Released on Prime Video on November 24, 2023, Twilight star Kellan Lutz is enjoying a surge in viewership with his new action movie Due Justice. Although it holds a lowly 26% Rotten Tomatoes rating and a 3.6 IMDb score, the film shows a much different side of Lutz than fans of the Twilight series are used to seeing him when he played Emmett Cullen from 2008 to 2012.
Due Justice is a vicious revenge thriller that, despite its formulaic familiarity, has performed much better on the streaming platform than it did in a limited theatrical release. For Lutz, it will be interesting to see if the movie’s newfound popularity will lead to new acting opportunities or if the low ratings will hinder his future projects.
Kellan Lutz Before Due Justice
Kellan Lutz is an American actor and model born in North Dakota in 1985. As a late teenager, he began his acting career by appearing in an episode of the long-running soap operaThe Bold and the Beautiful. After appearing on other TV shows such as CSI: NY, Six Feet Under, and Summerland, Lutz landed his first movie role in 2006’s Stick It and Accepted. As his profile rose, Lutz was cast in juicier roles, including arguably his most taxing performance as Cpl. Jason Lilley in HBO’s Generation Kill in 2008.
Also in 2008, Lutz starred in the remake of the 1980 horror classic Prom Night and was cast as Emmett Cullen in Twilight. During his Twilight run from 2008 to 2012, Lutz starred in 90210, the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Immortals, 30 Rock, Java Heat, and more. Lutz’s post-Twilight career consists of Tarzan, The Legend of Hercules, The Expendables 3, The Comeback, Speed Kills, What Men Want, FBI and its spinoffs, and more.
Kellan Lutz’s Twilight Run
From 2008 to 2012, Lutz portrayed Emmett Cullen in The Twilight Saga, including Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn Part 1, and Breaking Dawn Part 2. Emmett is the adopted brother of Edward (Robert Pattinson), Alice (Ashley Greene), and Jasper (Jackson Rathbone). Emmett is also Rosalie Hale’s husband and the adopted son of Carlisle and Esme Cullen. In the Saga, he aligns himself with the Olympic Coven, a vegetarian variety with golden eyes instead of the predatory red-eyed vampires.
With his human muscles amplified by his vampiric transformation, Emmett remains one of the strongest and most physically imposing Cullen family members. In 1935, he was brutally attacked by a bear and saved in the nick of time by Rosalie, his future wife. Emmett is also the most supportive of Edward courting Bella while many of his family members fear the consequences of this human-vampire relationship. Once Edward and Bella get married, Emmett trains the latter how to fight after Edward refuses to. Lutz portrayed Emmett Cullen in five mega-popular movies in four years, cementing the role as his largest and most tenured to date.
What Is Due Justice About?
Due Justice is a boilerplate vigilante thriller written and directed by Javier Reyna. Released on VOD and in limited U.S. theaters on November 24, 2023, the movie stars Lutz as Max, a former Marine turned lawyer who goes on a violent revenge mission to pay back those who killed his wife and brother and kidnapped his daughter. Despite the tired and trampled action movie clichés audiences have seen many times before, the physically demanding role proves Lutz can carry a film on his back as a bona fide action star while distancing himself from his famous Twilight persona.
As Max moves to rescue his daughter from those responsible for taking his wife and brother’s lives, the movie becomes mired in stodgy flashback sequences and stultifying dialog. A subplot involving a shady police officer named Santiago (Efren Ramirez) distracts from the main narrative and hinders the thrust of Reyna’s storytelling. Yet, despite the poor execution of a tried-and-true revenge movie blueprint, Due Justice has found a sizable audience since debuting on Prime Video in November 2023.
Whether the film becomes popular enough for Lutz to become a major action star is yet to be seen. However, Lutz can be seen in the upcoming action thrillerDesert Dawn opposite Cam Gigandet and Chad Michael Collins. As he continues to strip away his Emmett Cullen image, Lutz is also slated to play Dr. Jeff Huxford in the upcoming medical biography Finding Normal.
