American Fighter

American Fighter is a deceiving title as it's not what you might think from it's name. It's actually a harrowing story of a young man fighting on many different levels. He combats racism in 1981 (not a great time to be Iranian in America, see the Iranian hostage crisis), fighting to save his ailing mother who's stuck in a war torn Iran and of course swinging fisticuffs in the ring. All in all this is a heart wrenching and ultimately heart warming tale with really solid performances. Film veterans Tommy Flanagan and Sean Patrick Flanery really shine while new comers George Kosturos an Bryan Craig knock it out of the park!

I highly recommend checking this gritty, fun throwback action flick with tons of heart.

It was ok. Sort of an 80s movie about something that happened in the 80s. Not quite Bloodsport, but watchable.

I was unfortunate enough to see this a couple months ago and wow, this is just a rehash of every fighter type movie. Avoid watching this if you can. Bad acting, bad directing, bad music. Who funds these movies? Please stop.

I stumble a bit randomly on this movie. As a fighting movie fan i rarely find something made years ago that i have not seen yet so it was a big surprise for me. I just learn while coming here to make the review that this is actually a sequel to another movie call American Wrestler The Wizard.

Honestly if i didn't learn it, i wouldn't had know. The movie pretty much work completely on its own and never made me feel like i had miss a "first part". It seem the cast is almost entirely new outside the main character as well.

Now i have to be honest, this movie does nothing new in the genre in term of story. You seen this type of movie a bunch of time. That said, if like me you enjoy these type of stories, you will certainly do with this movie as well. There are a few parts wich are "expedited" a bit, and the movie could had benefit from an extra 15 to 20 minutes in my opinion, but its not a huge issue either.

The fight scenes are plenty and they are well done. Its more of a gritty realistic kinda style with hard hitting punches and kicks and not a lot of "camera effects" or flashy stuff, but it work very well in the context.

Movie is set in the 80s and beside technology being accurate and a few glimpse of the 80s feel, most of the time you wouldn't even notice too much. Majority of the characters look like current day teens/young adults without the traditional hairstyles of the 80s and once you are in the fight club area, you wouldn't know if not for the fact that nobody hold a cellphone. So the time period didn't played a huge factor for me, but since its a sequel to a movie inspired by a real person, they had to keep with the continuity.

Overall i had a great time with this movie. Its a great surprise to find something from 2019 i had not seen in a genre that i really enjoy.

It's basically a rehash of all those down on your luck, fighting 'literally' your way to the top movies. It's no 'Rocky' and there's nothing new or exciting to set it apart but if you like that sort of movie on a much lower budget it's entertaining enough.