Lord of the Streets

Tubi is the video store of 2022. And it has a whole shelf of movies that star somewhat recognizable names in action and horror films that are actually pretty decent watches, like Bad Influence. Lord of the Streets takes a basic story -- embattled and down on his luck MMA trainer loses a bet and has to convince his student to throw a fight -- and goes wild with it. If this was made thirty years ago, it would have Billy Blanks or Don "The Dragon" Wilson in it. Or maybe Matthias Hues. Instead, we have Anthony Criss -- Treach of Naughty by Nature -- as Jason Dyson, a former fighter turned coach haunted by the man he killed in the ring. He's alienated his wife and daughter and now thrown away the one good thing he had, his relationship with a fighter named Tre. Anthony is down deep and goes lower, losing a hundred grand card game to the titular lord of the streets, Kane (former MMA fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson) and being forced to get Tre to throw a fight. He refuses and gets killed, Anthony's daughter gets kidnapped and he must train a convict named Damon Stone (UFC star Khalil "The War Horse" Rountree Jr.) to fight five men in a row all in one night. Meanwhile, Richard Grieco is Detective Kayes, a cop who wants to take down Kane by any means necessary. If you like to spot MMA fighters in movies, this is the one for you, with roles for Raja "Da Clone" Jackson, Carrese "One Punch" Archer, Eddie Avakoff and most importantly Anderson "The Spider" Silva, the man who held the UFC Middleweight Championship for nearly seven years. He's perhaps the best MMA fighter of all time. Director and writer Jared Cohn also has made Stalker In the House, Shark Season, Swim and many more films. The strangest thing he does in this movie -- spoiler warning -- is spend time setting up characters as what we assume are the leads of the movie -- it starts with how Damon was jailed in the first place -- and then writing them off, sometimes even off screen. Lord of the Streets feels like a Lorenzo Lamas action film enjoyed with pizza, beer and other substances. It's like Cool Ranch Doritos -- you wouldn't brag it up as the best thing ever, but when you are sitting there, you get a craving and think, "How good are these Doritos? Pretty good." and then just get on with your life.

If David Ayer decided to direct a film that didn't really involve law enforcement and/or dirty pool fuzz, then Lord of the Streets would be that film. If 1990's Lionheart was made today and involved a more heighten style of bone-crunching violence, then Lord of the Streets would fit right in. If a cockeyed version of Rocky took place in the seedy underbelly of dirtied-up LA, then Lord of the Streets would suffice. "You gotta fight". Indeed you do. Lord of the Streets stars Anthony "Treach" Criss. "Treach" is a rapper for Naughty By Nature and this is the first flick I've ever seen him in. Criss gives a sympathetic performance in an otherwise pretentiously thuggish pic that has mostly mediocre acting. "Treach" plays Jason Dyson, a former MMA fighter who has to recruit an inmate to fight for him and get him out of a life-threatening debt. We're talking bare-knuckle brawling where the term "ride or die" is solely evident. Fashioned in a cinematic fantasy-land where the cops tread very lightly and the villain (Kane played by "Rampage" Jackson) has more power than established Michael Corleone (oh brother), "Streets" is low budget, hip-hopped, and veritably silly. "Treach's" acting isn't the problem here, it's director Jared Cohn's ego trip as producer, writer, and helmer of "Streets". Albeit, Lord of the Streets is unsympathetic, non-empathetic, and with its ghetto bird rap soundtrack, a bloodied mess that can't quite take itself seriously. When people are shot and killed in "Streets", they're remembered so much as a light jab. In retrospect, Lord of the Streets could have benefited from some more focused editing, a little solace from its myrmidon characters, and a sense of justification for extirpating at will (you'll see if you watch the movie). I don't plan on taking it to these "streets" with a second viewing.

If David Ayer decided to direct a film that didn't really involve law enforcement and/or dirty pool fuzz, then Lord of the Streets would be that film. If 1990's Lionheart was made today and involved a more heighten style of bone-crunching violence, then Lord of the Streets would fit right in. If a cockeyed version of Rocky took place in the seedy underbelly of dirtied-up LA, then Lord of the Streets would suffice. "You gotta fight". Indeed you do. Lord of the Streets stars Anthony "Treach" Criss. "Treach" is a rapper for Naughty By Nature and this is the first flick I've ever seen him in. Criss gives a sympathetic performance in an otherwise pretentiously thuggish pic that has mostly mediocre acting. "Treach" plays Jason Dyson, a former MMA fighter who has to recruit an inmate to fight for him and get him out of a life-threatening debt. We're talking bare-knuckle brawling where the term "ride or die" is solely evident. Fashioned in a cinematic fantasy-land where the cops tread very lightly and the villain (Kane played by "Rampage" Jackson) has more power than established Michael Corleone (oh brother), "Streets" is low budget, hip-hopped, and veritably silly. "Treach's" acting isn't the problem here, it's director Jared Cohn's ego trip as producer, writer, and helmer of "Streets". Albeit, Lord of the Streets is unsympathetic, non-empathetic, and with its ghetto bird rap soundtrack, a bloodied mess that can't quite take itself seriously. When people are shot and killed in "Streets", they're remembered so much as a light jab. In retrospect, Lord of the Streets could have benefited from some more focused editing, a little solace from its myrmidon characters, and a sense of justification for extirpating at will (you'll see if you watch the movie). I don't plan on taking it to these "streets" with a second viewing.

Tubi is the video store of 2022. And it has a whole shelf of movies that star somewhat recognizable names in action and horror films that are actually pretty decent watches, like Bad Influence. Lord of the Streets takes a basic story -- embattled and down on his luck MMA trainer loses a bet and has to convince his student to throw a fight -- and goes wild with it. If this was made thirty years ago, it would have Billy Blanks or Don "The Dragon" Wilson in it. Or maybe Matthias Hues. Instead, we have Anthony Criss -- Treach of Naughty by Nature -- as Jason Dyson, a former fighter turned coach haunted by the man he killed in the ring. He's alienated his wife and daughter and now thrown away the one good thing he had, his relationship with a fighter named Tre. Anthony is down deep and goes lower, losing a hundred grand card game to the titular lord of the streets, Kane (former MMA fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson) and being forced to get Tre to throw a fight. He refuses and gets killed, Anthony's daughter gets kidnapped and he must train a convict named Damon Stone (UFC star Khalil "The War Horse" Rountree Jr.) to fight five men in a row all in one night. Meanwhile, Richard Grieco is Detective Kayes, a cop who wants to take down Kane by any means necessary. If you like to spot MMA fighters in movies, this is the one for you, with roles for Raja "Da Clone" Jackson, Carrese "One Punch" Archer, Eddie Avakoff and most importantly Anderson "The Spider" Silva, the man who held the UFC Middleweight Championship for nearly seven years. He's perhaps the best MMA fighter of all time. Director and writer Jared Cohn also has made Stalker In the House, Shark Season, Swim and many more films. The strangest thing he does in this movie -- spoiler warning -- is spend time setting up characters as what we assume are the leads of the movie -- it starts with how Damon was jailed in the first place -- and then writing them off, sometimes even off screen. Lord of the Streets feels like a Lorenzo Lamas action film enjoyed with pizza, beer and other substances. It's like Cool Ranch Doritos -- you wouldn't brag it up as the best thing ever, but when you are sitting there, you get a craving and think, "How good are these Doritos? Pretty good." and then just get on with your life.