It is rare for this actor to play villain roles, but Bruce Willis pulls it off nicely in this action thriller from indie director Jared Cohn.

A police raid to stop a drug deal has resulted in the death of a young man, Kyle Whitlock. Upon hearing the news, Kyle’s father Ron is in turmoil. When he is questioned by two policemen, he kills them in cold blood. Blaming the system for the death of his son, Ron decides to do something drastic, but he will not be able to pull off the job by himself.

Gathering a band of mercenaries who are also fed up with the system, Ron decides to take over the local dam. He warns the authorities that if they do not meet his demands, he will blow up the dam, which will destroy the town. However, Ron is in for a surprise when ex-military officer turned security Mack Karr learns what has happened and has plans to stop Ron and his gang. That’s if Ron can control his gang, who may seem at times as if they have their own agendas.

Jared Cohn is becoming of the big names when it comes to indie action films these days. While he may not be on the level of a Jesse V. Johnson or an Isaac Florentine, his resume speaks for itself. He may work with low budgets, but his connections within the industry are recognized and he does make the most of his budgets. For his latest film, he co-wrote with Cam Cannon this film originally titled Reactor, due to the fact that it’s quite a double entendre: the fact that villains take over a nuclear reactor connected to a dam and the fact our hero must “react” to the circumstances.

It is very rare to see Bruce Willis in a villain role. While nothing will most likely compare to The Jackal, he pulls it off quite nicely in the antagonist role with this film. Here, he is a bitter man and father who seeks justice for his son, who he feels was in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, the bitterness leads to becoming the leader of a band of mercenaries who also feel the system has failed them. Willis gets to go a bit crazy in the film, attempting to serve as a mastermind who only wants justice but even he can’t completely control his gang, which leads to some pretty good twists within the story.

The hero of the film, Mack, is well played by Patrick Muldoon. Very rarely do you get to see Muldoon strut his action skills. One memorable example of this mode was as the villain in the 1993 B-movie Rage and Honor II: Hostile Takeover, where we get to see him take on Richard Norton. Here, Muldoon does a welcome throwback to the late 1980’s, early 1990’s B-movie action hero. Here, he is a conflicted and rugged ex-military officer turned security officer who uses his skills to thwart Willis and crew.

Deadlock is a pretty decent film that makes the most out of its budget with Bruce Willis in a rare villain role with Patrick Muldoon’s throwback action hero. A worthy action film for Jared Cohn.

WFG RATING: B+

Saban Films presents a 308 Ent production in association with Bondit Media Capital, Head Gear Films, Kreo Films FZ, and Metrol Technology. Director: Jared Cohn. Producers: Corey Large and Johnny Messner. Writers: Jared Cohn and Cam Cammon. Cinematography: Brandon Cox. Editing: Paul Montez McDade.

Cast: Bruce Willis, Patrick Muldoon, Matthew Marsden, Michael DeVorzon, Ava Paloma, Kelcey Rose, Chris Cleveland, Douglas S. Matthews, Kelly Lynn Reiter, Jamal Trulove, Jared Bankens, Billy Jack Harlow.

Deadlock will be available in theaters, on demand and digital, Friday, December 3.