‘John Henry’ a modern look at classic folk hero

Talented cast led by Terry Cruise and Ludacris

Supposedly a modern reimagining of a popular US folk tale, John Henry (2020) relates the story of a slave whose strength was so great that he raced against a steampowered rock drilling machine and won.

Sadly, there is no such competition in the film, but thankfully there is still a fairly enjoyable crime thriller in its place.

Terry Cruise plays the titular John Henry — a reformed gang member who is trying to live a quiet However, life. his life is upturned when an Honduran refugee named Berta (played by Jamila Velazquez) arrives on his doorstep, fleeing the same gang that Henry left behind and which is now led by his former friend, Hell (with a sinister performance from Ludacris).

Henry is then forced to take a stand to help save Berta from the gang's fury.

Admittedly, there's not all that much to John Henry but what is there is pretty solid.

Cruise does a great job as the

— hulking muscle-man helped in no small part by the fact that he is a real-life hulking muscle

man himself — and the supporting cast is equally talented.

Ludacris' performance as

Hell, a vicious gangster whose face has been half-replaced by a gold plate, is the perfect mix of cartoonish and terrifying and makes for a compelling villain.

The action scenes are also quite good, with a focus on hand-to-hand combat that's less martial arts and more pub brawl.

Again, it's not what you'd call a game changer, but while it's playing, it's easy to have a fun time watching this film.