Review: AGENT RECON- Filmmaker and Star Derek Ting Resurrects Action Icons for His Newest Sci-Fi Actioner that Scratches the Indie Genre Itch! (2024)

Listen, I’m going to start this review by saying that when you see the promotional material and trailer for a film like Agent Recon which hails from filmmaker and actor Derek Ting, you know exactly what you’re in store for. If you don’t gravitate to lower budgeted, rough around the edges indie action fare then this one isn’t going to win you over. Not by a long shot but if you adapt to these types of pics for whatever reason, then you will certainly have a little fun with this one and it helps that for his third installment of his sci-fi alien invasion franchise, Ting enlists not one but two action genre icons in Marc Singer and the one and only Chuck Norris. Most importantly, he gives each living legend their chance to deliver a little of that old 80’s and 90’s action movie magic which had me smiling especially in the film’s finale which sees Norris, at 84 years young, tearing through enemy combatants with heavy weaponry and fisticuffs as he channels what made him a superstar in these types of films back in the day and was responsible for instilling my love of action cinema ever since I first saw Lone Wolf McQuade.

It’s important to know that this is again the third entry in Ting’s Agent franchise which started off with 2017’s Agent Intelligence and continued with 2021’s Agent Revelation. The first film is a brief affair clocking in at around 70 minutes and while it is certainly rough around those edges, it does have a sincere student film vibe that makes it a pleasure to watch and does feature some standout action and stunts in the last 20 minutes if you stick around. The second film was definitely produced with a bigger budget, and it ups the action and theatrics from the first one as Ting transforms into a one-man army taking on aliens that are primed to take over the world. Again, it’s low budget and is for a niche audience but Ting knows how to play around with the materials at his disposal and delivers something that is a cut above other indie films of this caliber. Ting also enlisted Star Trek legend Michael Dorn for the sophom*ore effort which gives this one a little more polish than the opening entry.

We are here to talk about the newest installment which is called Agent Recon, and it again sees Ting doing the hat trick of writing, directing and starring in the movie which sees him once again playing Jim Yung who was an ordinary man in the first feature who is transformed into a lethal killing machine when he is exposed to some rather nasty alien dust. If you haven’t seen the first two films then it’s Ok because this one can work as a standalone film as well as Ting initiates a voiceover explaining the events that have proceeded this one. Long story short, there are aliens here and just like in V which starred Singer, they are up to no good and they are secretly taking over one human at a time. The aliens use a special red dust that takes over its human body transforming said person into a nasty and ruthless ET.

The only problem for the aliens is that instead of the dust taking over Jim, it ultimately transforms the ordinary, everyday man into an unstoppable wrecking machine in which he turns into a super Bruce Lee loaded with an insane and savage particular skill set. Boy, I wish that would happen to me but my luck, I’d be turned into a mindless alien robot like everyone else. oh well, moving on.

Fast forward to today and Agent Recon and now we have Colonel Green (Singer) who is embittered after fighting off this alien horde and now he and his elite Marine unit are called in to rescue a set of soldiers that have gone missing at a remote military outpost. To make it more personal…SPOLER ALERT…we find out later that one of the soldiers is in fact his very own daughter Captain Lila Rupert (Nikki Leigh). Hell bent on retrieving his girl and any other military personal, Green reluctantly agrees to take Jim along as he doesn’t trust Yung due to the fact that he has the alien substance in him. Oh yeah, Green’s men don’t trust him either so there’s that.

Helping Green and Yung is Jim’s former mentor Alastair (played in the 2nd film by Dorn) who is now an AI cyborg having died in the last one. Before he died, Alastair had his consciences transported into this being which Norris now plays and this new and improved form of Alistair helps the group on their mission. I liked seeing Norris playing out of character as he has never done anything like this before and it was just great to see him on screen once again.

Once Green, Yung and the troops arrive at the outpost, they are immediately besieged by aliens that are led by an even more powerful and dangerous ET. With the threat of the world hanging in the balance, they must draw on every skill and weapon they have to combat the threat before it is too late. Just imagine a voiceover like in an 80’s action trailer saying all that and you’ll be in seventh heaven.

