Meurtrie

The most amazing thing about Bruised is the physical fitness of Halle Berry. And it is even more amazing when you realize that she's playing a person almost half her age.

The flip side is that the movie focuses on blood, sweat and tears the main protagonist is investing to fulfill her dream. This would be fine if Bruised was imagined as a female MMA version of Rocky. But it wasn't.

In fact, the gallery of picturesque side characters remains largely unexplored. And what is merely hinted at seemed to be interesting enough to considerable enrich the movie.

In terms of IMDb stars, Bruised is in the upper half of the range.

The real fight is among the pros. The Hollywood pros. While indies come and go, Oscar-Winner and A-Lister Berry made the unforgivable error of not only directing, but also casting herself, and even choosing a non-traditional topic. For a woman, that is. Which is why most of the trade reviews talk more about her choices than the film itself. Which is a shame because the film is competent, professional, holds the attention, and has first-rate acting. Last time I looked, that is what films were supposed to be about? ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Halle berry deserves credit for the emotional and physical input towards the film. She did a great job.

I went into this film not expecting much but it turned out to be better then expected.

That's all folks!..

Halle Berry taking 2nd billing has nothing to do with the color of her skin or white women getting top billing. It has to do with financing. No matter what the race or gender of a movie star is, some will take 2nd billing to reduce the budget of a movie so the movie can get made for less money so it makes a profit. Sometimes a movie star will take no salary to get financing secured for a movie so it gets made. 🙂

I wasn't going to see this but after a friend told me it was decent I watched it. For a director debut, it's good. I might watch it again. It did deal with a few topics that were hit or miss but overall, it was worth watching ince.