A mysterious man searches for answers in this action thriller from director Michael Winnick.

An anonymous man is undergoing an experiment where chips are implanted into the brain of potential field agents to give them impeccable skills in intelligence and combat. However, there seems to be a side effect where instead of complete control over the agent, the man known as John’s inner conscience gets the best of him as he begins an assault on the guards and makes his escape.

Dr. Cain, the scientist in charge of the experiment, is told by lead agent Wilds to find John and retrieve the chip implant at all costs. Meanwhile, John heads to a local bar at a hotel, where he meets a woman named Jane. What starts out as a innocent flirtation soon becomes an unraveling of webs as John soon discovers he and Jane may have something more in common than ever before and now both of their lives are in danger.

The action genre has many subgenres. One of those being “experiment fights back from its creators”, While one of the most famous examples of such subgenre is 1997’s Drive, this film from Michael Winnick takes a bit of a different approach. Rather than going into a full-on action thriller filled with fight scenes, there are sporadic fight scenes mixed in with a Dinner with Andre-style scene between Byron Mann and Helena Mattson.

Byron Mann starts out as the action hero type but then in the second act, brings a charm similar to James Bond. With his scenes with Mattson, who plays Jane, he brings a suaveness to the role and through this scene, we get to see a combination of flashbacks from both sides that reveal the connection between the two. Robert Patrick plays Dr. Cain, brining his brand of range that makes him one of the best villain actors today. Shani Rigsbee’s Agent Wilds is a very intriguing character as you do not whether she is on the side of good or bad.

The action scenes, despite not bad too many due to the different approach taken story-wise, are quite nicely done. Those who love Mann’s action skills get a chance to see him once again pull some nifty martial arts maneuvers against Cain’s guards in the opener as well as a few fights here and there. There is even an unexpected action scene in the film that solidifies the connection between Jane and John. The finale is even quite interesting as it goes left field.

Dark Asset takes the “fight back” riff and adds a major dash of using a flirtation scene as a motivator for connecting the dots and solving a major puzzle. Byron Mann and Helena Mattson are aces here along with Shani Rigsbee’s agent who will keep you guessing what side she is on. Definitely worth watching at least once.

WFG RATING: B-

Saban Films presents an Across the Board/Lankis production in association with Transnational Arts Entertainment. Director: Michael Winnick. Producers: Shani Rigsbee, Terri Farley-Teruel, Lida Mohaghegh, Narbon Tatoussian, and Sargon Yoseph. Writers: Michael Winnick and Terri Farley-Teruel. Cinematography: Mariano De Luca. Editing: Stephen J. Murray.

Cast: Byron Mann, Helena Mattson, Shani Rigsbee, Sabina Gadecki, Robert Patrick, Truong Ngoc Ahn, Erika Muñoz, Marc Winnick.