Accident Man is a 2018 British action-thriller film directed by Jesse V. Johnson, based on a series of strips written by British comic writer Pat Mills and Tony Skinner. The film stars Scott Adkins, Ashley Greene, Ray Stevenson, Michael Jai White, Ray Park and Amy Johnston.
It tells the story of Mike Fallon (Adkins), a lethal assassin known as the Accident Man for his signature style of always making sure the hit looks like an accident. Mike has what he thinks is the perfect life, until he finds out that his ex-girlfriend was murdered and realizes that it was a hit carried out by some of his associates. From that moment on, Fallon goes on goes on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge against his coworkers to find out who executed the hit and who ordered it.
Followed by the 2022 sequel Accident Man: Hitman's Holiday where he's tapped to be a bodyguard for a mafia boss, and has to face more themed assassins.
No relation to the novel, The Accident Man.
Accident Man contains the following tropes:
- Affably Evil: All the assassins. They're unrepentant killers who have little issue murdering innocent people for money but they're all friendly, enjoy each other's company and the kind of people you could go to the pub and have a few drinks with, even if you are a target. The sole exceptions are Poison Pete and Jane.
- Especially notable with Carnage Cliff who's a straight up berserker while on the job but once he snaps out of it he has a friendly chat with Mike, whom he did his utmost to kill, before he dies.
- Agony of the Feet: Mike gets information from Milton by brutally smacking the soles of his feet with a wooden stick, at one point threatening to do enough damage to prevent him ever walking again.
- Alliterative Name: Almost all the assassins are known by one: Carnage Cliff, Poison Pete, Mick and Mac and Finnicky Fred. The only exceptions are Mike and Jane the Ripper.
- Another Story for Another Time: Used almost word for word to describe the details of Jane's life story.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Jane the Ripper is so supremely confident that she can kill Fallon all by herself that she doesn’t even try to use her katana to do it.
- Ax-Crazy: Carnage Cliff is such a demented psychopath that the police have trouble telling if he is a hitman or a serial killer. His weapon is a double bit ax that he uses to chop people to pieces. Clients only use him when they want to send a message.
- Bad Guy Bar: The Oasis, a bar owned by Big Ray where all the assassins hang out. It also doubles as the headquarters of their assassination firm.
- Bar Brawl: Mike is fond of starting these as a mean of releasing tension after carrying out a hit. He even bribes the bouncers beforehand, so they don't interfere.
- Bash Brothers: Mick and Mac are a pair of ex-special forces soldiers (one American, one British) who always operate as a pair. Their shared training allows to act as well-oiled machine in combat.
- The Berserker: When Carnage Cliff "flips the switch" he goes into a fugue state and kills anyone and everyone in sight, be they friend or foe.
- Blood Is Squicker in Water: Mike stabs Jane the Ripper, then pulls the sword out and shoves the body into a fountain. As it sinks under the water, blood fountains out of the mouth; staining the water red.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Fallon’s narration breaks the fourth wall several times.
- Bulletproof Human Shield: As Mick opens up on Mike with a light machine gun, Mike grabs Mac and spins around, holding Mac in front of him so Mick ends up emptying his clip into Mac. Mike then shoves Mac's bullet-riddled corpse into Mick.
- Carnival of Killers: After Mike kills Cliff, Big Ray orders the rest of the crew to hunt down and eliminate Mike. This consists of ex-special forces soldiers Bash Brothers Mick and Mac; Master Poisoner Poison Pete; finesse killer Finicky Fred; and katana wielding vamp Jane the Ripper.
- Contract on the Hitman: Milton tries to have Mike killed after killing the accountant, but he sends an amateur that Fallon easily takes out.
- Creepy Souvenir: It is rumored that Jane keeps the penises of all the men she's killed as trophies.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Mike inflicts on on a group of men at a pub after completing the opening hit.
- Dark Action Girl: Jane the Ripper is a lethal hand to hand combatant, and a master with the katana.
- Deadpan Snarker: Mike gets a lot of dry and witty remarks, especially when narrating.
- Denser and Wackier: The first film has its share of humor, and doesn't take itself too seriously, but there are quite a few dramatic moment and the ending with Big Ray and Mike falling out seemingly for good is a straight up
Tear Jerker. By contrast the second movie leans heavily into outright gross-out humor, and whenever things seem to take a turn for the dramatic a comedic gag happens just seconds afterwards. - Do Wrong, Right: When the Triad Biker tries to kill Fallon, Mike is more pissed off by the fact that the guy is doing such an amateur mess of the job than he is about the fact that he is trying to kill him.
