80 minutes of Marko Zaror spin-kicking one enemy after another usually tends to be pretty straightforward, and every bit as enthralling and exhilarating as it sounds, but “Affinity” adds a dash of sci-fi and more topically A.I. into Marko’s usual action-packed whirlwind. As a sci-fu actioner that wears its heart on its sleeve, “Affinity” delivers plenty of martial arts jammed power and pizzaz along with Marko stretching his acting muscles in one of his most sincere performances yet. Admittedly, “Affinity” shares one noteworthy shortcoming with another of Marko’s most recent actioners, though the strengths of what “Affinity” brings to the table more than outweigh that particular weakness.
Trailer
Cast
Marko Zaror heads up “Affinity” in the role of Bruno, with Brooke Ence portraying his friend and ally Fitch. Louis Mandylor also appears in the role of Bruno’s friend Joe, with Jane Mirro in the role of the enigmatic Athena and Tofan Pirani as Zeke. Elliot Hanson also appears as Hugo, with Ego Mitikas also portraying Dr. Kovalski, with Brahim Chab portraying the ruthless Krieger, who proves a very challenging adversary for Bruno indeed.
Plot
Former Navy SEAL Bruno lives a somber life of solitude, deeply afflicted with PTSD from his harrowing experiences during his military life. Bruno finds a renewed sense of peace after rescuing a mysterious woman named Athena from a deadly attack. Bruno and Athena swiftly form a romantic bond due to their similarly dark pasts, Athena also reeling from some serious past trauma of her own. However, their newfound friendship is thrown into upheaval when Athena is suddenly kidnapped, sending Bruno into a determined search for her with the help of his friends Joe and Fitch, and forcing him to call upon all of his lethal skills in order to rescue his new love, and discovering the unexpected truth of her past.
Action
“Affinity” Has The Same Strength (& The Same Flaw) As “Fist Of The Condor”
Marko has pinpointed his role as Chidi in 2023’s “John Wick: Chapter 4” as a major turning point in his career, and that line of demarcation makes is curious that his two movies as leading man since then, “Fist of the Condor” and “Affinity”, are so strangely similar in some key ways. On paper, they seemingly deviate heavily from each other, “Fist of the Condor” a serene, meditative deconstruction of the essence of martial arts, and “Affinity” a sci-fi actioner with combat a-plenty, but the key to their commonality lies in their execution. Like “Fist of the Condor”, “Affinity” is deftly paced and structured with the greatest of care, dropping viewers right into the heat of the action and going straight from point A to point B. “Affinity” knows that it’s got Latin America’s king of kicks on-hand as its leading man, and doesn’t waste any time in letting Marko does what he does best with plenty of flashy, powerful fight scenes laid out across its runtime.
Fitch brings firepower to Bruno’s rescue mission.
Joe joins Bruno on his mission to find Athena.
On the flip side of the coin, “runtime” is the key word for both “Fist of the Condor” and “Affinity” in where they’re both at their weakest. At an even 80 minutes a piece, both movies are about ten minutes shorter than they should be, especially with the strong writing and highly refined action both have on their side. Like “Fist of the Condor” before it, “Affinity” is extremely economical and streamlined in delivering what it promises, but because what it promises is delivered in such a short timeframe, it lands with such speed as to cause a bit of whiplash for the audience in just how quickly and efficiently it gets there. Moreover, the short runtime of “Affinity” leaves you wanting in a manner that’s ultimately complimentary of the movie itself, with the potential for another fight scene or some more time spent with Bruno in his relationships with Athena, Joe, and Fitch adding a little more impact to the movie. Such is what an extra ten minutes would have added for “Affinity” just like “Fist of the Condor”, which falls in the classification of not a huge loss, but a slight disappointment paradoxically stemming from the movie’s efficiency at action-packed storytelling.
“Affinity” Lets Marko Shine As A Leading Man
Even with less time to work with than he really needs, Marko Zaror is a splendid screen-presence in “Affinity”. Marko’s often played at two extremes of the good and evil spectrum, either hamming it up as slimy, scene-chewing villains whom viewers love to hate, or soft-spoken heroes of few words who keep their fighting skills to themselves until the time is right to reveal them. In “Affinity”, Marko steps into a middle ground of the two as the PTSD-afflicted Bruno, a warrior gentle by nature but appropriately fierce whenever he must be, along with desperately not wanting to be after his harrowing wartime experiences. In his relationship with Athena, Bruno finds a new outlook on life where pain and death aren’t front and center in his mind at all times. Marko’s portrayal of the grizzled but kind-hearted Bruno is both an against-type performance and on that plays into his strengths, with Marko really flexing his acting muscles as a gentle but capable giant and a warrior who finds himself in the John Rambo paradox of wanting to leave conflict behind but his skill in that realm constantly pulling him back in to right wrongs around him.
