Back in the 1980s there was a wave of Vietnam War era action movies that focused on the P.O.W. experience. They included such poppy franchise flicks as “Missing in Action” and “Rambo: First Blood Part II”, smaller star-driven films like “Uncommon Valor”, and more obscure Cannon Group titles like “P.O.W. the Escape”. I admit to endlessly absorbing these movies as a kid, repeatedly renting them on VHS from our favorite video store.

The vanilla titled “Prisoner of War” hearkens back to those movies of old, proudly possessing many of their strengths and weaknesses. The film does distinguish itself in one key way – rather than Vietnam, its story is set in Japan during the waning days of World War II. It’s directed by Australian actor turned director Louis Mandylor and written for the screen by Marc Clebanoff. It stars English actor and martial artist Scott Adkins who also originated the story.

Adkins plays James Wright, a Wing Commander in the Royal British Air Force. In April of 1942, his plane is shot down while carrying out a mission over the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines. Wright survives but is quickly captured and taken to a Japanese prison camp ran by Lieutenant Colonel Ito (Peter Shinkoda). After evading an attempted execution, Wright gains the attention of Ito who pits him in a series of fights against the Colonel’s best warriors. For Wright, they are fights for survival. For Ito, it’s the opportunity to publicly strip his prisoner of his honor.

When not fighting, Wright is on work detail where he gets to know the other POWs. They’re a mostly generic group of captives with only a handful of them sketched enough to stand out. They’re led by an American, Captain Collins (Cowboy Cerrone) who’s light of personality but heavy on brawn. Other prisoners such as Sergeant Villanueva (Michael Copon) and Beard (Michael Rene Walton) get a little to do. But most are faceless fodder to be killed at certain intervals to show Ito means business.

The same can be said for the Japanese soldiers. Aside from Ito, there is the short-tempered Captain Endo (Masanori Mimoto) who bullies his way to an evitable showdown at the end. And there’s the woefully underdeveloped Hiroshi (Atsuki Kashio) who is sympathetic to the prisoners and their plight. The rest of the soldiers are little more than faceless targets for Wright and company to take out. The movie attempts to add more humanity via a kindly nurse named Theresa (Gabbi Garcia). But she too is trapped in a fairly shallow supporting role.

Overall the story follows a fairly conventional blueprint, finishing off with a predictable big escape that goes exactly as we expect. Along the way there are a few references to the greater war and more specifically the Bataan Death March. But it’s never enough to add much weight. And it’s all bookended by two post-war scenes of Wright seeking some closure. But most of the storytelling revolves around the dynamics at play within the camp.

While “Prisoner of War” may struggle in the narrative department, it excels with the action, especially the well-choreographed and deftly shot fight sequences. Adkins is a formidable martial artist and a convincing presence in front of Mandylor’s camera. The director locks onto the action rather than chopping it to death with quick cuts. Meanwhile the hard-working Adkins does most of the heavy lifting, impressively kicking and punching life into this serviceable throwback action movie.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS