Few action films undergo such drastic changes as Zero Tolerance. The addition of a well-known name like Scott Adkins and the complete reworking of the film naturally sparked the interest of many action fans. However, Scott’s role remains mostly a supporting one. Plot When the body of a young woman is discovered in the waters of Bangkok, detective Peter recognizes her as Angel, his goddaughter. He notifies her biological father Johnny and vows to help him track down her killer. Together, they tear through pimps and drug dealers in search of the truth — a quest that is complicated by dealers Steven (Adkins) and Sammy.

Although Zero Tolerance's plot sounds simple and straightforward, the restructuring has not done the film any favors. Nguyen is the story’s protagonist, but due to the late introduction of his character, that’s hardly clear. Scott Adkins was clearly added for name recognition. His character doesn’t have a meaningful function in the story, aside from contributing a couple of extra action scenes. His screen time is unfortunately limited, yet he’s prominently featured on the film’s posters. The few shootouts that Zero Tolerance does contain are bloody and fairly exciting, but scarce. It’s clear that Angels was originally intended as a drama with a few action sequences. Only two major action scenes from Angels, along with two newly added scenes from the reshoots, make up the film’s total action content. The most notable moment is a one-on-one showdown with Adkins.

The Trailer:

Zero Tolerance has an interesting production history. The film was originally completed and released in Vietnam under the title Angels. It was intended to be a slow-burning drama with a few action scenes sprinkled throughout. Unfortunately, selling Angels to distributors proved to be difficult, as the film leaned more toward drama than a typical action film. As a result, it was decided to add Scott Adkins to the film for greater commercial appeal. Parts of the film were reshot and re-edited to turn it into a more streamlined action movie that would be more attractive to potential buyers. This new version, titled Zero Tolerance, is the version that was released worldwide.