Navy SEALS Battle Terrorists at a Black Site Prison in 'One Shot'

In the military thriller "One Shot," a CIA analyst is accompanied by a Navy SEAL unit as she visits an island black site prison to retrieve a detainee who has the information that can prevent a terrorist attack on Washington, D.C., before time runs out.

Director James Nunn ratchets up the tension by having the movie unfold in real time with one continuous shot. Your first thought might be that it's the same approach used in the World War I epic "1917," but the closed quarters and tighter time frame create a different kind of tension than offered by the sweeping vistas of "1917."

"One Shot" opens in theaters and will be available on demand starting Nov. 5, 2021. Action pro Scott Adkins ("Avengement," "Wolf Warrior") stars as SEAL Lt. Jake Harris alongside Ashley Greene ("Twilight"), Ryan Phillippe ("Shooter") and Waleed Elgadi.

Unfortunately for the CIA, terrorists know that the prisoner has intel to share, and they decide that a raid on the island to kill him is the best way to keep their plan in motion. The entire mission gets hairy once the SEALs must face off against well-trained enemy commandos.

We've got a clip from early in the movie as the CIA operative Zoë Anderson (Greene) and the SEALs (led by Adkins) first land on the island.

The interrogation scenes aren't for the squeamish, and the fact that the movie was made with long, continuous shots actually makes the rough stuff tougher to watch.

Military.com talked with Adkins, who gave us a rundown on how and why "One Shot" got made.

Military.com: How long did it take for you to make this film?

Scott Adkins: "When we finished 'Eliminators,' the second film I did with James Nunn, we were talking about what we should do next. We both decided that it would be great to do an action film all in one continuous take. I believe I came up with the idea to have it take place at an island prison, but to be honest, that was as much as I did.

"The rest of it was James and the writer, Jamie Russell, who completely changed into a different movie. But I was present for the initial birth of the idea, and we tried to get it financed for a long time. That was very difficult. I think people didn't really get why we wanted to make the movie we did.

"And then '1917' came along and obviously did very well. That probably allowed us to get the financing for 'One Shot.' Maybe they realized what we're trying to do all along. Unfortunately, it might seem like we're copying '1917,' but that's not the case."

Military.com: "1917" is a movie that exists on an enormous scale, and "One Shot" is a far more visceral movie, because it's so much about these up-close shots.

Adkins: "James and I always felt like the unbroken take with no edits would have a way of pulling the audience closer in. It feels like you're getting pulled into the screen. Since it doesn't have these edits, it's almost like you can't break your own attention and you don't want to look away. Because everything is unfolding in front of you, naturally, in real time, it almost feels more real.

"We've got a very taut, tight story that's very intense, and the intensity level builds up as the plot thickens. The way we've shot it, with that unbroken take, feeds into that intensity. So it's a real ride. You're spending 90 minutes with this group of people, and they're going through hell, and you're in it right with them. That's what we wanted to achieve, and I think we did."

Military.com: If you're trying to complete scenes in one continuous take, you've really exposed yourself when it comes to the tactical maneuvers. We're used to seeing a thousand cuts in a scene to cover up mistakes in the action, and you didn't give yourselves that option.

Adkins: "I had to make sure I didn't mess it up. Otherwise, we'll be going back to square one."

Military.com: How much actual weapons training was involved? Were all the people who were handling guns in this movie familiar with their weapons before you started?

Adkins: "We had a brilliant military adviser by the name of Tom Lee, who served with the British Army. Of course, I know there's some differences between them and the SEALs. But Tom was very useful. He got us to move like a real team, tactically, and, you know, taught us how to reload the weapons.

"If we ever did something wrong, he was honest. Even for me, whenever I was going into a room, he'd say, 'You've got to check the corners.' Then I'd say, 'Yeah, sorry, Tom. I didn't check the corners. I was thinking about the dolly.' 'You've got to check your corners, Scott.' He was on me all the time. It's those little details that I think your audience will really appreciate. We couldn't have done it without Tom and everything he brought to the movie."

Military.com: How different was this from other military-themed films you've made in that regard? Did you learn anything, in particular, trying to work this way?

Adkins: "Well, I've had a lot of experience of making these sorts of movies, and I've trained with military guys before and I feel like I know my way around a weapon, for the most part. But yeah, it's things like you're six minutes into doing an unbroken take, and you've got to do a mag change. You don't want to mess it up.

"So you just drill in that all the time, making sure it's second nature and you don't even have to think about it. You know exactly where the mag is and where it's got to go and the buttons, you've got to press to release it and all that stuff. So it's just being up on that. I did a tactical mag change at one point, which people might appreciate."

Military.com: "One Shot" comes in at a very tight 96 minutes. Is that a conscious choice when you're making movies?

Adkins: "I don't believe that film should outstay its welcome. If anything, you should finish leaving the audience wanting more. If you can make a film that's three hours and still have that effect, then more power to you. At the end of the day, we work within a certain budget range, and we're lucky if we can get an hour and a half out with that sort of budget.

"We weren't sure we're going to meet the runtime for 'One Shot' at one point, because we don't have all the money in the world. At a certain budget level, you shouldn't try to make a film more than an hour and a half. I actually think sometimes with the money I've been given for other movies that they should let me make a film that's 80 minutes, because that's all we can afford to make good."

Military.com: Do you think that those budget limitations can inspire creativity?

Adkins: "Absolutely. You have to find a way to do it. I'm dealing with that at the minute on a movie we're making now. We have to rewrite a scene completely, because it turns out we can't do it the way it's written and stay on budget. For various reasons, you've got to be able to think on the fly, be inventive and be able to change things up."

Military.com: With your limited budgets, how important is special attention to safety for the people you work with?

Adkins: "If I'm making a low-budget movie and doing a fistfight or martial arts fight, then we sometimes make mistakes. We hit each other, blood is shed, accidents can happen. But you know that that's all part of it, and that nobody is going to be killed. We know the risks.

"When you start doing stunts that can put people's lives at risk whether it's guns, whether it's explosions, whatever it is, you've got to make sure you've got all the safety parameters in place. If you can't afford that, then maybe that scene shouldn't be in your movie. Come back when you've got the budget to be able to afford to do that and keep it safe. That's how I feel about it."

Military.com: Word's out that you're appearing in "John Wick: Chapter 4."

Adkins: "I'm a huge fan of John Wick films. I think they're the best Hollywood action films of this time. So to be invited by [director] Chad [Stahelski] and Keanu to be part of it, it was a real thrill. I couldn't be happier. It was a great time that couldn't have gone better, and I can't wait for people to see it."

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