2025 is proving to be a great year for Marko Zaror. Only a few months back he was appearing in his old pal Ernesto Díaz Espinoza’s Diablo (2025) and now he’s back in action for the upcoming Affinity. Like Diablo, Affinity also has Zaror carrying out multiple jobs in the production, not only acting but handling the action direction, producing and writing. However, the big difference between the two films is that instead of having him in a (scene stealing) supporting role, Affinity has him front and center, once again portraying the hero.
Zaror plays Bruno, an ex-SEAL who is struggling with PTSD after a mission went wrong and resulted in the death of his brother. Now living in Thailand, Bruno spends his time either working for his friend Joe (Louis Mandylor) or drowning his sorrows in a bottle. One night he finds the beautiful Athena (Jane Mirro) unconscious outside his home. Resuscitating her, Bruno begins to nurse her back to health, with the two of them eventually falling in love. Very little is known about Athena’s past, but when she is taken by a group of armed men Bruno realizes he will have to fall back on his violent ways if he is to save her.
I have to admit, I didn’t know a great deal about Affinity before delving in. Of course,being both a fan of Marko Zaror and martial arts films in general, I was excited to see how this one would turn out. From the first scene, I could tell this was going to be better than your typical DTV fodder. Affinity has a level of production value that betrays its low budget, with director Brandon Slagle putting every cent on screen.
The prolific Slagle is no stranger to the action genre, with him clearly being able to work under budget constraints. His output does vary in quality but Affinity is at the top of the heap, being his most accomplished work to date.
Naturally, the film isn’t perfect, with the limits of the budget sometimes shining through. This is usually in the form of some poor rear projection or digital gunfire, but for the most part this is kept to a minimum.
The beautiful Bangkok locations certainly add to the overall production, being a perfect backdrop to the film’s action. It does help that the locations and said action that takes place in them is shot by ace cinematographer Niccolo De La Fere, whose vibrant visuals really raise Affinity above typical DTV action fare.
As with the majority of low budget actioners these days, De La Fere has shot the film digitally. In spite of that, there is richness to his visuals that doesn’t go unnoticed and makes me wonder why a low budget film such as Affinity has better visuals than films triple its budget that stream on the likes of Netflix or Amazon.
This isn’t De La Fere’s first time collaborating with Slagle, with him having shot The Flood (2023) and 3 Days in Saipan (2023). Additionally, he also shot Diablo, and the upcoming Prisoner of War (2025), reteaming him once again with Scott Adkins and Louis Mandylor.
As great as the visuals are, like any good action film, it needs a great score to accompany them. Thankfully Affinity has that covered with composer Rocco contributing a synth heavy score that perfectly sets the mood for the film. Some sections of the score made me think of Cliff Martinez’s score for Drive (2011), although not too much it feels like a copy. If you were a fan of the score Rocco composed for Diablo, I’m sure you’ll love it. As I did.
Zaror, De La Fere and Rocco aren’t the only ones from Diablo to be involved in the production, with the aforementioned Ernesto Díaz Espinoza working on the film as editor. I’m assuming we have him to thank for Affinity’s pacing, with the film never once dragging, even when there is a lull in the action.
Speaking of action, the film doesn’t waste any time getting to the nitty gritty, kicking off with a brutal rescue attempt before flashing forward to present day where Zaror’s Bruno finds himself in the midst of an attempted mugging, where he proceeds to beat the ever living shit out of his attackers. From the get go, Zaror’s fight choreography is swift and hard hitting, while at the same time making room to show off his more acrobatic skills. It still amazes me to this day to see a man of Zaror’s size seemingly fly through the air with such ease.
He doesn’t just keep the limelight on himself, with his co-stars getting their opportunity to take part in the action, albeit in a lesser capacity. Brooke Ence certainly looks dangerous in her action scenes, with her offering support to Zaror in several of the film’s action scenes. Some may remember Ence from her role in Wonder Woman (2017) which she went on to reprise in the ill fated Justice League (2017).
As much as Ence impresses, she is overshadowed by the immensely talented Brahim Chab. I have been praising Chab for some time, both for his work in front of the camera and behind it. He made a massive impression on mainstream audiences last year with his outstanding work as fight choreographer on the sublime Monkey Man (2024). Of course a lot of the credit of Monkey Man should go to director Dev Patel, but I doubt the film would be half as impressive if it wasn’t for Chab’s superlative work in developing the action.
In the same year as Monkey Man, Chab also found himself choreographing the fights on the enjoyable Fight or Flight (2024), coincidentally featuring Marko Zaror in a supporting role. After working behind the scenes with him, I have to admit that it made me happy to see him this time in front of the camera, with him and Zaror facing off multiple times throughout the film.
Chab’s Krieger is ultimately just the right hand man of the film’s true villain, but even so, he is the one character in the film that poses an undeniable threat to Zaror’s Bruno. Chab certainly puts Zaror through his paces, with each of their fights being stand outs amongst a film already jam packed with first rate action. Admittedly, their first confrontation is short lived, but it is a fine taster of what’s to come later in the film. As great as Zaror’s fight with Scott Adkins was during the finale of Diablo, I would dare to say that his fight with Chab surpasses it. I would have to watch Diablo again to truly make a final decision.
As memorable as those mentioned are, they are unsurprisingly overshadowed by the always reliable Louis Mandylor, who once again steals the show as Bruno’s friend/father figure Joe. Mandylor and Slagle are regular collaborators, with Slagle having a tendency to use him to the best of his advantage. Mandylor brings a great deal of warmth to his character, with the affection he has for Zaror’s Bruno shining through. His screen time may be limited in comparison to Zaror and company, but even so, he makes every second count. He even gets involved in the action in the latter stages of the film, with him getting involved in a nifty little knife duel that proves his action skills are still up to scratch.
I may be overlooking some of Affinity’s shortcomings, so if I had to be overly critical I could say that the script is merely functional, which is surprising considering the amount of writers involved, one of which is Zaror himself. It is to the actor’s credit that they are able to inject a good deal of personality into their roles, although Jane Mirro’s Athena comes across more as a plot point than an actual character.
To be honest, a functional script more than does the trick for Affinity, with it mostly being a means to get from one action scene to the next. I will say, it did have one surprise up its sleeve which is sadly ruined by the promotional material and the synopsis that’s currently shown on the likes of IMDB.
Due to be released by the good people at Well Go USA, Affinity comes highly recommended. Brandon Slagle and his team have put together a slick and exciting actioner that never overstays its welcome, running a brisk 80 minutes. It is a perfect showcase for Marko Zaror and further proof that he should be a bigger star.
Next up for Zaror is the interesting sounding Dancing in the Ring, where he will be playing real life boxer Arturo Godoy. It looks like this is a role that could truly stretch Zaror as an actor but still allow him to get involved in some action. For Louis Mandylor, he has stepped behind the camera for the highly anticipated Prisoner of War (2025) which finds him working with Scott Adkins once again. For Slagle, he has multiple films in different stages of production, so I am unclear what will come next. Either way I will be looking with interest based on his work here.
Plot: 3.5/5
Acting: 4/5
Action: 4.5/5
Overall: 4/5
