Vício Perfeito

Watched the movie, and Enjoyed it. It is a good movie from various aspects... ... such as directing, acting, cinema-photographing, atmosphere, the ambiance of the gym-s and the fights, the training, the movements, and the devotion of the young actors for conveying the characters.

When reading the actors background, you don't notice any martial arts experience there, but... they obviously trained much, and well, for their roles in that movie making. Precise, direct, economic movement fighting.

And kudos for the director for her courage in that MMA direction. She deserves it. The director did not prolong the fights for the sake of attracting "fight oriented" audience. But retained the focus on the story.

The movie as story telling, is not perfect, but it is believable and flowing. As the phrase goes... "kurz und scharf" (= "brief and sharp" = ~ "straight and to the point").

That movie's name, and subsequently its "description" here and elsewhere... are misleading and not fit with its contents. Pity. It might draw 'wrong' viewers to it. I wish the description would be changed...

Usually I refrain from writing reviews here, but prefer to be reading them. But now... as this movie is still fresh in the arena... :-) and I see only one review ...which missed entirely the whole point of that movie making (and pulls to misleading directions...), I thought to do something about it... also, at times, I look at the movie and its fights from a different perspective, as been dealing with various martial arts (mainly Budo Taijutsu) for over 46 years, (as part of "way of life" although dealing with visual arts, design and architecture as my mainstream).

So. In short, watch and enjoy.

I was really looking forward to this movie adaptation, as the book is actually quite good. However, the first strike against this film is the fact that it has its female lead narrating, and giving a play-by-play of every single thing as it happens. The viewer should be able to intuit the feelings of the actor based on their performance ,not hear juvenile inner monologues about how situations have made them react. The false bravado she displays doesn't exactly lend credibility to the movie, or her role in it. Ross Butler is the only person in this entire production that doesn't over act or make you under value him as an actor. It was OK, but it could've been so much better. Perhaps a different lead actress, one who didn't constantly pull faces,would've made all the difference .

It was really enjoyable to see an Asian male lead play a strong, sexy, masculine and romantic role. Rare and really wonderful. Kiana Madiera and Ross Butler have great chemistry together and really sold both the mixed martial arts (MMA) training and the romance.

Sienna is an MMA trainer working out of the gym if a famous former MMA fighter and surrogate father figure, Julian. While training clients she attends school to get her business degree to eventually partner with Julian in the gym. Things seem to be on track, until she finds out Jax, their best client who is also her boyfriend, is sleeping with her teenage sister Beth. Desperate to find a cheep place to stay, her friend steers her to a room in a basement apartment and Kayden.

Kayden ends up being an MMA fighter in the underground illegal fights and a big winner until Jax shows up on the scene. Sienna eventually becomes both his roommate and trainer. Sienna is also realizing how toxic her and Jax's relationship really was...how he gaslighted her and prevented her from pursuing her own goals. Training Kayden, Sienna is hoping to get some revenge on Jax.

Testosterone heavy MMA story with an equally tough girl and a heavy message about girls being able to do it on their own. There is an equally heavy message about women being valued for more than just their looks...ie they can take a face punch in a fight.

This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoyed it. I am a hardcore romantic and I think this will appeal to other romantics out there. It has the added benefit of really showcasing a physically fit and strong Asian male (something that is rare in the Western film industry).

Sometimes a film tries a bit too hard - Castille Landon can definitely direct, she has some good moves up her sleeve and the fight scenes are well crafted.

Boxing movies are not the most common idea so this one at least has an interesting angle.

Execution is a bit of a miss.

Voice over in film can be sometimes unpleasant. This is an example of it not helped by Kiana Madeira who simply can't act and lacks personality. Her voice is monotone so the voice over from her is boring. The character is interesting, the performance not so much.

Matthew Noszka isn't that far off with his acting either but he is incredibly, absolutely, amazingly GORGEOUS! Plus he doesn't have to do much, so it's not that noticeable. He does the bad boy well.

That leaves us with Ross Butler who by far is the best performer of the bunch. He rises above the material and gives it his shot. He is HOT too, but has the acting chops to back it up.

The music soundtrack is a bit annoying too.

There's a dream scene though which is hotter than a lot of movies of recent years.

Stronger execution, a more enthusiastic lead and focus would have helped.

We can assume the intentions of the director, actors, and such was meant for a romantic action movie involving R rated scripting with multiple sëx scenes (no chemistry though), physical violence (their version of fighting and MMA or whatever), and a soundtrack....

I gave the movie chances to redeem itself, and it...is....not worth watching unless you simply want to admire some actors, have a LOL-time by indulging in drinks +more. It seems to fullfill the modern checklist for wattpad readers in the general genre.

The opening sequence has Sienna, the main character's narrative and a quick summary of who she is, what she does, and the objective of the film: *Spoiler Jax ain't shït*

It's cringe throughout the film and acting.

Is it intentional to fit the script/genre? The leads lacked the necessary chemistry to make it an effective film.....unfortunately the side characters as well (sorry to drag y'all into this, granted everyone did their best at acting!) The overall combination did nothing for the movie.

The sister's immediate reaction in that scene: flat.

The movie appears rushed, as quick to produce and it falls in the category of movies that should be...in the drafts.

Did anyone take the time to review the clips? Were there test shots, any rehearsals and auditions between the cast? Or is it simply blind cast-type based on the facts of being a B-list actor in the industry with good looks?

Please devote time, money and energy to better people and ideas, stories that capture the audience -

In short, a waste of time, must have been a nice work-out routine and regime! #GoFighting!