Fourths Of July: BOYKA: UNDISPUTED (2016)

The Lost Soul Of A Fighter

At what point can a monster be redeemed? Can they ever? Convicted murder and undergound fighter Yuri Boyka hopes so. First appearing as the antagonist in Isaac Florentine’s direct-to-video sequel UNDISPUTED 2: LAST MAN STANDING (2006), Boyka quickly became the focal point of the series, shifting to the protagonist in Florentine’s UNDISPUTED III: REDEMPTION (2010) and in Todor Chapkanov’s fourth entry BOYKA: UNDISPUTED. The character of Boyka rocketed to fame in the martial arts film world on the back of the actor who played him, the Human Special Effect himself, British martial arts star Scott Adkins.  While initially just a villain, Adkins’ charismatic performance and obvious physical skill led to him taking over the franchise.

I think, however, there’s something more that led to Boyka's popularity than just Adkins’ inherent skill. The character is so popular, especially in Eastern Europe and Russia, that Adkins is frequently confused there for Boyka himself. Fans are stunned to find he’s not actually Ukrainian. There have been many anti-heroes in martial arts and action movies, but very few transcend the way Boyka has for Adkins.

Adkins himself has starred in numerous memorable roles, as have his contemporaries and predecessors, but Boyka seems to stand above them all. It’s more than just the high-flying kicks and charisma, otherwise people would talk about NINJA (2009)’s Casey Bowman, or ACCIDENT MAN’s Mike Fallon the way they talk about Boyka.

That’s because while most action movies and characters tend to steer away from religion, the character of Boyka steers right into it. Despite beating martial arts stars like Michael Jai White and Marko Zaror, Boyka’s biggest enemy is his faith and his relationship with God.

Adorned with several tattoos of varying religious iconography, Boyka is clearly a spiritual man, but also a man of anger. The movies never specify what religion Boyka is exactly but, based on his statements and tattoos, it seems reasonable to assume Catholic or Russian Orthodoxy. Regardless of which faith, he believes he was forsaken by God, granted only one gift in his cursed existence: he is “The Most Complete Fighter in the World.” For Boyka, God, faith, and ultimately redemption is found at the end of his fists.

BOYKA: UNDISPUTED finds the titular character living a life he only dreamed. He believes he had found his redemption; having escaped a Russian prison and fighting in a legitimate fight circuit. He is on his way to proving he is the best fighter in the world, and only then he believes he will be worthy in God’s eyes. But no man who’s committed the sins Boyka has is entitled to easy redemption. After killing another fighter in the ring, Boyka returns to Russia to help provide for the man’s wife, Alma, played by Teodora Duhovnikova. While there, he learns that redemption and salvation can’t come from selfish wants, but must come from sacrifice, the willingness to give everything you’ve ever wanted away for someone else.

BOYKA: UNDISPUTED finds the titular character living a life he only dreamed. He believes he had found his redemption; having escaped a Russian prison and fighting in a legitimate fight circuit. He is on his way to proving he is the best fighter in the world, and only then he believes he will be worthy in God’s eyes. But no man who’s committed the sins Boyka has is entitled to easy redemption. After killing another fighter in the ring, Boyka returns to Russia to help provide for the man’s wife, Alma, played by Teodora Duhovnikova. While there, he learns that redemption and salvation can’t come from selfish wants, but must come from sacrifice, the willingness to give everything you’ve ever wanted away for someone else.

Alma is under the control of a local mob boss, and so once again Boyka must fight. But this time he’s not fighting for himself.

When he sees Alma, he sees the one slight glimmer of his soul that may still be saved. Running on a ticking clock to get back out of Russia for a proper title fight and before he gets arrested, Boyka lays everything on the line. It’s a remarkable transition from the angry, homicidal Boyka we meet in UNDISPUTED 2, although the kernels of the character were present even in 2006. UNDISPUTED 2’s Boyka is still a man of honor, but his rage at his forsaken lot in life clouds any other emotion he may have.  By the fourth film, he fights not from rage (although he still gets plenty mad) but from faith. Faith that he can protect Alma, faith that he can find some forgiveness for his sins, and faith that yes, he is truly “The Most Complete Fighter in the World.”

It would be easy to read a romantic relationship between Boyka and Alma, and a lesser movie would have shoehorned one in, but, despite the fact Adkins and Duhovnikova have terrific chemistry, the movie steadfastly turns away from that. For Boyka this is about honor, and doing the right thing, for maybe the first time in his life. God gave him a gift, and he’s used it most of his life to selfishly hurt, not selflessly protect. In Alma, Boyka finds a purpose higher than his own. If God does exist at the end of his fists, then he shall become God’s champion.

I’m not a religious person at all. It’s never been a part of my life, so it’s possible I’m reading way too much into this, but the overwhelming popularity of Boyka is hard to ignore.  A quick Google search for the character will show numerous pieces of fan art, fans replicating his look and even workout regimens. Very few action characters achieve that level of fandom, so there must be more to Boyka than badassery. We love a redemption story, sure, but it’s Boyka’s tenuous, ferocious relationship with God that helps set him apart.

It’s hard to overstate the work Adkins is doing in Boyka.

Through three films the actor elevates the character from villain, to anti-hero, to tortured soul desperately seeking atonement. And he does most of it through body language. Boyka was never the most verbose character to begin with, so Adkins lets his physicality and sharp, punctuated sentences do the talking for him. And by the third trip, Adkins had become so comfortable with the character he makes it clear there’s an entire life behind his eyes. The introduction of Boyka in UNDISPUTED 2 and the closing scene of BOYKA: UNDISPUTED mirror each other almost perfectly, but thanks the strong character journey and Adkins’ exceptional commitment and work, it’s clear that we are looking at two very different Boykas: one angry at God' and the world, and the other at peace.

There’s no question that, as an action movie, UNDISPUTED III: REDEMPTION is the high point of the series. It’s a peak of state-of-the-art martial arts cinema. BOYKA: UNDISPUTED can’t match those highs, particularly since it lacks a villain as riveting as Zaror’s Dolar and Chapkanov lacks Florentine’s flair for action. But despite that, BOYKA: UNDISPUTED remains an essential film in the Undisputed series. It turns Yuri Boyka from an entertaining anti-hero into a full-fledged character. By diving much more into the character’s tormented soul, the film does the near impossible of retroactively making the prior movies even better, creating an arc for a character that was never meant to have one, and sending Boyka into the upper echelon of great martial arts heroes.

BOYKA: UNDISPUTED finds Boyka’s journey ending in the only way it possibly could. With Boyka back in his personal hell, a Russian prison, once again fighting for salvation. Only this time, just maybe, he actually believes he deserves it.