This urban martial arts action film from director Jamal Hall is the first of a trilogy about one man’s journey into peace isn’t what he hoped.

After the tragic death of his brother Dre, Cody Kelly has returned home and right away, is lambasted by his mother for not being there to protect her youngest son. Cody wants to live a life of peace as he was raised into the worlds of martial arts and fighting. Cody finds a job at a local warehouse, where he instantly falls for the owner’s daughter, Kimberly Santana. However, one night at a bar, Cody sees some women being harassed by local tough Samaad and his men. Cody uses his skills to fight them off.

Cody becomes in for a massive shock when he runs into Jay, his childhood rival and local tough guy. Samaad is part of Jay’s crew and instantly recognizes Cody, which leads to a brief altercation between the two rivals with Jay besting Cody. Jay runs an underground fight circuit where the fighters are using a synthetic drug called “Last Dragon”. Cody soon learns that in order to achieve peace, you will have to fight to attain it. Will Cody be able to take on his former foe in an all-out showdown to find peace again?

The first of a trilogy that would last from 2017 to last year, this is a throwback to the tournament genre of the old days with the story of a retired fighter forced back from an old foe to make things right. It has a lot of the tropes you had seen in martial arts films of various subgenres, especially from the old days of the 80s to early 2000s tournament style films. There is also the topic of Cody trying to cope with his brother’s death, which brings a sense of predictability to mind.

Alonzo Herran Jr. pulls off a pretty good performance as our hero Cody. Cody doesn’t have to be the archetype action hero of old and plays an everyman who knows martial arts and has retired from fighting. Of course, one notion of a retired hero is that they always find themselves fighting for something and here, he is fighting to live a peaceful life not just for him, but for the community. Herran pulls off some pretty nifty movies courtesy of his father and Struggle E. Styles, who serve as the film’s fight choreographers. They may not be on the level of Scott Adkins and today’s tricking style of film fighting, but more of an 80’s old school American martial arts brand, which works well here.

Ekow Yankey gives a load of viciousness as the central antagonist Jay. The second he locks eyes with Cody, you know he’s major trouble. On top of that, he‘s quite the fighter himself. Not only does he run the underground fight ring, but he is the champion. He also uses a synthetic steroid known as “Last Dragon” to enhance his skills and strength. Playing Samaad is Marc John Jeffries, best known fos his debut performance in Losing Isaiah opposite Jessica Lange and Halle Berry. Here, Jeffries plays a villain who is the right-hand man of Jay who leads a crew while Jay’s enforcers are played by Kirk “Sticky Fingaz” Jones (who played Blade in a short-lived TV series adaptation) and Fredro Starr.

The Fearless One may not be everyone’s cup of martial arts tea, but it’s a good effort as an urban martial arts action film, about not revenge, but fighting to attain peace. There would be two more films in the franchise, and this is a pretty good start.

WFG RATING: B

A Royal Family Entertainment/Dynomyte Films production. Director: Jamal Hall. Producers: Kae Brown and Cornelius Whitaker. Writes: Yaneira Davis, Alonzo Herran Jr., and Kae Brown. Cinematography: Dusha Holmes, and Josh Passaretti. Editing: Jamal Hall.

Cast: Alonzo Herran Jr., Ekow Yankey, Roxanne Kelly, Vince Edgehill, Europe Harmon, Erica Williams, Marc John Jeffreies, Kae Brown, Kirk “Sticky Fingaz” Jones, Fredro Star, Khalil Kain.