REVIEW: All The Devil’s Men (2018)

Milo Gibson, son of Mel Gibson, makes his leading man debut in the decidedly average action picture, “All the Devil’s Men”. This movie is produced by Saban Films (Black Water, Bent, Acts of Vengeance) who seem to specialize in low-budget thrillers, and is directed by newcomer Matthew Hope.

Gibson stars as ex-Navy SEAL Jack ‘Jackie’ Collins. Collins is employed as an assassin for the U.S. government. He is a troubled operator and is battling an addiction to amphetamine pills. We first see Collins on a particularly dangerous mission in Morocco, where he has to perform a very public hit on a Moroccan businessman. Soon after, Collins gets a call from Leigh (Sylvia Hoeks), operations director for CIA front company, Full Spec. Leigh recruits Collins for a new assignment. She wants him to kill Terry McKnight, an ex-CIA operative turned bad guy who wants to buy a tactical nuke from the Russians. McKnight is based in London. Assisting Collins on this mission are mercenaries Mike Brennan (William Fichtner) and Pete Samuelson (Gbenga Akinnagbe).

Collins and company are given a list of McKnight associates, one of which is Deighton (Joseph Millson), an ex-Army buddy of Collins. After an initially friendly meeting, the team recognizes that Deighton has turned and is now working for the enemy. Deighton and Collins play a game of cat and mouse across London. They have shootouts in empty factories, London streets and even an airplane hanger. As the mayhem escalates over the night, Collins uncovers his employer’s ulterior motives and agenda. He must ultimately rely on his Special Forces training to avoid being killed.

Milo Gibson has his Dad’s intense blue eyes and looks vaguely similar. Unfortunately, he is a wooden and hesitant actor. As for the action scenes, they are well shot and choreographed. One standout is a brutal and bloody knife fight between Collins and Deighton. Additionally, authentic looking guns are used and there are no fake looking CGI bullets seen. It’s also clear that the actors were trained on proper weapons handling and practiced special operations maneuvers.

Other than Sylvia Hoeks’ Leigh being far too young to be in charge of such a delicate black ops operation, “All the Devil’s Men” is mercifully free from political correctness.

Lazy writing and wooden acting aside, the ‘shaky cam’ free action is enough of a reason for you to consider digitally renting or buying the DVD/Blu-Ray of “All the Devil’s Men”.