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A NEW BREED OF ACTION HAS ARRIVED
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to two of the best-kept weapons in this new era of action cinema. On one side, you have filmmaker and action maestro William Kaufman, who has spent decades sharpening his craft until he became the go-to architect of explosive, brutal action films packed with fierce, kinetic tactical design you rarely see today. On the other, you have a legit breakout action-star-in-waiting in LaMonica Garrett. Garrett has been quietly building an impressive resume in supporting turns on Taylor Sheridan hits like 1883 and Lioness, and he teamed with Kaufman last year on the action thunderbolt Osiris. Now the two reunite and double down, delivering a gritty, visceral, military-grade banger appropriately titled Man of War.
Man of War plays things far more grounded and realistic than the sci-fi-tinged Osiris. It feels ripped straight from the headlines, plunging us into the Ukraine conflict, the years of devastation, and the atrocities that have scarred that region. Make no mistake, Man of War is not some soapbox political screed—though it never flinches from the brutality unfolding over there. Kaufman aims his sights on a different target: a story of redemption and the fierce love of family, told in the middle of a hailstorm of bullets, beatdowns, and the reminder that there are still heroes walking this earth.
LaMonica Garrett stars as Connor, a former Navy SEAL haunted by years of killing and witnessing the worst of humanity, now drifting through a world that has forgotten him. What happens to a man who has dedicated his entire life to being a precision-engineered weapon when there are no more wars to fight and the demons finally take the wheel? The answer is brutal in its simplicity: nothing. Connor spends his days at the bottom of a bottle, silently waiting for the moment it all finally shuts off.
Everything detonates in an instant when Connor’s adopted daughter Riley (Rosemary Yaneva) is taken prisoner during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. During the chaos, she calls him, and Connor is forced to watch her abduction unfold in real time at the hands of ruthless Russian mercenary Koniev (action legend Daniel Bernhardt) and his pack of stone-cold killers. Before you can say “no easy day,” Connor is on the move, reaching out to old ally Charlie (played by Jason Patric, who elevates every frame he’s in) and heading straight into Kiev on what is essentially a suicide mission. His objective is simple: retrieve Riley and somehow make it out before his clock runs out. The stakes are maxed out as Connor pushes through a kill zone of relentless death and destruction, trying to execute a no-room-for-error extraction under the worst possible conditions.
Once boots hit the ground, Connor is teamed up with Dany (Andrew Howard), his guide through this land of the dead. From the jump, nothing goes according to plan. Connor is forced to re-engage every lethal instinct he ever honed as an elite operator, going to war against Koniev’s army in a desperate bid to save his family and maybe claw back a little restitution for all the monsters he’s birthed into the world. Whether this odyssey becomes his resurrection or his death sentence is an open question, because—as every warrior knows—the best-laid plans disintegrate the second that first bullet snaps past your ear.
Man of War is exactly the kind of movie action fans should be hunting down—it doesn’t just check the boxes, it punches straight through them. This is a film stacked with hard, disciplined tactical action and vicious CQB work, all delivered with brutal gusto. From the opening frames to the final credits, it’s relentless, visceral, and savage cinematic warfare. If you walk out of Man of War claiming you didn’t like it, then I’m convinced you simply don’t like action films. Kaufman is a master at engineering this kind of adrenaline overload. The story may be stripped-down and direct, but it lands with enough raw human emotion and hard-edged bravado to perfectly complement the carnage detonating onscreen.
First things first: LaMonica Garrett absolutely earns his name above the title here, and this performance should cement him as a long-term headliner for this kind of high-caliber action fare. If I had to describe Garrett, I’d say imagine blending the gravitas of Denzel Washington with the physical ferocity of the late, great Steve James. Garrett is a force of nature with a commanding presence every time he steps into frame. He’s got the look, the weight, and finally the chance to occupy center stage after so many standout supporting turns—and he seizes it. He hoists the entire film onto his broad shoulders and drags it across the finish line while emptying AK-47 mags at the same time. If any actor feels destined to honor real-world elite warriors on the big screen, it’s LaMonica Garrett.
The supporting squad around Garrett is locked in as well. Andrew Howard steals every scene he’s in as Dany, Connor’s guide through the rubble and ruin. This role could have been disposable, a generic handler to move the plot along, but Kaufman gives Howard room to maneuver and lets him run wild. Dany isn’t just a tour guide; he’s a dangerous asset, and as the film unfolds, we learn he’s every bit as lethal as our main hero.
Rosemary Yaneva shines as Connor’s adopted daughter Riley. Like Dany, her character could have easily been reduced to a stock victim who exists only to be rescued. Not here. Riley is no damsel in distress by any definition. Kaufman gives Yaneva space to show just how tough and resilient Riley really is, and she seizes every opportunity to highlight her fierce spirit and prove exactly why she is Connor’s daughter.
Jason Patric’s involvement could have been limited to an extended cameo as Charlie Lewis, the voice on the other end of the phone. Instead, Patric—ever the pro—elevates the material just by showing up. Charlie is instrumental to the mission, and even though he and Connor never share physical screen time, their back-and-forth is a huge part of the film’s heart and emotional engine.
And then there’s Daniel Bernhardt. What can I say? The man is an action legend for a reason. Whether he’s taking point as the heroic lead or sliding into the skin of a villainous killer, Bernhardt brings maximum intensity and chews up the frame whether he’s delivering a line or a spinning side kick. He’s one of those rare action stars who automatically levels up any project he’s in—he’s basically a modern-day ninja; drop him into your movie and it instantly gets better. As Koniev, he easily could have gone full cartoon, playing an over-the-top, mustache-twirling bad guy. Instead, he’s chillingly controlled, sadistic, and legitimately terrifying. Koniev is a man with no soul, someone who lives to inflict pain, and he’s horrifying precisely because you know there are people like this out there in the real world. Bernhardt also gets plenty of time to throw down, and rest assured, he hasn’t lost a step.
