This plot device is so cliché

Then don't watch and/or write your own movies! You could break the trend!!

So what? Common plot devices do not necessarily detract from well-executed productions - conversely, so-called original ideas and plot devices in no way automatically results in quality.

Google: "end of originality theories" to learn more.

Scott Adkins is no Tom Hardy and this film is not "Moonlight". However, as smaller-budget action-oriented films go, this one is for sure a cut above most of the rest.

cheers...

--
"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."