The Art of Self-Defense

Not a Oscar-winning piece, but a very entertaining dark comedy around the trope of the peaceful/wimp character turned badass. Jesse Eisenberg portrays the perfect wimp, and the whole cast is actually pretty good.

"The Art of Self Defense" follows a wimp accountant who is attacked and enlists in a Karate school. Jesse Eisenberg is made to play main role giving the character depth and nuance as he travels an arc of change from quiet, frightened, neurotic accountant to self-assured fighter. Movie, in general, tackles some pretty heavy, socially-relevant topics, most notably male/female masculinity. The film is little bit inconsistent, but the overall morbid, bleak tone keeps it relevant in today's admittedly violent culture. It means also that the film's tone certainly won't work for everyone, because it will polarize audiences, but viewers accustomed to finding laughs in the darkest corners will have a great time.

RATING: 6. Be aware, this movie is not for everyone.

In this black comedy, Jesse Eisenberg is a wimpy office underling who is victimized by a criminal gang and because of his poor combat skills, decides to take up karate to protect himself and to improve his self-image and fighting spirit. He proves surprisingly adept in his training and advances steadily under the watchful eye of a puzzling, intimidating sensai.

Performances here are respectable, but hobbled by a screenplay that is choppy (no pun intended) before it loses luster and veers off to its surprise ending. Eisenberg does his best as a cardboard protagonist, the loser extraordinaire with a thankless job, a small dog, an '80s television set and who seemingly was born to fight absolutely no one. He is upstaged considerably by Alessandro Nivola who gives a formidable, bravado-driven performance as the magnetic sensai, the real life of the film. Imogen Poots is a welcome presence as the strong-willed sole female student. Even with a muddled script, the acting is enough to keep things afloat, just barely.

As long as credibility is not your test, this film could make for weird, passable entertainment. In a very narrow way, it succeeds as a silly diversion, chock full of deadpan humor, ferocious jolts and just enough taste for blood that the squeamish should be forewarned. In the end, however, it goes down as clever, if inconsistent comedy. Not recommended, except to esoteric and casual viewers.

I totally understand if some are not even remotely smitten by how akward and weird this movie is. This may come off as a bit of a Karate Kid/Cobra Kai ripoff or something that wants to take advantage of the fact the show gained so much popularity. But while I didn't do any research on how this came to fruition, I am very confident that this very adult take on Self Defense works even without the other show in mind. Now when I say adult, I mean that this is quite violent and quite graphic with that violence at points. So while there is some male nudity in this, I am not referring to anything sexual regarding the adult part. But that is another thing: While I reckon it is predictable when it comes to where the characters stand or where the story goes (at some point you'll figure it out), it is told with such great affection and such great attention to detail, that if you dig it, you will love it to the core! This really holds up the tone it sets from beginning to the end. Something not all movies are capable of doing. Especially in the strange/weird category. I would have wanted to have watched this in a cinema, but finding this little gem on a streaming plattform isn't that bad either. Not for the faint hearted or the easily offended ... but everyone else should give it a go.

This film tells the story of a man who learns karate for self defense.

The film starts off quite innocent, but soon descends into morbid darkness which I have not expected. It is so dark that I worry it might give karate a bad name! It is disturbing, but engaging as well.