“Mexicali” – (2026)

When an action hero hits their break-out moment, audiences are inevitably eager to see what their round two looks like. In the case of Bren Foster, fresh off of the electrifying jolt of his 2024 wall-smashing (quite literally) windfall “Life After Fighting”, this Mexicali movie review finds round two better than most people’s round five, especially coupled with the dynamic directorial debut of stunt pro Luke LaFontaine that is “Mexicali”. Marrying a man on the run tale with an underground fight foundation, “Mexicali” kicks off better than most action movies end and only keeps its pulse racing from there, along with cementing the specific martial arts combo of its leading man as one of the most eye-popping cinematic fighting styles on the 21st century landscape.

Trailer

Cast

Bren Foster leads “Mexicali” as the movie’s farmer/MMA fighter protagonist Joe, with Tania Raymonde portraying his fiancé Estrella. Daniel Montilla appears as Joe and Estrella’s young friend Marco, with Alexander Yurkicev in the role of crime boss El General, along with Edgar de Santiago playing his equally bloodthirsty son Chavez. Plutarco Haza also appears the self-serving mafioso Baptiste, with Kristopher Van Varenberg as his right-hand man Ruthie, and Louis Mandylor dropping in as local fight promoter Sue.

Plot

Living the simple life on a Mexican farm with his girlfriend Estrella is as much action as former mercenary Joe craves in his current life, but he nonetheless finds himself putting his tremendous fighting skills to use in local underground MMA match-ups to give the couple some extra cash for Estrella’s workers. Despite not looking for trouble, a day that should be nothing but routine errands for Joe instead sees him accidentally ruffle the feathers of Chavez, the son of a ruthless local crime boss known as “El General”. In the end, Joe is forced to kill Chavez and his associates to protect himself and his young friend Marco, with the two burying the bodies in the hopes of keeping The General and his militia of henchmen off their trail. Unfortunately, their efforts fail, with Joe forced to return to his old mercenary life and mindset to defend Estrella, Marco, and everything he holds dear.

Action

“Mexicali” Kicks Off With Four – FOUR – MMA Smackdowns, Back-To-Back

Getting the ball rolling with one stellar action sequence is usually plenty to earn a thumbs up from most martial arts aficionados, who often see the promise of the movie being bookended by its most potent samplings of action with that kind of kick-off. It’s true testimony to the commitment and sheer energy of Bren Foster, Luke LaFontaine, Jesse Johnson, and the entire stunt team of “Mexicali” that, in their eyes, just one spellbinding same down for the opening of “Mexicali” won’t cut it. And however tertiary the fights and opponents therein might be to the actual plot, “Mexicali” doesn’t start of with quick throwaways, either, but four full-blown bonanzas of MMA combat, any one of which would have been perfect to start off with. Right at the center of it all is one of the most dynamic out-of-left-field action heroes of the 21st century.

Bren Foster Is On An Epic Run

Bren Foster, quite simply, is a man completely incapable of phoning it in. With “Mexicali”, Bren follows up his phenomenal 2024 directorial debut “Life After Fighting” with a performance that’s every bit as driven and uncompromising as the warrior-farmer Joe. Taken back-to-back and also with Bren’s villainous turn in this year’s “Beast”, it can also be said that Bren has cultivated an on-screen fighting style that’s both uniquely his and an absolute blast to sit back and behold, a blend of flashy and powerful Taekwondo with down-and-dirty Brazilian Jiu Jitsu combined with an aggression that shoots off the screen like pure fire. And whether it’s a spinning kick or a double leg takedown Joe is throwing at his enemies, the punctuation of his harsh and aggressive kiais on each attack is guaranteed to leave even the most stone-walling of viewers rollicked.

With “Mexicali”, there’s also a good deal more weapons-play at work with Joe’s machete work that puts the titular character of the 2010 Robert Rodriguez “Grindhouse” spin-off to shame (Joe training Estrella in blade combat alone more than getting the job done in that endeavor), along with “Rambo” levels of war zone gunplay on a fraction of the budget.

Luke LaFontainte Rocks In His Directorial Debut

“Mexicali” is also a passing of the torch movie of sorts with straight-to-DVD action maven Jesse Johnson scripting the movie while handing the directorial reigns to his long-time stunt coordinator and fight choreographer Luke LaFonatine. It is indeed a transition that portends great things for the latter under Luke’s direction, and while he is every bit as outstanding on the action side as one would expect, “Mexicali” also displays Luke’s talent for tension and suspense in the tighter scenes of Joe and Estrella’s efforts to stay under the radar.

