Tapped Out

This was a controversial production in 2014, an MMA film out of a country that specializes in bad sequels, Lifetime movies, and every bad X-Mas movie you have ever seen.

It was ambitious for its humble beginnings, casting the usual Canadian unknowns -- the sole exception being Michael Biehn, one of the Godfathers of the Canadian film industry -- and throwing in some cameos of top MMA fighters.

The controversy even spread to the IMDb where, at the time of release, it appeared that the first reviews were front-loaded by first-time-reviewers (reviewers with only 1 review to their name) who could only gape in wonder at the excellence of the film....?

So, on a second viewing, I say look beyond the controversy and, in spite of a few fails here and there, you will find one of the most satisfying MMA films in recent memory, an unusual but oddly comfortable mix of Karate Kid and Death Wish.

Way under-rated by the critics, props should be given for a script which (like my all-time fave, WARRIOR) knows how to build and build and build without ever getting in its own way.

Here is the unvarnished truth -- while everyone loves MMA - duh! -- there are very few films in that genre that this reviewer can recommend.

This is one of them. Catch it if you can.

Review: Story-wise 'Tapped Out' is 'The Karate Kid' meets 'Rocky'; our protagonist Michael Shaw (Cody Hackman) witnesses the murder of his parents as a young boy and becomes (unsurprisingly) a troubled youth. Unlike the Never Back Down films though, Michael is a likable character and although he is angry at the world, it's entirely understandable as he is well fleshed out.

He starts off the movie hanging around with a bad crowd at school and having crazy parties, but then becomes the underdog and rather than being someone you don't care about, he is at heart a man of honour.

One of the little things I noticed was him bowing before a fight and someone says "young people don't want to see karate anymore, they want to see this" *pointing to the cage fighting*.

Cody comes from a martial arts background so when we see him fight, it doesn't look overly-choreographed but believable.

One thing to be prepared for is that it's not constant action, with the first half of the movie focusing on character development, drama and story. The second half of the movie is tournament time and that's when the action really kicks in.

Michael Biehn plays Reggie, the Mr. Miyagi-type mentor of the tale who has his own back-story which I won't go into here. Biehn is always phenomenal on screen and never seems like he's acting; he just has a truth to every character and when watching this, you're not watching an actor, you're watching Reggie.

Martin Kove plays against type as the inspirational Principal Vanhorne who wants to straighten out Michael and send him to Reggie; he doesn't have a very big role but it's great to see him in this type of movie as a good guy.

UFC Fighter Krzysztof Soszynski is the villain of the movie Dominic and he REALLY looks the part; when he's on screen he's pretty damn scary looking and is threatening as Hell. He brings real authenticity to the role and his fight scenes are vicious… and usually short. He's a very memorable villain and may end up being seen as a classic bad guy.

Speaking of the fight scenes, I'm pleased to say that they are shaky cam free with fluid camera work but also not afraid to get up close to the action. We get to see every punch and kick and it isn't watered down; when we see Dominic fighting, he pounds his opponent's faces in and usually leaves them out cold.

There is one reference to 'The Karate Kid' in the movie but nothing cheesy and that's one of the main things I enjoyed about 'Tapped Out'. It manages to be an inspirational tale without being cheesy or having any clunky dialogue. The characters are believable and although the story isn't anything all that new, I found myself enjoying every moment.

There is plenty of humour too in the form of Lou (Daniel Faraldo) who arranges the fights and has some choice lines; when he sees what Michael can do in the ring he turns from cynical to a fan very quickly.

We also get a few awesome training montages which are essential for films like this but in this movie we get to see UFC legend Anderson Silva teach Michael how to properly cage fight and mix up his fighting style. He's only in a few scenes but he has a great career ahead of him as an action star as he has a very likable face and plenty of fighting skills… obviously.

'Tapped Out' is director Allan Ungar's feature début and from this evidence it looks like he is going to have a great career. With a new action movie called 'Gridlocked' on the way, I'm looking forward to seeing what he does next.

Overall, 'Tapped Out' is 'The Karate Kid' for a new generation with a great cast, nicely choreographed fights and an inspirational and entertaining story.

This is my 1st review on IMDb and the reason is to save you two hours! Believe me if you do watch it you can only agree with this review.

Seriously this movie is horrible: Acting is miserable, the plot is very poor and you only see Anderson Silva & Lyoto Machida for a minute. On top of that fights are poorly choreographed and the kid which is really an amateur is pain to watch.

Perhaps one positive touch is the soundtrack but all the rest is rubbish.

So if you really have two hours to waste watch any other movie I am sure it could only be better.

Don't get fooled, if you want to watch a good MMA movie pick Warrior!

Some things are never explained and not every character motivation has to be explained I reckon (whether it's a villain or our main hero doing stuff). The "story" itself is pretty straightforward though and it doesn't take a lot of guessing to know where this is heading and what will happen in the course of it.

Michael Biehn somehow got involved in it and he does a decent job being guardian. Even when he doesn't seem consistent in what he's saying and what he's doing, he still pulls it off. But more important for anyone watching is, if the action is good. I would say it's OK/decent enough. It's not over the top or anything great, but it serves its purpose and will entertain enough if you're willing to oversee the flaws ...

Tapped Out has said to been to be a new take on the Karate Kid type story but with a MMA twist. And Tapped Out was actually pretty enjoyable. Tapped Out has good acting from Cody Hackman, Michael Biehn, and Krzysztof Soszynski. The film was just a little long even though it was quite fun with its awesome and gripping action but also had good characters. The story follows Michael Shaw from when his parents getting carjacked and murdered until he seeks revenge and wants to fight the man that killed his parents. Tapped Out also had some beautiful action and landscape shots. Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida also have a very cool cameo.The characters where well developed and main character Michael has an interesting love interest. The film also has some hilarious jokes here and there. unlike lots of recent films Tapped Out uses practical effects which are always awesome. The film has a great amount of action, and good dialog. The movie has many different genres romance, drama, action and comedy! I would definitely recommend Tapped out!