Action ace Michael Jai White stars and directs in this semi-remake/homage to the 70s flick of the same name (originally starring Robert Hooks) that, while not totally cohesive, coasts on his charisma and some crisply choreographed fight scenes.
Jai White plays Jaxen, a former cop now working as a sometime PI, who is asked to track down a missing singer by the possibly shifty record producer Branes Holden (Orlando Jones). No sooner has he taken the case than trouble seems to find him at every corner as a larger conspiracy is revealed, possibly involving local queenpin Yuen Song (Levy Tran). Realising he may be in more trouble than he can handle, Jaxen has no option but to take the help of local gangster Monday (Method Man) in order to find the missing singer and get rid of all the pursuing bad guys.
Swift, often silly, but surprisingly fun mix of crime, banter, and action, ‘Trouble Man’ is certainly hampered by budget constraints (and possibly a surfeit of too many characters!), but gets by thanks to its brisk pace and the entertaining team-up of Jai White and Method Man. The two have chemistry, bounce banter off one another with aplomb, and make for an entertaining crime-fighting duo. Jai White keeps everything light and breezy, harking back to the days when crime action films could simply be fun.
Unfortunately, the narrative gets a little muddled trying to juggle too many characters and one too many plot strands (Jaxen’s blossoming romance with Jai White’s real-life wife Gillian White not really going anywhere) and the lack of budget mars proceedings somewhat. Wonky CGI/green screen distracts from some nicely choreographed fight scenes come the finale, which is a shame as it’s some of the best action the film has to offer. Jai White does a commendable job of keeping everything together, but budget constraints and a reliance on sub-par CGI/green screen unfortunately often take one out of the story and action.
