Asif Akbar’s latest picture, Mojave Diamonds, introduces us to Roy Mason (Donald Cerrone), who always wanted to become an MMA fighter with a track record so smooth that it could strike fear into the hearts of his rivals before they even walked into the octagon. Despite his older brother’s suggestion to join the military and carve out a successful career, Roy decided to tread his own path. He got into MMA, but things didn’t turn out as he had expected, and he was soon forgotten. Joe had warned him about this, but Roy didn’t pay any heed to his words.
Now, he’s forty years old with no stable career or house. However, he does have a trucker’s job and a beautiful blonde as his girlfriend. Roy also takes part in illegal club fighting to keep his love for MMA alive. Unfortunately, he lost one of his fights, making his boss, Julian (Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson), lose a ton of money. Figuring Ross is more interested in making love to his girlfriend than winning fights for him, Julian decides to teach him a lesson he’ll never forget. He kills Roy’s girlfriend in front of his eyes.
Spoilers Ahead
What Did Julian Ask Roy To Transport?
Julian was in a good mood and extended a generous offer to Roy in return for leaving him alive. Julian told Roy that he’d need his truck to transport some of his goods and that he’d also pay handsomely for the same. So, what is it that Julian needs Roy to transport? Is it drugs or fake currency? Julian ordered Joy to transport a highly expensive, pure, and uncut diamond to his desired location. In return, Julian promised that he’d make Roy one million dollars richer. Julian also threatened Roy that if anything happened to his diamond, the blood of his brother, Joe, and his family would be on his head.
Roy could’ve said no, but Julian wouldn’t have wasted a second putting a bullet in his head. With no choice left, Roy agreed to take the one-million-dollar trip from Vegas to Baja with Julian’s diamond. Roy tried calling his older brother, Joe, but he didn’t answer his call. Roy visited Danny and Joe on Christmas, but Joe wasn’t even interested in saying hello. He was frustrated, and why shouldn’t he be? One of his brothers is serving in the military, while the other is a vagabond with no place to call home. Danny often pleaded with Joe to make things right with Roy and forgive him for what he did, but his requests fell on deaf ears.
Roy wanted to ask Joe (Chael Sonnen) if he wanted to join him on his next transport in hopes of squashing old feuds, but after seeing him rant, he dropped the idea. Instead, he asked Danny (Chris Maher) to tag along, and the latter immediately agreed, hoping the trip would bridge the gap between them. Unlike Joe, Danny doesn’t harbor an ill will against his brother and used to be overly supportive of Roy’s MMA career. Roy introduced Danny to his world of underground fighting and gambling, and much to Roy’s surprise, Danny found himself drawn to it. Danny even saw his older brother in action when Roy brutally beat one of the underground fighters. Danny began to sense that Roy was toying with some really dangerous people and transporting something illegal in his trucks. Julian’s men loaded his trucks with a container full of ready-to-drink tea. However, the tea bottles were merely a clever disguise for smuggling diamonds should the police inspect his trucks for drugs.
What Happens To Roy’s Truck?
Unfortunately, Danny had a date with luck, as a couple of masked men barged into the compound with automatic rifles. Their intention was obviously to steal the diamond, robbing Roy of his only chance of freedom. The men massacred whatever guard they could find and eventually escaped with the truck. Luckily, Danny was able to escape the truck without catching any bullets in the back. As expected, Roy and Danny stole a car and managed to track down the truck. The bad news is that the robbers had already ransacked the truck and stole Julian’s fifty million dollars million diamond. Not to mention, the same masked men also made an attempt on the brothers’ lives, but it proved ineffective. Roy comes clean to his brother and tells him everything, including what he was smuggling to Baja.
The news that someone has stolen his prized diamond soon reaches Julian’s ears. What he doesn’t know is that his club manager is working with the cops and has been feeding details about Julian’s illegal activities to Agent Brody to make a strong case. As expected, Julian doesn’t waste any time and kidnaps Joe’s family, putting a hold on their Christmas plans. Julian gives Roy and his brothers 48 hours to find and bring back his diamond, threatening to kill Joe’s family if they fail. Now, with the situation turned on its head, Roy is unlikely to get the money, but he may still have a chance to save Joe and his family. Will he manage to find the diamond?
Was Roy Able To Save Joe’s Family?
Joe drives to Roy’s location and punches him in the face, threatening to personally murder him if anything bad happens to his wife and daughter. The trio armed themselves to the teeth and tracked Julian to Pallazo’s mansion. The compound was swarming with guards, but they were no match to Roy and Joe’s marine training. The trio began dropping Julian’s guards like flies, but before they could nail Julian for kidnapping the girls, Paulie (Weston Cage) arrived and shot Julian’s prostitutes. But why? Wasn’t Paulie working for Julian? Yes, but in reality, Paulie had always hated Julian. The latter was adopted by Paulie’s uncle and later inherited his criminal empire when it rightfully belonged to Paulie. However, Paulie’s uncle knew that Paulie would lay waste to his empire and thus chose Julian as his successor. Paulie tried killing Julian, but he wrestled the gun off his hands and knocked him down.
However, Paulie woke up soon after and killed Julian. He then framed Roy for Julian’s death and ordered his men to take him to the mine. Even though it first appeared that Julian was a small-time criminal, the truth was far from it. Paulie was a couple of steps ahead of him and was gathering an army in secret to overthrow Julian. He was also behind the theft of Roy’s truck, which was carrying the fifty million dollars diamond. Roy was forced to exchange blows with Paulie’s biggest fighter. Paulie assured him that he’d let his family go if he beat his fighter. Roy emerged victorious, and he killed the man. Danny and Joe also joined the fight, massacred most of the guards, and freed the girls. Paulie was also arrested for his crimes. Unfortunately, Danny’s friend, Jimmy, became a casualty of the war. As Mojave Diamonds comes to a close, we see Joe and Danny reconciling with Roy, suggesting that they each have put their differences aside and have accepted Roy.
Final Verdict
Mojave Diamonds isn’t really a moneymaker, but it’s not the money that’s the issue here. It’s the action scenes that need some serious choreography. The action scenes in the movie are less than mediocre, and most of the hand-to-hand combat seems like unnecessary pillow fights. If Mojave Diamonds were a dish, it would be a bad and hastily cooked sandwich, lacking the touch of a skilled chef. The action sequences lack the adrenaline-pumping intensity that action lovers might expect from a Lionsgate film.
