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Apologies to Sam Jackson, but Michael Jai White is the
baddest motherfucker on the planet. No one can rock a fight scene quite like him. He doesn’t
need wires or CGI or editing tricks to kick four dudes in the face all at once, he just does
it. He's more than just a great martial artist, though. He
also has serious acting chops. The man can project gravitas like nobody’s
business, and he has great comedic timing (see BLACK DYNAMITE, no seriously,
see it). And if you are looking for a purely
heroic, fighting for the underdog kind of badass, and who isn´t these days, look no further than 2009 DTV masterpiece, BLOOD
AND BONE.
The Capsule:
A mysterious stranger named Bone (Michael Jai White) rolls
into L.A. like a storm; his mind on a mission.
With the help of Pinball (Dante Basco), a small time promoter with a big
mouth, he starts working his way up the underground fighting circuit, one
pulverized opponent at a time. Or in
some cases, several at a time. It’s not
money or fame he is after, though. Bone
is working his way up the ladder to get to James (Eamonn Walker), a hotheaded crime
boss with aspirations of the big leagues.
James wants into the Consortium, an organization controlling the
multimillion dollar illegal fight racket.
He’ll need Bone’s skills to do it.
What James doesn’t know is that Bone has a promise to keep, and he's going to take down James piece by piece in order to honor it.
I prefer my action heroes to be flawed, in most
circumstances. I like them in the mold
of DIE HARD’s John McClane; fallible but determined. They make mistakes, they get scared, they get
hurt. Invincible characters just aren’t
compelling, generally. It’s hard to
invest in a character who does everything right. There are no stakes, no fear –realistic or
otherwise—that the character won’t come out on top. Ultimately, they are just boring.
Now, forget all the shit I just said, because it in
no way describes Bone. Michael Jai White
plays Bone with such confidence, presence, and charisma it doesn’t matter that he
outclasses ever single chump in this movie.
His unwavering confidence is what makes him captivating. He’s like a precision machine. You want to see what he can do. It’s not just the confidence, though. Bone is also thoughtful, observant, and most
importantly, humble. Mixing arrogance
with confidence makes someone you want to see fall (or at least get taken down
a bit). You root for the quietly
self-assured type. That character
deserves to win. 
It also helps that he is constantly underestimated by his
enemies. Now, Michael Jai White is an
intimidating guy. He’s big and clearly in great shape. Some of his opponents are mountains, though. And as imposing as Bone is, he’s still only
one guy. Part of the joy in this movie
is in knowing these cocky bastards have no idea what they are getting
themselves into. 
The opening scene sets things up perfectly. It starts in prison, with a whole crew of mean
ass inmates surrounding Bone when he’s in the bathroom. They taunt him about the unpleasant things
they plan to do to his person. Bone
reacts like they are a bunch of rambunctious kids running around the living
room. He gives them to the count of 5 to
get the hell out of there. The half
dozen knuckleheads, all with shanks, cannot believe what this guy is
saying. They don’t even let him get to
five before rushing him. Bone proceeds
to absolutely destroy the entire group before they can lay a finger on
him. It’s a perfect Sergio Leone style
introduction to a character who best not be fucked with.
Another nod to Leone is that Bone is kept mysterious. He’s like the Man With No Name, except, you
know, with a name. We learn a small
amount of backstory in a flashback (Bone had a twin brother who died, because
the world is not awesome enough to contain two Michael Jai Whites), but that’s
it. The movie never reveals where he
came from, why he was in prison, how he got out, or how he became such an
amazing fighter. Combined with his
almost inhuman skill, it gives him an almost mystic presence. He’s like a spirit of justice, materializing
out of nowhere to right wrongs. Except that
spirits of justice don’t hang out in prison playing chess and beating the hell
out of gang rapists, so there’s probably nothing supernatural going on. 
The movie isn’t all grim and face punchy. There is a nice
amount of humor to lighten things up. Dante
Basco’s Pinball is introduced at the bottom of the street fighting heap,
promoting novelty fighters like a huge brute in curlers going by Mommy Dearest.
Pinball is the kind of over the top character that would easily become grating
after a few minutes, except that he and MJW play off each other
so well. Bone is always looking
irritated and slightly embarrassed whenever Pinball is doing his smack talking promotion
thing. He breaks his intense, brooding
stare at just the right moment to give Pinball a quick and disapproving
sideways glance. Bone warms up to him as
the movie goes on, and Pinball gets more self-reflective and learns to turn it
down a little. Just a little.