Like I sated earlier, Ting’s Agent movies are indie action and sci-fi so for those expecting the MCU will be put off by the smaller scale production values and overuse of CGI, but Ting does what he can with what he has, and he manages to turn something out of nothing infusing numerous action sequences of erupting muzzle fire and CQB martial arts action which also has Ting, who is a martial artist, turning into a new indie action star as he is involved with a series of altercations throughout as he showcases his talent for the savage science including knife techniques and pulverizing empty handed barbarism.

Now make no mistake, and Ting knows this, it’s all about Singer and Norris here and I’m happy to say that Ting utilizes both stars with Singer get into most of the action in the first two/thirds of the film with Chuck doing Chuck things in the rousing finale. It may surprise you that Singer’s Green is the real star of the movie while Yung takes more of a backseat. Green’s character arc is what drives Agent Recon releasing bittersweet moments towards the end. Singer is at his gravitas best here and I was thrilled to see him channel a little of his iconic V character Mike Donovan and this role could very well have been Donovan in his later years. Singer also gets to throw down a little homage and easter egg to the classic sci-fi mini-series with one of his lines that made me smile from ear to ear.

Now Chuck Norris is the real draw here as, except for his 5 minutes in Expendables 2 and his even smaller cameo on Hawaii 5-O, has essentially been retired ever since he last starred in The Cutter with Daniel Bernhardt all the way back in 2005. A lot was made about Norris’ involvement (or lack thereof) in Stallone’s Expendables 2, but Ting wasn’t going to let that happen and the man essentially gives the keys to Norris for the finale where the action icon mows down several alien soldiers with MP-5’s and more. How do you utilize a man like Norris who fans came to see? Well, you give him a mini gun Jesse Ventura style and you let him cut loose with it.

The last 20 minutes is Norris, along with Ting, running the alien gauntlet and I’m here to say, YES, Norris gets to do what he does best. Now he’s 84 of course so don’t expect Forced Vengeance Chuck Norris but the man is still in great shape and gets to let it fly with the unarmed combat which was choreographed by his very own son Dakota Norris. It was a sight to behold to see Norris back on the screen taking care of business and the only complaint I’ll make is that I wanted more. I’ll take what I can get though, and fans will be pleased with the results as our action god is, at least one more time, a literal one-man army of DTV action goodness. I might be a little biased but as always, I can give two sh*ts. I was happy and my opinion is the only one that matters.

The rest of the fight choreography was handled by Nathan People who actually doubles for the elite alien alpha and here People knows a thing or two about crafting military action design coupled with martial arts techniques. The action is shot clean and visible and it’s a blending of extreme moves along with tighter and more intricate hand movements along with joint manipulations and more. Ting gets to demonstrate why he should do more of these films and Singer, while his action is relegated to more of the bang-bang variety, still gets ample opportunity to show a new generation why he was big in the 80’s.

Overall, even though it’s handcuffed by a smaller scale budget, Ting is able to make a bigger and badder installment of his sci-fi action franchise and fans of this niche genre will find something to like about it. There’s plentiful action, empty handed action design to spare and two of my favorite action stars doing what is expected of them. Does it have flaws? Yes. Will some people unfortunately make fun of it because they don’t get it? Yes. Will fans of these types of films find something to hold onto? Absolutely. I’m curious to see what Ting has in store for the next chapter as this one is again left open and hopefully, he can add more action icon talent to it. Ting is a very talented filmmaker that loves this genre, and it shows from the first minute until the credits roll. He also can become a fixture as an action star in martial arts themed action and sci-fi pics as he certainly has the talent and moves.

Marc Singer and Chuck Norris are as advertised. Norris has less screen time, of course, but he is in it and the finale is like it’s 1985 all over again. From the mini gun to the Karate, Norris still has it and he’ll make the audience smile when he’s finally unleashed to do Chuck Norris things and hopefully, he’ll do just a little more for the fans before the sun officially sets on his career. In the field of DTV action where a lot of these titles are lost and forgotten about, Agent Recon manages to rise above it and deliver what it says it’s going to do. When all is said and done, that’s all I wanted and what I got.

VERDICT: 3 Out of 5 Stars

Derek Ting Manages to Deliver an Entertaining Indie Sci-Fi/Action Picture that Resurrects Action Icons and Unleashes Them to Do What They Do Best!

Quiver Distribution will be releasingAgent Reconon Digital and VOD on June 21st so strap into those time machines and rock it like it’s the 80’s all over again!

Check Out My Exclusive Interviews with Derek Ting and The Beastmaster Himself Marc Singer Below on The Action Fix Podcast!