- Dreadful Musician: One of Mike's targets, a metal band called the Satanic Mechanics, are described as such. Mike even dryly wonders if someone put a hit on them solely due to not liking their songs and says he was tempted to kill them for free after hearing a few for himself.
- Elites Are More Glamorous: Mick & Mac were special forces before they went into the assassination business. They argue all the time about whether the US or UK has the better outfit.
- Faking and Entering: Mick & Mac specialize in making assassination look like random street crime that the police won’t bother to investigate too thoroughly. This is why Fallon is able to tell they were the ones to kill Beth once he starts looking into the case.
- Flashback: There is a flashback in the middle of the movie showing how Mike met Big Ray and learned how to be an assassin.
- Friend on the Force: Mike has a guy on the London police that owes him a favor. He cashes it to get the file on Beth’s case.
- The Friend Nobody Likes:
- Poison Pete is a disgusting antisocial prick that the other assassins barely tolerate.
- Everyone at the Oasis dislikes Milton so much that Big Ray had to make it an official rule that nobody is allowed to harm Milton.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: Mac and Mick are a pair of form special forces soldiers (one British, one American) turned Professional Killers.
- Genius Bruiser: Mike, Jane and and Mick and Mac are all highly skilled combatants and smart enough to pull off regular assassinations that require considerable skill and planning.
- Grenade Hot Potato: When Mac throws a grenade at Mike, Mike kicks it back at him while he his still in the air.
- The Handler: Milton is the only one who meets with the clients and hands out the assignments to the assassins.
- High-Voltage Death: Mike kills heavy metal band Satanic Mechanics by creating an 'accident' where the stage they are performing on is electrified.
- Honey Trap: Jane the Ripper specializes in using her sexuality to get in the bedrooms of her targets, who she then proceeds to brutally murder.
- Hoisted By His Own Petard: Fallon managed to get his comrades killed by their own weapons. The only guy who is spared from that fate was Fred, who later showed up in the sequels.
- Insistent Terminology: Big Ray doesn’t like to refer to their profession as "hitmen" because that's an American term. They’re "assassins".
- Kick Them While They Are Down: The gang of chavs chasing the 15 year-old Fallon knock him to the ground and then repeatedly kick him. At the end of the film, Big Ray knocks Milton down and stomps on him repeatedly out of sheer frustration.
- The Lad-ette: Jane swears like a sailor and can outdrink most of the guys.
- Large and in Charge: Big Ray, as his name would indicate, is the main assassin in charge and played by 6'4 Ray Stevenson.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Mike Fallon's specialty is to make his killings look like accidents or suicides.
- Master Poisoner: This is the specialty of Poison Pete.
- More Deadly Than the Male: On a one on one basis, Jane is the one who gives Fallon the hardest fight hand to hand, and the one who comes closest to killing him.
- Murder, Inc.: The Oasis is a Professional Killer company that is run by Big Ray and takes a cut from all the hits.
- Non-Action Guy: Finnicky Fred and Poison Pete are the only ones with no combat training or ability.
- Nothing Personal: Beth’s murder was completely professional, Mick & Mac had no ill will towards her, something that forces Mike to reexamine his own beliefs.
- Offhand Backhand: Fallon knocks out a Russian mook with an elbow to the face without even looking.
- Off with His Head!: Mike decapitates Atal Zim with a single stroke of Jane's katana after deciding he is not worth the far more elaborate demise he originally had planned.
- Parental Substitute: Big Ray is the closest thing Fallon has to a father, since he took him in and trained him to be the best assassin in London.
- Private Eye Monologue: Mike Fallon narrates the entire movie with a tone that wouldn’t be out of place in a noir film. Only snarkier.
- Professional Killer: The entire movie revolves around a group of assassins
- She Knows Too Much: The reason Beth was killed. A whistle-blower gave her evidence that an Indian oil company was bribing and extorting British politicians to get drilling rights in the North Sea.
- The Smurfette Principle: Jane is the only female assassin working for the company.
- Tae Kwon Door: Mike kicks Jane through a door hard enough to knock the door off its hinges.
- Throw the Book at Them: At the Russian health club, Mike knocks Fred out by hitting in the head with the phone book.
- Translator Buddy: After Mac's jaw is broken and wired shut, his partner Mick is the only one who can understand his mumbling and translates for him.
- Two Shots from Behind the Bar: Big Ray has a sawn-off double barrel shotgun mounted on a swivel beneath the bar of his pub.
- Use Your Head: Jane grabs Mike by the shoulders and headbutts him in the face.
- Villain Protagonist: Mike Fallon is a remorseless assassin who doesn’t see his victims as people, but as money in his bank account.
