Man of War (2026) – Review

Quick Thoughts:

1. Between Osiris and Man of War, I’m enjoying the LaMonica Garrett/William Kaufman/Linds Edwards crew.
2. The action blends together after a while, but the dedicated actors and stunt crew make it feel professional and tactically sound.
3. Daniel Bernhardt!
4. Andrew Howard!
5. It’s nice watching William Kaufman find his groove with The Channel, Osiris, and Man of War. He’s an excellent action director who can stretch a budget to make films that punch above their weight.

Man of War is a refreshingly straightforward action film about a private military contractor named Connor (LaMonica Garrett – 1883, The Lioness, The Terminal List)) fighting his way through the back roads/streets of Ukraine to rescue his niece Riley (Rosmary Yaneva). There are no bells and whistles or balletic gunplay; instead, it’s a muscular experience filled with dedicated actors and confident direction from action maestro William Kaufman (Osiris, The Channel, One in the Chamber, Sinners and Saints). It helps that the villain is played by Daniel Bernhardt (Nobody, John Wick, The Matrix Reloaded, Deathstalker), who clearly enjoys playing a psychopathic Skorzeny mercenary who is lethal with a rocket launcher.

Filmed in Bulgaria and shot in 25 days, Man of War is a solid action film that features gunfights in deserted roads, dense forests, empty streets and a massive police station, Connor bulldozes his way through countless masked mercenaries with the help of his local guide Dany (Andrew Howard – Limitless, Inception, The Odyssey), and Bunny (Linds Edwards and his beard) a British mercenary who leads a group of soldiers (played mostly by real-life stunt performers). The actors were trained by tactical advisor Max Kraus (Red Sonja, The Princess), who put the crew through a weeks-long training regimen involving movement and gun handling. The training and smart casting decisions paid off as the actors look believable and fluid as they battle countless mercenaries.

In the press notes, Kaufman mentions that he wanted Mark Rutledge’s camerawork to feel rough and immediate, and the results are perfect for the low-budget action film. Rutledge went hard on close-ups to keep the budget down (less to dress in the background), but they work because Garrett, Bernhardt, Edwards, and Howard can hold the screen. The camerawork is never too shaky, and Rutledge does a fine job of following the actors during the final police station battle (a lot of rehearsal went into this film because the movements are well-synced). Like Osiris, the action scenes become less distinctive during the long battles in the police station/space ship. The action scenes are technically impressive and well-designed, but there are only so many ways to stage a shootout in a hallway.

The color palette is loaded with blue-grays, muddy browns, and muted greens, which decimate the world of color. Man of War is a dour affair, which makes sense because of the content (Bernhardt has some bleak moments), but it does zap some of the energy out of the air. The film opens with Garrett’s character contemplating suicide as he haphazardly drinks whiskey from a bottle (most of it makes his beard drunk). From there, things stay bleak as he travels to Ukraine to rescue his niece. I’m not saying humor or pratfalls were needed, but I will say that things perk up whenever Linds Edwards or Daniel Bernhardt have screen time because they clearly relish their various roles.

Final thoughts – Man of War is a well-made film made by professionals. It’s worth a watch.