Early on, Joe and Estrella are all but found out right away by the General’s duplicitous lieutenant Baptiste and his right-hand man Ruthie, and it’s a true pins-and-needles scene of Joe having to play dumb while keeping the warrior from his past just a centimeter away from the surface. With “Mexicali” being a man hiding from his past story, Luke LaFontaine treats nail-biting-suspense with the same urgency as heart-racing action with great success in both.

“Mexicali” Has Great Action All-Around, But The Best Underground Fights In Ages

Of course, once Joe’s cover is blown, “Mexicali” moves a mile a minute with Joe having to take down one cartel henchman after another as he and Estrella flee. In all, the action of “Mexicali” is nothing but exceptional from Joe’s close-quarters battles with the General’s henchmen, including a fun but admittedly brief battle of kicks with Kristopher Van Damme, repping the Van Damme family with flair as the poised but prideful Ruthie, and an explosive final showdown on Joe and Estrella’s homestead where bullets, blades, and betrayals clash and slash in a “Rambo” meets “John Wick” style finale.

With that said, Joe’s underground fights still really deliver as the undeniable highlight of “Mexicali”, and the movie having already served up a quartet of underground brawls in its opening, it leads into its finale with a second two-fight helping. This time, Joe, donning a mask and entering the arena like an MMA Zorro, coordinates with Louis Mandylor’s light-hearted fight promoter Sue, to make some quick cash through a few fights in order to stock up his and Estrella’s arsenal for the showdown that’s coming their way. Of course, it doesn’t end up going quite by the book with the cartel kicking off a late act hostage situation for Joe to navigate that leads into the finale. Even still, the two sequences of four back-to-back MMA battles in the fight pit is where “Mexicali” really delivers its best and then some, especially with its showcase of just how dynamic, spellbinding, and powerful a combo Taekwondo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are working in tandem, a combo Bren quite clearly plans to deliver for years to come.

Summary

You can revel at the wildly flashy and aggressive underground MMA brawls of “Mexicali”, or slide up to the last centimeter of your seat rooting for Joe and Estella to live to fight another day. You can repeatedly find your jaw hitting the floor with the most visceral hack-and-slash machete action in ages, or tip your hat to Luke LaFontaine’s masterful first-time direction that balances the three-way scales of action, drama, and suspense like a trifecta of emotional vice grips. Or you can alternate between all of the above in ten-minute intervals, but rest assured, you’ll be occupied with one of the above throughout the entirety of “Mexicali”, the gripping intensity of which hits with all the bone-cutting power and blinding velocity of one of Bren’s ferociously kiai-accompanied spinning kicks to the face.

Trivia

Bren Foster and Tania Raymonde previously appeared alongside each other on the TNT series “The Last Ship” along with 2020’s “Deep Blue Sea 3”.

Bren Foster also served as fight choreographer on the movie.

Jesse Johnson first showed Bren Foster the script for “Mexicali” and pitched the project to him six years before the movie went into production.

Bren Foster, Tania Raymonde, and Jesse Johnson also served as executive producers on “Mexicali”.

Luke LaFontaine is an exponent of Aikido, Seido Karate, Northern Eagle Claw Kung Fu, and Kendo.

Some of Luke LaFontaine’s credits as fight choreographer and stunt coordinator prior to his directorial debut with “Mexicali” include “Triple Threat”, “The Debt Collector”, “Debt Collectors”, “Black Dynamite”, “Pit Fighter”, “Savage Dog”, and “Accident Man”. Luke has also done stunt work on movies like “The Karate Kid”, “Hook”, “Drive”, “Extreme Heist”, and “Iron Man”.

Favourite Quotes:

“It’s better to be a warrior in a farm than a farmer in a war” – Joe

Film rating – 8.5/10

“Mexicali” is now available on digital platforms for rental and purchase. Have you seen “Mexicali”? Are you excited to see Bren Foster on the rise as a martial arts star, and for Luke LaFontaine to make such a fantastic directorial debut with “Mexicali”? Are you excited to see Bren again in the upcoming “Relentless”? Let us know in the comments below; Like, share and join in the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter & Instagram. (And be sure to pay a visit to KFK’s FU-niversity of movie reviews and exclusive interviews, including our previous interview with Bren Foster, grab your official KFK gear and subscribe for more action on YouTube, too!)