Legacy Of Lies (2020) Review

Directed By: Adrian Bol

Starring: Scott Adkins, Yuliia Sobol, Anna Butkevych & Martin McDougall

Synopsis: Scott Adkins (The Expendables 2) stars in this pulse-pounding global spy-thriller. A decade ago, agent Martin Baxter quit MI6 after his wife’s tragic murder in an operation gone wrong. But when Sacha, a beautiful journalist, asks for help solving an old case, Martin finds himself in the crosshairs of both UK and Russian intelligence. Now, with his daughter held captive by the KGB, Martin has just 24 hours to deliver the secret case files — which means risking both Sacha’s life and his own.

Review: Scott Adkins returns to our screens in Legacy Of Lies, following his other successful hits ‘Ip Man 4’ and ‘Payback (Debt Collectors 2)’.

Legacy Of Lies has more of a story and character approach and sees Adkins delving deeper into his acting than his fighting. Don’t get me wrong Adkins fans, our hero does get to kick some serious ass, only this time the fights happen for good reason. It’s not the kind of a movie where we see round-to-round fights leading up to a climatic beat down, but instead we get to see Adkins play the role of a flawed and afflicted man with undeniable skills – a man named Martin Baxter.

The shootouts are fast and furious, and who doesn’t love it when a hero wields more than the average handgun? Martin uses an array of lethal weapons to take out some bad guys, along with some pounding fight scenes that will satisfy any action-movie craving.

The character of Martin is flawed with a few inner demons, but he is very much the underdog who we root for. The first thirty minutes of the movie are probably the roughest an ‘Adkins’ hero has ever endured. Luck is not on Martin’s side.

People may question why Adkins has teamed with a director other than Jesse V Johnston or Isaac Florentine, but Adrian Bol had a vision for Legacy of Lies like no other, and he knows how to direct a solid thriller. This film is lower budget but has the spy-thriller quality of the first Mission Impossible movie with the detailed elements of gun play seen in the second Mission Impossible too. Legacy of Lies has top tier fight scenes, choreographed and finely polished by Tim Man.

Legacy Of Lies has Adkins play a serious no-nonsense role, driven by plot and story rather than fists and feet. Adkins shines through as he takes his acting abilities for a spin and lets his fight skills play shotgun in the passenger seat. When we do get to see Scott in action he does nothing but shine as usual.

My gripe has always been that people tend to see Adkins just for his ability to kick a dozen people whilst leaping through the air, but turn a blind eye to his varied skills in the acting department – his acting can often be overlooked.

Legacy Of Lies is an ‘edge of your seat’ thriller that doesn’t let up, even for a minute. Adkins once again dominates the charts following Avengement, Ip Man 4 and Debt Collectors 2. I highly recommend Legacy of Lies.