Bone also develops a sweet relationship with Tamara (Nona
Gaye), who he’s renting a room from. She
is just as mysterious as Bone, but in a nurturing way, not an arm snapping
way. She looks after a house full of
kids who were either abandoned or lost their family. It’s never established that she is officially
a foster parent, though, so it’s kind of like she’s an outlaw caregiver. The Nanny With No Name. Although, again, with a name. Everyone has names, I should just leave that
one alone.
I should also note that there is a cameo fight staring Gina Carano
of HAYWIRE fame. The director had to
limit the shared screen time between her and MJW to avoid people going blind
from the sheer awesomeness.
Eamonn Walker’s James is a fantastic villain, and the
perfect counterpoint to Bone. He’s the
definition of arrogance, a man who thinks of himself as more important than
those around him. He doesn’t drink,
smoke, or swear. He puts on the air of
refinement, quoting the Art of War, and Genghis Khan. No matter how hard he tries, though, he
cannot escape his own crippling insecurity that deep down, he’s nothing but a
lowlife thug. That self-hatred is always
seething just below his cool exterior, waiting to explode in violence and
cruelty. One second he is talking
casually, the next he is running down a prostitute for no reason at all. Even his right hand man is constantly nervous
around him, especially when James makes him hold up the raw meat to feed his
vicious attack dogs. 
There is a amazing scene where James is having a relaxed
dinner with a colleague, an oblivious jerk named Daryl. We know he’s a jerk because he has a sweater
draped over his shoulders and is going on and on about golf. He gets embarrassed when his girlfriend turns
on the stereo and it plays “Dance Hall Days”.
James asks “You think the brothers aren’t down with Wang Chung?” and
starts to sing along. Daryl and his
girlfriend get all excited, like it’s karaoke night, but James’ crew start
looking nervous. They know what’s
coming. Just before the chorus, James pulls
out his sword cane and runs Daryl through.
It was a completely psychotic move, but in his defense, the guy would
not shut up about golf.
James’ big dream is to leave the streets behind and join The
Consortium, a group of super rich, elitist criminals who setup the big
fights. It’s just the kind of vaguely
ominous title that a bunch of self-aggrandizing assholes would call
themselves. You know, like The
Syndicate, or The Cabal, or The Trump Organization. Normally these guys wouldn’t have anything to
do with the likes of James, but he has an in with one of the members. Franklin (Julian Sands, at his aristocratic, racist best) is willing to vouch for him, if he can come up with a five million
dollar wager and a fighter that can stand up against Franklin’s top man. 
The climax of the movie is Bone pitted up against Franklin’s
fighter, who is unfortunately not named Blood, but Pretty Boy Price (Matt
Mullins). Again, there is no doubt who
the winner will be, but the fun comes from watching this cocky jackass, who
doesn’t even bother to take off his suit jacket before the fight, strut around
like he isn’t going to break a sweat. He
does break a sweat, along with other body parts. It’s the longest single fight of the movie,
and Bone does take a few serious hits, but it’s all about wearing Price down,
taking the pride out of his step. The
fight is filmed with the same wide angle, long take style as all the others,
allowing for a serious appreciation of the choreography and the athleticism. 
For Bone, it isn’t about the fight, it’s about completely
ruining James. [Spoiler] Just when he
has Price pinned, poised to break his arm, Bone glares at James and taps out,
forfeiting the match. James’ five
million and any chance of getting into the Consortium is gone. Infuriated, he rushes Bone with a
katana. Franklin, being a sport, throws
Bone a sword, too. But because he is so
supremely badass, Bone throws away the sword and just keeps the scabbard. Now at this point, any sane person would have
dropped the katana and said “fuck it, I’m done.” James, as we know, is not a sane man. It does not go well for him. Bone is too noble to kill the chump, so he
leaves him to an even worse fate.
Franklin is not as noble.
It is one of the greatest crimes of cinema that BLOOD AND
BONE didn’t get a sequel. The adventures
of Bone, going town to town providing justice for the underdog, could easily
have become a franchise. Director Ben
Ramsey had only done one feature before this (LOVE AND A BULLET), but he showed
himself more than capable of creating a lean, focused action movie, and he works well with MJW. But the forces of evil keep us deprived of a BLOOD AND BONE II. And as long as we are talking
conspiracy theories, who can explain how this movie, along with the majority of MJW’s
other starring features, is only available on DVD, not Blu Ray? That is some bullshit. Why are we being denied hi-def Michael Jai
White? We can take it. I blame the Consortium.
C Chaka
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