09-21-2012, 05:07 PM
This should have been called "TapouT informercial." There was a TapouT logo in almost every shot. It was the only thing that felt real about it.
I would say that this is the best MMA flick so far, which isn't really saying much as there hasn't been a really good MMA flick yet. Greg is right. It's totally cliched and preposterous. I don't know why I can accept cliches and preposterousness with Kung Fu films and not MMA films. Maybe it's because I watch MMA as a form of entertainment on its own. Is this more preposterous than a baseball/football/track film? Well, ya, sorta. Maybe it's because I know some MMA fighters and their lives are nothing like this. Then again, the same can be said for Kung Fu films. So I don't really know why I reject cliched preposterous MMA films. That being said, the performances are good (although cliched, especially the wife SPOILER not wanting to see her lover get the crap beaten out of him and then shows up to the fight anyway END SPOILER) and the action is engaging (although preposterous, especially the finale fight SPOILER having actually seen arms broken in an MMA fight firsthand and live, well, it looks nothing like that END SPOILER). But it's engaging enough to watch. There would be some totally preposterous or cliched scene, and then there would be a bloody fight or some decent acting, and I would be engaged again. Nolte rocked his role. Hardy was good too. I'm glad to see Bane unmasked. There was also a poster for Shamrock vs Gracie in the background, which was the first major MMA event that I ever attended, which was nostalgic for me personally.
A high school teacher moonlighting as an MMA champ who brings his school together? It's going to make a great double feature with Here Comes the Boom. ;-)
I would say that this is the best MMA flick so far, which isn't really saying much as there hasn't been a really good MMA flick yet. Greg is right. It's totally cliched and preposterous. I don't know why I can accept cliches and preposterousness with Kung Fu films and not MMA films. Maybe it's because I watch MMA as a form of entertainment on its own. Is this more preposterous than a baseball/football/track film? Well, ya, sorta. Maybe it's because I know some MMA fighters and their lives are nothing like this. Then again, the same can be said for Kung Fu films. So I don't really know why I reject cliched preposterous MMA films. That being said, the performances are good (although cliched, especially the wife SPOILER not wanting to see her lover get the crap beaten out of him and then shows up to the fight anyway END SPOILER) and the action is engaging (although preposterous, especially the finale fight SPOILER having actually seen arms broken in an MMA fight firsthand and live, well, it looks nothing like that END SPOILER). But it's engaging enough to watch. There would be some totally preposterous or cliched scene, and then there would be a bloody fight or some decent acting, and I would be engaged again. Nolte rocked his role. Hardy was good too. I'm glad to see Bane unmasked. There was also a poster for Shamrock vs Gracie in the background, which was the first major MMA event that I ever attended, which was nostalgic for me personally.
A high school teacher moonlighting as an MMA champ who brings his school together? It's going to make a great double feature with Here Comes the Boom. ;-)
Shadow boxing the apocalypse