Looking for another light-hearted martial arts movie? Well here’s a look at one very recent film called ‘Paying Mr McGetty’.

Much like The Martial Arts Kid, Paying Mr McGetty is a film directed by Michael Baumgarten, written by him and also Adam W. Marsh.

While the light-hearted nature of this film mimics The Martial Arts Kid, Paying Mr McGetty is less of a teen-drama and more of an adult action comedy.

In this film you’ll find a lot of familiar faces like the legendary Don ‘The Dragon’ Wilson in a supporting role, with Cynthia Rothrock making a short cameo supporting a relatively fresh lead – R Marcos Taylor as Tyrrell.

It’s interesting to see a guy like R. Marcos Taylor in a lead role, considering he is mostly a stunt man / supporting actor for such shows as Gotham, Code of Honor and the massively popular Luke Cage series.

What’s ‘Paying Mr McGetty’ all about?

Ok, so it’s about a man trying to pay the rent – does that excite you?

Well, it’s not that simple…

Mr McGetty is the landlord, but the story revolves more around Tyrrell as he struggles to make it through the day with a lot on his plate – he wakes up next to a beautiful woman with barely any memory of the night before, when his girlfriend calls him telling him get home fast so he can pay the rent.

But apart from dealing with a very frightening girlfriend (she’s pretty damn angry), the girl he woke up next to is the daughter of a crime boss. That’s when he is discovered and a price is placed on his head for sleeping with this woman!

He has people all over town gunning after him for a big payday. At the same time a more frightening and seemingly unbeatable hitman named Shota, played by Don ‘The Dragon’ Wilson, is out to do his job and put him in a body bag too.

On top of that he is being told to run errands for his employer, he’s dealing with his girlfriend and handling other problems whilst trying to survive and of course – pay the rent.

Talk about stress!

There’s A LOT going on…

So as the film starts we jump from place to place, character to character as we’re introduced and educated on the world we’re watching – which can be a little confusing.

But once things start to converge and paths cross it gets more interesting, and this scattered beginning really creates the expansive yet ‘local’ feel to the town and the characters. You get a real feel for the area they’re in.

It’s not just the story telling but Tyrrell himself who has a lot happening though.

While the film surrounds his events, his girlfriend, the hit, and everything throughout the day we also learn Tyrrell himself is a busy character – he’s having work trouble, financial trouble and he’s trying to record an album.  To top it off –  amongst the chase he meets with his old martial arts instructor for counsel – that’s right, he’s trained in the deadly arts!

This is a film which manages to pack a lot of variety into it’s story and it’s main character.  While the balance between a simple story and this level of detail would be difficult to carry, ‘Paying Mr McGetty’ does manage to just pull it off well as we follow Tyrell throughout the day.

Don ‘The Dragon’s character

Most people are going to watch this film because of Don’s involvement.  He’s the big name that catches the eye of martial arts fans everywhere.

His character ‘Shota’ is introduced effectively, taking out a target who pleads for his life.  We learn very early on that he is basically unstoppable.  We see an interesting world though his travels, including a ‘hitman hangout’ – which introduces an intriguing universe of assassins (very cool!)

This may sound a little simplistic for a name like Wilson but the way his character develops throughout the film does his involvement justice. He isn’t just a flat, two dimensional villain but an evolving character.  I don’t want to give you any spoilers so you’ll have to watch to see what I mean exactly.

Overall Don’s presence does add greatly to the film, and is what elevates the action and the authenticity of it’s cast. He brings his usual charm and feel to the screen in this film

Expecting an adrenaline rush level of action?

Well, this is not that kind of movie.

I did say it was an action comedy but it is more light-hearted nature and storytelling focused. But this is an action movie website, so let’s take a look at what action we do get.

The action in this film is present in a handful of scenes with fights, chases and interesting exchanges. What martial arts we do see, especially from Wilson, is exceptionally executed movements.  His opponents match up well with him in regards to their character’s skill level and there are some nice exchanges shot in this film.

While it’s not a super intense pace, it is nice to watch and entertaining for most martial arts fans.

However, if you’re a little spoiled by The Raids, the Donnie Yens and Scott Adkins of this world, you may not get what you expect – but it is quality nonetheless.

The Verdict?

I like this film and got what I expected from it, it is a smaller production done very well and tells an interesting story with some colorful characters.

If you’re only looking for the absolute best of the best action films then this won’t necessarily be your choice. But if you enjoy an entertaining watch with one of the world’s most well known martial artists showing off some really nice moves – then this one is for you!

If you’re interested in this film, check out www.payingmrmcgettymovie.com for more info.