WFG RATING: B+

Quiver Distribution presents a Karma/Fun Republic Pictures production in association with Julijette, Dovetale Media, and Volume Global. Directed by Michael Hamilton-Wright. Produced by Michael Hamilton-Wright, Jaclyne Bohn, Anand Ramayya, and David Cormican. Written by Michael Hamilton-Wright, Christina Laughlin, and Burton L. Warner. Cinematography by Dante Yore.

Stars Michael Jai White, Aimee Stolte, Dawn Olivieri, John Littlefield, Kyle Bailey, and Aleks Paunovic.

Michael Jai White stars in this pretty fun film that shows why he has the natural ability to mesh hard hitting action with some funny comic relief.

Pete Stryker is a workaholic. His job is working as a hitman for local boss Matteo Acardo. In fact, he is the best of his men when it comes to taking jobs. However, the job has caused a rift in his relationship with Mora, Acardo’s daughter. He joins a workaholic support group to air out his grievances. And things seem to be going well until he is knocked out after a meeting.

Awakening in an abandoned facility, he discovers that he has been labelled a “rat”. And now, he is wanted in the city. A $500,000 bounty has been placed, leading not only Acardo’s men, but those from rival gangs wanting a piece of the pie. As Pete finds himself in one predicament after another, he realizes there is only one person who may be able to help him out of his jam. And that is Mora. Reluctant at first, she decides to help him and together, they attempt to discover why Pete is a “rat” and how they can convince her dad to end the bounty.

You have to hand it to Michael Jai White. Like his friend and sometimes collaborator Scott Adkins, he is one of those actors who not only has the ability to kick some major butt on screen, but also showcase a talent for acting, whether it is drama or even comedy. Black Dynamite and The Outlaw Johnny Black shows that he can mesh action and comedy quite well and once again, he does just that with this film that seemed to be somewhat under the radar but is a lot of fun.

White provides narration as protagonist Pete Stryker, a hitman for a local mob boss as we see him in a support group for workaholics. He is very careful about how he says things because of the very reason this fear kicks into gear: he has been labelled a “rat” and now finds himself going Running Man mode to save his own butt. The comic factor kicks in quite early, when he is confronted by cohort Reaper, hilariously played by Aleks Paunovic. Reaper is mad not so much as Pete being a rat than being disappointed because Pete doesn’t join him in an adult dodgeball league.

One very special surprise is the performance of Aimee Stolte. The Canadian-American actress plays Mora, Pete’s on-and-off girlfriend and the daughter of the mob boss he is working for. Together, they have the chemistry of a Mr. and Mrs. Smith vibe and surprisingly when it comes to the action, Stolte handles herself quite well. This comes with the fact she is trained in military tactics, Hapkido, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which comes in quite handy. Then there’s Dawn Olivieri, who plays one of the antagonists, rival mob boss Angel. Having seen her in 2022’s Double Threat, it was evident she was going to be a total badass again and delivers in this film, even getting to take on Stolte in hand-to-hand combat.

Hostile Takeover may have fallen under the radar but this is a fun Michael Jai White vehicle as we see him hunted down on all ends by both friends and rivals. It can be seen like an Uno Reverse on Scott Adkins’ Accident Man and hands down, Aimee Stolte is a name to look out for as we need more female action stars with a skill set and she delivers.