Close Range, 2015
In "Close Range," Scott Adkins takes on the role of Colton MacReady, a determined individual who embarks on
a mission to rescue his kidnapped niece from the clutches of a powerful drug cartel.
Thus begins an unyielding struggle to protect his family. The formidable cartel descends upon his secluded
ranch, fueled by a vengeful desire. Complicating matters, a corrupt local sheriff and his team of deputies
ensure that assistance won't arrive anytime soon. The screenplay for the movie was penned by Chad Law,
who also wrote the script for Van Damme's film "6 Bullets," alongside Shane Dax Taylor.
For this film, Scott reunited again with Isaac Florentine, a collaboration that has yielded remarkable films like
"Ninja," "Ninja: Shadow of a Tear," and "Undisputed III." Scott expresses his enthusiasm for working with Isaac:
“Well, I was asking to work with him, and he was asking to work with me. So we are a good team, and know
each other very well. I know his strength, and he know’s my strenght and we try to compliment each other. He
gave me my first breakthrough movie which was Undisputed 2, he charged me in the role of Boyka, as a lot of
other people did’nt think I should have that role; he’s one of the best action directors working with.”
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At the beginning of the movie, Colton MacReady goes to a farmhouse in a faraway place in Texas. He goes
there to see his sister and her young daughter, whom he hasn't been close to for a while. He wants to make
sure they're safe. But when he gets to the farmhouse, he finds out that a group of really mean people who sell
drugs are using it to hide.
Things get really tense here. There's a chase, and Colton has to use his fighting skills to protect himself from
the people who are chasing him. This whole starting part of the movie is filmed without any breaks, showing
us just how amazing Scott Adkins is as an actor. Scott: “I think we had about half a day to do that. We
rehearsed it beforehand with all the stunt guys who had seen the space, I hadn’t seen it yet but they all knew
it. So we did some run-throughs and I think we did about six or seven takes and the sixth take was the one that
we went with.”
So, the beginning of "Close Range" is powerful and exciting. It shows us who Colton MacReady is and what kind
of challenges he's going to face in the movie.
"Close Range" lacks a profound plot and predominantly
unfolds within a singular location, contributing to the film's
swift shooting process. The character introductions within
the movie are minimal, with the primary focus being on
the relentless action that "Close Range" delivers.
Scott Adkins commented on the filmmaking approach:
"Probably we even redused the dialog because… … at the
end of the day it’s an action film, and we wanna make sure
that the fans of action are happy! So we tried to pull in as
much as action as we can. We made the desicion to make
close combats.”
Sporting short hair, a leather jacket, jeans, and a rugged
appearance, Scott Adkins embodies Colton MacReady, who
efficiently takes down an entire drug cartel in a fast-paced
action spectacle that maintains momentum throughout.
Scott himself likened the movie to a modern Western,
stating, "Colton MacReady is a good character, hard as
nails… which I’m good at playing. It’s a full-on action movie.
I put in 110% into the film. My character is more of an
outlaw! A bad-ass character more like what Boyka is.."
There are some pretty intense knife scenes in the movie. Scott: “It’s not that I know how to knife fight, it’s just
that Jeremy Marinas was our amazing fight choreographer. We used a lot of his guys and he came up with the
choreography and I didn’t have any problems with it at all. We wanted Colt MacReady to be gritty – less high
flying kicks and more rough and tumble, to suit his character and we liked the idea of him having this
concealed belt knife he can use to take care of business when he needs to. But Marinas planned it all and he
is great at what he does. I like to have a choreographer who makes me look good (laughs)”
Close Range is a low budget film. The movie revolves around action, and ultimately, all the recorded scenes
were too short to make the film from. Scott: “So we needed everything that we shot. That’s why we have the
opening sequence in the cars where we introduce all the bad guys by name. That was done sort of in a
Tarantino way I guess, but it was primarily to extend the run time of the film.”
Numerous stunts were performed by Adkins himself, although not all of them. A particular scene showcases
Colton MacReady leaping over a car, with Scott participating in certain aspects of the car stunts, while a
dedicated stuntman handled the more intricate maneuvers. In another sequence, Colton is forcefully thrown
against a fireplace, to which Scott attests, "I do stunts like that on a regularly base, I get used to it!”
Reflecting on the final product, Scott shares, "When you a film, you have a vision in your head. People want to
see this type of movies. We are filling the gap in the marketplace and it’s a genre movie that you don’t get
elsewhere. We have actors who can do their own fights and their own stunts, of course it’s compromised, you
can do it never as good as you have in your head. You do your best, and not having time enough. But I’m
really happy with the finalized product and think in the end that we achieved want we wanted to achieve.”
Strong attitude… Hard as nails
