American Warrior

Greetings again from the darkness. The reality of today's world is that some folks aspire to 'go viral' on social media, while others struggle to imagine anything worse. There are those who dream of being famous - even if it's for only a moment in time. Others value anonymity to the point where they can't imagine giving that up. This first feature film from writer-director Gustavo Martin and co-writers Matt Anthony and Vishy Ayyar touches on this very topic. By drawing from Ayyar's real life (he also stars), we see how one of the reluctant types can use unsolicited fame as an advantage ... a means to an end.

The film opens on a brutal MMA fight and then flashes back seven weeks. That's where we find Jai (the film's co-writer Vishwanath 'Vishy' Ayyar) working as a janitor at Marcella's Gym. Jai is a quiet, hard-working man - one whose recent history includes a prison stint. Cell phone video of his actions at a local market goes viral, resulting in Jai getting his 15 minutes (Warhol fame). This motivates him, as a 45-year-old, to train hard for an upcoming fight. His goal is not so much to relive the glory days of his twenty years ago fighting, but rather to re-gain self-respect and that of his estranged family. Gym owner Marcella (Veronica Falcon) agrees to support him in his unlikely comeback.

Jai tracks down Dennis (Danny Trejo), his old trainer and friend. Dennis is skeptical of the goal considering Jai's age and the short timeline, but agrees to help. Complicating matters is the mutual attraction between Jai and Melissa (Taylor Treadwell), as well as Jai's sister working behind the scenes to get him welcomed back into the family. These are developments that Jai needs, yet distractions that keep him from focusing on training - keeping Dennis a bit exasperated.

Stories of redemption are well-worn topics in the movie world, yet we find the character of Jai and his man of few words (and fewer smiles) to be a guy we can root for. Fans of MMA will enjoy the fight scenes and the twist to Jai's opponent, and those who appreciate a second chance for a decent man will also find plenty to like.

Releasing in select city theaters and on-demand streaming platforms by Quiver on 29 Aug 2025.

I caught the premieres in Chicago this past weekend, and all I can say is wow. From feeling like you're in the ring to having your heart strings tugged, through and through, this is an absolute winner of a movie and the heart.

What stands out to me more than anything is, we all have our own underdog story. Moments of letting people down, doing wrong, falling short, not being who or what we want to be... and this story, out of the cage, and even in the cage is so relatable. That's the real thing here, fighter or not, we all have our own fight, our own pasts, and yet we press on, we overcome and we succeed.

This film is a true study of the human condition and highlighting what we're all made of, and the grit that it takes to overcome.

I went in hoping for something fresh but got exactly what you'd expect from this genre. The whole "troubled past to heroic redemption" thing has been done a million times, and this doesn't bring anything new to the table. Danny Trejo basically plays Danny Trejo again, which isn't necessarily bad but feels lazy.

The MMA scenes were decent enough - solid choreography and good production values. What bothered me was how predictable everything felt. You know from minute one exactly where this story's heading. The immigrant angle had potential to add depth, but it mostly just felt like checking boxes rather than genuine storytelling.

The pacing dragged in the middle when they tried to develop the emotional stuff. I found myself more interested during the fight sequences than the character moments, which probably isn't what they were going for.

Is it worth watching? If you're really into MMA movies and don't mind formulaic plots, maybe. But there are way better redemption stories out there. This one plays it too safe and doesn't earn its emotional beats.