Ji zhan

Dont waste your time watching this garbage movie... You will repent watching this. Worst direction... Worst action... No action at all.. amateur hour... These reviews here must be paid... Doesn't even deserve a single... I was bored outta my mind watching this piece of ***t... This review is coming from a guy who loves action movies.. n loves movies like... Rocky series... Undisputed series... Redbelt... Warrior... Raging phoenix... Chocolate.... blood and bone.. never back down..

Well that was the most pleasant surprise I've had watching a movie in a long time.

I had no idea what to expect in this MMA film. The trailer was fairly terrible but the reviews were great. Who to believe? Usually, it's the other way around - great trailer and terrible reviews. But I have a fascination with anything that sniffs of martial arts and bit the bullet.

Charming, funny, real life situations, nail biting fights (no idea if any of this stuff is actually possible but it looked good,) and a super cast.

The first five minutes had me a bit confused and then the movie became solid and was totally enjoyable.

It really makes me wonder if the Chinese think you can train to be an MMA fighter in two months, but this is the same country that thinks kung fu fighters can fly, so maybe that's the logic behind it. The surrounding stories were interesting and maybe if the guy was training to play competitive Solitaire, it would have been believable. But the whole time I was watching it, I was distracted by the thought of real MMA fighters who train their entire lives for what this movie makes a mockery of.

From the director who brought you Beast Stalker and The Stool Pigeon, Unbeatable is an enjoyable, entertaining, heartfelt character-driven action sports drama film about facing fear and conquering one's hardships in life.

While the film offers nothing new for the genre and there's striking similarities here and there with other films such as 'Rocky', 'Never Back Down', 'A Fighter's Blues', it's the overall great cast performances, the very heart and soul of the film that alleviates it from being a mediocre action film. The film emphasized drama over the fight scenes and the occasional humour managed to provide some relief as the film takes time to provide more character development and fight scenes throughout the film.

Both Eddie Peng and Nick Cheung have shown their utmost dedication from their physical and combat training to fit the roles for the fight scenes in the film. Their mentor-student relationship and camaraderie is also clearly depicted throughout the film as well. The training montage shown throughout the film such as tractor tire lifting, numerous locking, striking and grappling techniques, boxing, weight training were all wonderfully shot.

However, the MMA fight scenes were poorly executed as the director used close-up, quick zoom in-out camera techniques to shot them. Moreover, the portrayal of MMA as a brutal and most likely fatal combat sport is very misleading, and the money gambling shown in the film makes it even worst. The belly-to-back suplex move shown in the film is dangerous and would potentially kill your opponent, normally it's considered as an illegal move and shouldn't be used in a tournament. The MMA rules are not properly shown or explained in the film. Some of the plot points are not further clarified and resolved by the end of the film.

Nevertheless, the action does provide some intense moments, some sense of urgency required in an action film to the audience and keeps the film constantly engaging despite a running time of nearly 2 hours. A recommended watch.

If you are an MMA or MA fan, you probably already have a list of favourites. Films like Bloodsport, Kiss of the Dragon, Undefeated 2.

Most well-known films in this category feature an escalating series of fights. The fights are usually the backbone of the film, so to speak.

A few entries try to build a solid backstory, and some even go so far as to make the backstory more important than the fight scenes.

In this last category I would include Blood and Bone, one of my all time faves, and highly recommended.

Unbeatable is in this category. It is mainly backstory with only occasional action. However where it differs from top contenders in this genre is that the fighting and the backstory-arc do not seem connected, they seem at odds. So, no matter how interesting the backstory is (and it is) and no matter how simpatico the characters are (and they are), this film never quite decides just where it is going or just how it is going to get there.

It is nonetheless very well written, very well acted and very well directed. And if you stick it through you will get a "feel good" life lesson as good as any in modern cinema.

Recommended.