Linds Edwards, who also appeared in Kaufman’s Osiris, is exceptional once again as Bunny, one of Connor’s comrades on this mission of no return. Edwards never phones it in; he goes all-in every time, and while this role is very different from his work in Kaufman’s sci-fi outing, he still brings that full-throttle badass energy to the screen. Bunny gets his moments, and Edwards makes every one of them count.
A special shoutout is due to veteran tough guy Greg Burridge, who steals scenes as Zeus, the resident sniper in Connor’s motley crew of devil dogs. Burridge should absolutely be a bigger name in this genre. He plays Zeus with steely-eyed precision, doing real justice to one of the deadliest roles on the battlefield. As Zeus, Burridge is unleashed—he vaporizes faceless goons with ruthless efficiency, and by the time the finale hits, his character has fully risen to the occasion.
The action here is the whole game. Let’s not pretend otherwise. Yes, we care deeply about these characters. Yes, we want to see the good guys make it home. But at the end of the day, this is an action fan’s playground. I’ve been around this genre a long time—it’s hard to impress me because I truly have seen it all. Or at least I thought I had. Hardcore fans can breathe easy, because Man of War is a bullet-riddled chef’s kiss: a chest-thumping, crowd-pleasing blast of pure mayhem. The film is locked and loaded with some of the best firepower-laced sequences I’ve seen in ages, a near non-stop, pedal-to-the-metal assault on the senses that ignites serious tactical chaos and delivers a ruthless, no-nonsense attitude.
When the action hits in Man of War, it’s not just immersive—it’s full combat deployment. Kaufman doesn’t just drop the audience into the thick of it; he straps a plate carrier on you, shoves a rifle in your hands, and shoves you straight into the blast radius. As the chaos erupts around you, everything feels kinetic, ferocious, and utterly unflinching. The combat choreography is legit, and Kaufman continues to prove he’s one of the leaders in this space, staging action that genuinely honors the men and women who do this for real. He surrounds himself with an elite team that dishes out gritty, pulse-pounding, no-holds-barred set pieces that rival anything you’ll see in bigger-budget blockbusters. Honestly, Kaufman and his fellow indie action filmmakers often do it better and bigger with fewer resources and less time—that’s a victory on every front. The action design here balances grounded, realistic carnage with just enough over-the-top garnish to remind you this is still an action movie. We want it real, but we also want full-blown tactical Armageddon, and on that front Kaufman basically says, “hold my beer.”
There are multiple standout sequences, but the forest firefight is an instant highlight, capturing the chaos and disorientation of guerilla combat. The scene throws you right into the fog of war, unrelenting and merciless. Then there’s the finale—a climax that absolutely deserves to be mentioned alongside the best action-movie endings in recent memory. The body count goes through the roof, ammo is poured out in endless waves, and yet the whole thing remains razor-sharp, kinetic, and feverishly intense. Nearly every second delivers a “Hell Yeah!” moment tailor-made for fans of sweat-inducing combat flicks.
No spoilers here—at least not beyond what the trailer has already shown—but you know it’s coming: Connor and Koniev eventually meet in the ring for a climactic beatdown of towering proportions. In a film where the bullets do most of the talking, we’re treated to a savage, stripped-down CQB showdown built on fists, feet, and cold steel. It’s a take-no-prisoners, barbaric, MMA-style brawl with both men emptying the tank. This is one of those fights you’ll want to replay over and over because it’s just that damn good. I genuinely felt like I was bleeding and sweating right along with them—and that’s the highest compliment I can give it.
Overall, Man of War captures action maestro William Kaufman at the very top of his game. All those years ago, when I walked into a Blockbuster Video and rented his first foray into action, The Prodigy, I knew I was witnessing the start of a serious career. Kaufman is a fan’s filmmaker—he makes the movies we crave, packed with action that few can rival. The cast, led by a full-fledged action-star-making turn from LaMonica Garrett, is operating at peak performance, and you can feel that every single person involved respects the material and is hell-bent on giving the audience exactly what they came for.
Man of War is a bullet-riddled chef’s kiss, with LaMonica Garrett proving he has everything it takes to headline a chest-thumping, crowd-pleasing, action-heavy showcase. Action legend Daniel Bernhardt is ruthless, unforgiving, and lethally magnetic, clearly having a blast with the role. This is locked-’n’-loaded tactical action cinema, packed with some of the most ferocious, firepower-infused sequences I’ve seen in a long time, all driven by a relentless, never-quit mentality. It checks every box for hardcore fans hunting for serious military-style action that executes on all fronts with a lean, mean, no-nonsense attitude. With a cast like this and Kaufman’s proven track record for authentic, visceral, grounded tactical action, Man of War is an undeniable crowd-pleaser that belongs at the top of every serious action fan’s must-see list—and it does for modern military tactical cinema what The Furious did for hard-hitting martial arts mayhem.
There are a few certainties in life: we have to pay taxes, we will eventually leave this earth, and an action movie from William Kaufman will detonate with bombastic, tactical, grounded mayhem. Man of War is yet another reminder that, no matter how long you’ve been watching this genre, we definitely haven’t seen it all yet.
VERDICT: 5 OUT OF 5 STARS
Man of War is essential action cinema, once again proving William Kaufman is the master of cinematic tactical warfare and giving LaMonica Garrett the kind of action-star-making showcase that kicks the door wide open for his future.
ON DIGITAL JULY 3RD!
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