“Absolute Dominion” (2025) starts in 2044 at the height of global terrorist attacks between warring religions. To minimize the impact of this disruption to peace, influencer Fix Huntley (Patton Oswalt) suggests a “Mortal Kombat” type tournament where different religions train fighters to determine which god will rule the world. In 2064, the tournament is almost finished, and the Institute of Humanism and Science (“IHS”), a Switzerland based group that is not religious, enters a genetically engineered, nineteen-year-old, Sagan Bruno (Désiré Mia), into the last wild card tournament who proceeds to cut through the competition like a hot knife in butter. With the powers that be determined to stop him because his lack of religion threatens the status quo, Naya Ollinga (Andy Allo), a renown instructor of other personal protection officers (“PPO”), chooses to protect him from assassination attacks. Many believe that Sagan winning is the only hope for religious freedom, but Sagan and the IHS are more concerned about another development that seems to contradict their beliefs and endanger his chances in the tournament. Can Sagan win the wild card tournament and compete with the final fifty champions?
If you are willing to judge movies based on a curve, then stick around otherwise move on. With a runtime of one hundred minutes, “Absolute Dominion” is very archetypical. Mia is tall with an athletic, not muscular build, and is closer to the clean-cut Wentworth Miller spectrum of attractiveness. As an unknown wild card fighter, Mia’s prowess on the mat is undeniable, but off the mat, his acting inexperience is apparent. Most fighters are not great actors, and Mia needs a chance to grow. No one knocks it out of the park their first day on the job so be gentle, y’all. Mario D’Leon as Sagan’s coach, Anton Moskovitz, is better than actor turned filmmaker Alex Winter who is stiff and sounds as if he is reading his lines, which may be a direction given to depict IHS characters as more intellectual. Allo is the most natural actor in team IHS, and Naya’s respected status and camaraderie with the arena’s security, which Steph (Juliana Joel) heads, are some of the nicest palette cleanser scenes because they seem like regular people. Winter plays Sagan’s father, Dr. Jehuda Bruno, and he has no chemistry with Sagan’s mother, Professor Sitara Bruno (Olunike Adeliyi). Points for the line, “If he beats you up then you beat yourself up then you’re taking two beatings instead of just one.” Awkward, but true. His presence may remind one of Keanu Reeves, and Mia could have the potential to evoke that kind of affable “The One” type. Sagan’s best line: “If I get riled up because someone wants to rile me up, then I’m a puppet, not a fighter.”
The alliance between top fighters Maestre Gato Santo (Fabiano Viett) and Nizar Haddad (Junes Zahdi) and their respective PPOs offered a neat glimpse into the next chapter if Sagan can win and reach their ranks. Some of the top fifty are true believers fighting for their God, but others are paid muscle who secretly worship another, but these two are invested in helping Sagan. “Absolute Dominion” does not offer a lot of background on all the religions, and the context clues can be confusing, but it makes sense because the viewers are supposed to be rooting for team freedom of religion, and no one is watching this movie for a theology lesson. Santo is more interesting, “God is not going to lose today.”
There are not many villains. Julie Ann Emery as exasperated Commander Diane Zimmer feels like the person that you cast if you cannot afford Lucy Lawless or Michelle Forbes. Her manner is a bit more outré and flatter than one wants from a good villain, but it is what it is. Emery is not the only actor who plays to the back row of the theater. Stunt casting actors like Oswalt and transfeminine media personality Alok Vaid-Menon, who plays Ceylon, the self-described Joan Rivers of the Battle for Absolute Dominion, may get a few more butts in seats, but their high energy enthusiasm is a bit much though it is nice to see them. Oswalt’s best line and true story, “If I was God with a front row seat for the last 2100 years, I’d also root for the people who don’t believe in me.” Probably the most famous actor who seems to fit the world without being too over the top is Reagan Gomez, who plays Claudia, one of Ceylon’s producers.
There are enough big names in the cast to grab people’s attention, but it will be the story and fighting that will convince people to give grace to the low budget production. Writer and director Lexi Alexander is best known for making “Punisher: War Zone” (2008), which is so bad that somehow it turns the corner and becomes amazing. The key to enjoying Alexander’s movies is radical acceptance and to let the ridiculous storyline sweep you away then have fun. “Absolute Dominion” is an excuse to watch a lot of fighting. The fighting does not consist of a lot of special effects. The camera just captures two people fighting on a mat, and if you like that elemental type of combat, you are in for a treat. If you are not, then you may not like it. For a movie with wall-to-wall fight scenes, it is not graphic or too violent, and it is nice for a camera not to get chaotic or have an editor that gets in the way of the action. (coughs) “A Working Man” (2025) (coughs) The fights vary in quality and were more interesting in the beginning than the end despite the alleged quality in fighters being more fearsome.
“Absolute Dominion” also deserves points for appropriating. It feels as if a humanist who used to watch Christian produced drama television decided to appropriate from Christians for a change. This story finds a way to have its cake and eat it too with Sagan as a secular champion who may be God’s chosen instrument to save the world, which imbues him with the logistical advantage to dodge various machinations against him and his allies. Alexander creates a messiah figure that secular people can rally around and convincing people of faith that science’s darling may be on the precipice of becoming a man of God. Sagan practically makes miracles happen, seems to have the ability to anticipate the future and finds a way not to kill anyone that he fights. The idea that the way for people to safely practice their faith is religious freedom over state mandated religion is not a new concept—see the creation of the US, but it is still a revolutionary idea that works in real life yet is shunned. Alexander probably will not be able to convert new believers into enthusiastically surrendering the idea that religion should not play an active role in government, but it is fun to see her thread the needle by creating a protagonist who is a product of science, has no spiritual practice, but may be God’s favorite champion.
Christian content is not known for rolling in money and high production values, and this secular spin on proselytizing movies follows suit. Nothing is seamless: the acting, the special effects, the story, but it is good enough to do the job. With more money and practice, everyone could get to the next level like a CW series, but it would take patience and time. “Star Trek,” “Xena: Warrior Princess” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” were not always critically acclaimed, but they had a devoted audience interested in the story, and this movie has that potential.
“Absolute Dominion” may also find a home with a diverse fan base. Most of the military or security forces are women and/or people of color, but it is strange that none of the eligible fighters are women, which is never explained. The tournament takes place on Shalom Island where every language is heard so the site feels like a take on the UN. If Gene Roddenberry liked the “Hunger Games” franchise, he would make this film, but this universe is more chaste than his vision of the future.
“Absolute Dominion” feels more like the pilot to a broadcast television series than a standalone movie, and the incomplete end of the narrative suggests room for a sequel. It feels as if every round to the championship will be a standalone movie. Hopefully some television studio gives them a shot to expand the story. It is an ambitious and laudable enterprise to combine fighting with preaching for religious freedom through secular scientific values but considering the state of the world after decades of Roddenberry, it probably won’t sway anyone who is not already in this camp. Definitely looking forward to the next round.
