Arena, Les Gladiateurs de la Mort

There is little original in the story line. Picture Death Race or Gamer with the protagonist fighting to the death every week instead of racing a car or in a fps mock up with real people. Furthermore, if any of the social commentary on where our society is headed based on the viewer's ever growing appetite for realism and violence is meant to be novel, it barely registers with this viewer. However, adding Samuel Jackson as the puppet master for these spectacles certainly makes even a retread seem re-energized.   Kellan Lutz gives a solid enough performance as the sympathetic protagonist finding himself in the do or die scenario and Johnny Messner is a more than adequate secondary villain. Mixed with some eye candy and an arc (with a nice twist) that creates sufficient  anticipation as to how it's all going to end results in an above average viewing experience.

Well, you've seen it all before, it's not a new concept but it's still pretty interesting. I sat through the whole movie without any problems at all. Sure, some things were pretty stupid like that an infamous mass murderer wouldn't have more security or that you cannot possibly survive the amount beating the main character receives.

I liked the movie but unfortunately it was too average. The acting is nothing to complain about but the characters are pretty boring. Samuel L. Jackson gives us a typical villain and Kellan Lutz gives us the usual hero, nothing special on that front.

I liked Daniel Dae Kim's character but he had a too small a role. It had every better if they had developed his character more then I would care a lot more about the people who died. There are lots of people who die but I did not think I really cared it was unfortunate and something that they could have worked more with.

This is by no means comparable to Hunger Games/BR, but give it a shot if you just want some pretty OK entertainment.

If you're craving a lot gladiatorial gore with a side order of nude babes, this one suits those baser parts of your nature. Samuel L. Jackson overacts as the villain (not nearly so amusingly evil as in The Kingsmen) to offset the degree to which Kellan Lutz underplays his heroics. The plot is pure paint-by-numbers.

And now for the exception. At about 25 minutes, there's a quick, flawlessly executed Easter egg nod to a much better film, Office Space. Fans of that one will love that brief flash of wit that's nowhere to be found in the rest of the script.

"What's the one thing we all have in common?...Death." After a tragic accident leaves his wife dead, David (Lutz) is picked to take part in a "game". This game involves two men fighting to the death. When David agrees to do it in exchange for his freedom, the creator (Jackson) has other plans. My theory of movies lately are that there are no original ideas anymore. Recently it seems like it's either a remake, sequel, comic book or a rehash of a movie that has been done. Counting this movie, 13 and Freerunner there are now 4 movies released recently that steal from "Death Race". While I did see the others first it may have skewed my judgment but this was much slower then I was expecting. The plot is...take a guy with no family, force him to fight and kill for his freedom while the evil creator watches. Very predictable and is really only worth watching for the fighting and nudity. On the other hand, why else would you watch this anyway? Overall, not a bad movie, but the plot is starting to get old and over used. That makes it lose the excitement and impact. Because of un-originality I give it a B-.

Would I watch again? - Not this one...but again I'm sure next month another version will come out.

*Also try - Gamer & Death Race 1 & 2

Kellan Lutz was amazing in this and of course Mr. Jackson is always flawless. I really hope they can do a part 2 or somehow franchise on the film and keep the original characters and keep the story flowing. I'm typically not into fighting films, or anything of this nature but I'm a big fan of the Twilight cast so I've been watching their other films in between releases of Breaking Dawn and I stumbled across this one. It really surprised me! Not recommended for children of course. There is a ton of violence, I'd compare the gore to say, 300. The action is great and their is a surprising twist in the end. It really did take me by surprise. I hope you all get as good of a thrill from this as I did!