Fighting

Not sure what disposition everyone else was in when watching this movie but it must have been a dark one.

Yes, its a formulaic fighting movie and I can understand that it might rub you up the wrong way but I really liked the minimal insecure way in which the down on their luck main characters Shawn (Channing Tatum) Harvey (Terrence Howard) held themselves acting wise and I thought they established an excellent rapport by the end. The casting overall felt just right.

Neither of them were likable in the beginning and it was this roughness that gave the film more realism. I don't think you can really compare this to Never Back Down which was, like many beat em up movies, more of a glossy cartoon with human actors. 'Fighting' has more of a grime to it, made immersing by excellent cinematography of NYC and cool locations.

I liked the fact that the fight scenes were not an all singing and all dancing over stylised Tonay Jaa affair. Because of this I felt totally absorbed by the 'in the crowd' camera shots; catching different angles. You really felt the fighting was more realistic, as if you've ever been in a fight you'll know that technique can only take you so far- Its really down to mind, heart and of course luck.

Nothing was overstated in this film and I think that might be the reason it has received such bad rating. I don't care that it felt budget and its nice to have an understated fighting movie for once without too many bells and whistles.

Shawn MacArthur (Channing Tatum) is a NYC street hawker. Harvey Boarden (Terrence Howard) leads a team of hustlers and tries to run him off. Shawn is able to fight them off. They meet up again and Harvey offers him an underground fight. Martinez (Luis Guzmán) is another promoter. Zulay Velez is the single mom waitress love interest. Evan Hailey is a rival fighter who was on the same college wrestling team coached by Shawn's father.

This has a feel of something more interesting than a B-movie. Terrence Howard does that to his films. He makes it better than it should be. This is most notable for an early starting role for Tatum. He has solidified this character type with a chip on his shoulder. The fight scenes tries to be indie gritty. Other than that, this movie doesn't stand out.

There seemed to be a positive attitude before the film started – which was given a helping hand by the "star" of the film Channing Tatum (who plays Shawn MacArthur) making a guest appearance before the film started to introduce the movie.

A bit of a poor man's Rocky, with (believe it or not) an even worse story. Delving into the seedy, underground world of bare-knuckle fighting – with no holds barred.

A new kid in town, down on his luck in the big City meets up with and becomes unlikely friends with a less than successful con man / fight promoter and his entourage of misfits and vagabonds. The fights get increasingly intense as each opponent gets bigger and stronger than the last, until the big showdown with a boyhood nemesis.

Meanwhile, as a sub-plot, the up-and-coming fighter tries to woo a club waitress by always turning up whenever she is around … alas, I suppose stalking has the same effect as a bunch of roses to some people today.

This was a poorly directed film, and the characters were pretty wooden, the story was very laboured and moved very slowly.

The redeeming features were some of the fight scenes (that were a bit on the brutal side), and the "comedy" performance of the girlfriend's Mother that kept popping into the room on the most inappropriate of moments! Although the fight sequences may be of interest to some – I would say that many others would find these quite off putting.

The film tries to save itself with some plot twists, but, unfortunately – you could see these punches coming from a long way off.

Channing Tatum in the opening introduction before the film started described the plot line of the movie as being loosely based on "Midnight Cowboy" – but it is a very loose connection both in story, acting ability or finished result – and this film definitely wasn't the winner.

This thrilling movie deals with a tight-lipped hunk who is introduced to the world of underground street fierce brawling by a seasoned scam artist, who becomes his manager . In New York City, a young counterfeiter named Shawn McArthur (Channing Tatum) tries to come up with a way to get enough money to live . The desperate young knocks several robbers when they attempt to rob him some goods. After that he comes into contact with street-fight promoter , a hustler named Harvey (Terrence Howard). Shawn teams up with the organizer of no-holds-barred bare-knuckle fights that secretly entertain the wealthy across the streets and slums of N.Y.C. and links Shawn up with Martinez (Luis Guzman). Shawn is soon fighting various contenders -ranging from a Harlem bouncing to an Oriental fighter - earning money to help keep his new sweetheart (Zulay Enao) who comes to love him . Shawn decides that he has something worth brawling for and sets everything on the line to vanquish . Although Shawn only wants to bash opponents long enough to gain enough money to assist his girlfriend, he is reluctant to let tricks in combats on the fighting circuit .Every knock-out brings him closer to the existence he's always wished , but also carries him in a deadly cobweb he can't getaway.

The picture contains drama ,thrills , and lots of violent brawls plenty of punch , kicks, and knockouts. Acceptable performance from Channing Tatum as impulsive young becoming a professional street-fighter and battling a variety of contenders , plus Zulay Enao gives a surprisingly good acting as his gorgeous love interest and special mention to Terrence Howard as the sharpster who arranges his bare-knuckled bouts . The picture belongs to sub-genre about street combats as ¨Lionheart¨ with Jean Claude Van Damme and whose maxim representation turns out to be the classic ¨Hard times¨ by Walter Hill with Charles Bronson and James Coburn . It's a colorful but violent entertainment that results to be the second film of his director Dito Montiel. His first movie was the dramatic ¨Guide to recognizing the saints ¨and in preparation ¨The son of no one¨ also with Channing Tatum and Al Pacino . Rating : passable , only for those who like films in which fist-play are staged ad nauseam .

It was well made, but clearly not worth seeing in theaters. All in all, besides a number of movies that this resembles (as you can read in the other IMDb comments), it was truly a poor case of storytelling. The dialog was very close to being on the nose allowing for the most predictable storyline and course of events. Best parts were the fighting which was filmed "O.K." and the women, a.k.a. "sex." New York felt very real throughout this movie, but with the American Gangster soundtrack being used repetitively it quickly lost it's realism. Acting was cool, but then again the characters were unbelievable and boring.

I say 4 out of 10. It could have been filmed like clover-field and still received the same rating. If the story would have been more original, then I would have said higher rating.

Oh and the "Antagonist" throughout this storyline made me laugh. My 5 year old nephew could take him down let alone our main character.