bone-breaking moves. Instead of settling for a standard shootout, Bressack shows exactly how elite these two men are as they clear floor after floor of goons with ruthless efficiency. The film keeps pressing forward until the final confrontation, where our heroes make their last stand against an army, betrayals surface, and the story twists the knife.
Overall, The Workout is another solid notch in the indie action arsenal, and serious hardcore fans should check it out for the firepower on display. Is it perfect? No. But whatever production and acting flaws get in the way are blasted aside by a strong lead cast, powered by Peter Jae and Josh Kelly, and an unflinching plot that erupts with unforgiving violence. The action is brutally satisfying, mixing a hellfire of bullets with savage MMA combat, and you could do far worse when the end credits roll. This film proves what talented people can accomplish with limited resources—and that may be its greatest victory.
VERDICT: 3.5 Out of 5 Stars
The Workout punches through the standard flaws of indie cinema and rises to the top as a brutally paced revenge thriller packed with blunt-force action and real heartfelt emotion!
The Workout is Now Available on Digital & VOD!
The Action Fix Podcast Exclusive Interview with The Workout’s Main Man of Action Filmmaker James Cullen Bressack!
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