The Second Half of “Affinity” Is Non-Stop Action
“Affinity” spends most of its first half focused on the tender friendship between Bruno and Athena, along with his friendships with Joe and Fitch, while delivering a handful of great fight sequences to set the table properly. It remains a signature of Marko’s filmography that his is among the most crisp, refined, and purely finessed fighting styles of any martial arts star on the modern cinematic landscape. An early street brawl outside of the bar where Bruno is employed brings the right amount of dirty grit to the action, which sets up a contrast to Bruno’s troubled state of mind in the beginning of “Affinity” and how much more centered and at peace he becomes after meeting Athena.
Ultimately, “Affinity” backloads most of its action to the second half, and really gives it audience its money’s worth, especially when the increasingly recognized Brahim Chab steps into play as Bruno’s strongest adversary in the vicious Krieger, giving Bruno a run for his money in the smackdown where Athena is abducted.
Bruno uncovers an A.I. conspiracy trying to rescue Athena.
The Finale Of “Affinity” Is Picture-Perfect Combat (With A “Matrix”-Style Twist)
The final showdown of “Affinity” is testimony to the ingenuity of action filmmakers like Brandon Slagle in the DTV and streaming age of crafting gripping action on a budget, and just as importantly, on really showcasing enough of the sci-fi DNA of the story of “Affinity” to make it credible. Following a gun-fu and spin-kick filled battle with one hero falling on the sword, the big reveal of the clandestine villain plot takes a wild “Matrix”-inspired turn with the “human beings are no longer born, we are grown” scene getting its own A.I.-style twist.
“Affinity” also saves the best for last in its final showdown in a pagoda with a sci-fi makeover of Bruno taking on a team of masked henchmen before meeting Krieger again for an even better round two. It is a true marvel to see just how clean and precise Marko’s every punch, kick, and takedown is, every technique a virtual how-to snapshot that would be just as at home in an actual martial arts class or book as in a movie. Brahim also brings outstanding flash and power to his fights with Marko, and it’s great seeing Brahim gaining more and more street cred as a final boss with Marko Zaror joining the likes of Scott Adkins, Tiger Chen, and Tiger Shroff as action stars Brahim’s had fantastic and eternally rewatchable showdowns with, the finale of “Affinity” a career highlight for Marko and Brahim alike.
Summary
“Affinity” is a compact, streamlined sci-fi action package as sweet as it is somewhat lamentably short. The A.I. elements of its story make “Affinity” feel at once futuristic and wholly grounded in the here and now, while Marko Zaror gives a heartfelt performance as a warrior fighting for peace in his life and finding an unlikely soul mate through sheer chance. “Affinity” also gives action fans everything they crave with superb fight scenes with Marko at his highlight reel best matched by another stellar muscle henchman outing by Brahim Chab. Even with a truncated runtime that leaves it a blast that goes by a little too fast, “Affinity” delivers another precision kick to the head from Marko Zaror with a refined neural-net focus that only a sci-fi martial arts combo can offer.
Trivia
- “Affinity” marks Marko Zaror’s first time as the leading man of an English-language movie.
- Director Brandon Slagle’s other directorial credits include “The Black Dhalia Haunting”, “House of Manson”, “Arena Wars”, “Battle for Saipan”, and “Breakout”.
- Marko also served as an executive producer and action director for “Affinity”, with Marko also co-writing the story for the film with Daniel Zirilli.
- “Affinity” premiered on Aug. 24th, 2025 at the third annual Big Bad Film Fest, a showcase of action movies held in Glendale, California.
- “Affinity” was co-written (along with Christopher M. Don and Liam O’Neil) by Marko’s mother Gina Aguad, herself an accomplished martial artist who introduced Marko to martial arts as a child. Gina previously appeared in the mentor role of the Condor Woman in “Fist of the Condor”. Gina was also a producer on Marko’s previous movies Mirageman and Redeemer.
- Brooke Enge previously appeared as the Amazon warrior Penthiselea in the DC superhero movies Wonder Woman and Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Favourite Quotes:
“Here’s your DNA, mother—-!” – Bruno, flinging a few droplets of his blood at the movie’s unveiled main villain after the latter asks for his DNA to help complete his experiments.
Affinity is now available on VOD!
