10-11-2012, 09:48 AM
It's the Family-Friendly Feel-Good MMA flick! By Family-Friendly, I mean no ring girls.
It's formulaic and predictable, but the cast chemistry works well enough and Kevin James, who I usually detest, turns in a decent performance. Once you get past the absurd notion that you can get to the Octagon in just one semester (and it's a little disturbing as a message as we don't want kids to start jumping in the cage so unprepared), it hits all the marks it aims for. This is not an ambitious film. The fights are done well enough, in broad strokes so even the most naive audience can follow it, and the bloodiness is minimized. So bring the kiddies! Just like Warrior was all about TapouT, this is all about UFC. It reminds me of how Vegas tries to market to kids.
Bas Rutten has great comic timing. I can see him as a real star beyond being just a retired fighter. One scene really got me laughing, harder than I've laughed at a movie in a long time. That alone was worth the price of admission (which was nothing but making the time, as this was a press screener).
No sword fights. Surprisingly, this didn't need them.
P.S. Salma was on Letterman last night: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.cbs.com/shows/late_show/video/2289593681/the-late-show-10-10-2012">http://www.cbs.com/shows/late_show/vide ... 10-10-2012</a><!-- m -->
It's formulaic and predictable, but the cast chemistry works well enough and Kevin James, who I usually detest, turns in a decent performance. Once you get past the absurd notion that you can get to the Octagon in just one semester (and it's a little disturbing as a message as we don't want kids to start jumping in the cage so unprepared), it hits all the marks it aims for. This is not an ambitious film. The fights are done well enough, in broad strokes so even the most naive audience can follow it, and the bloodiness is minimized. So bring the kiddies! Just like Warrior was all about TapouT, this is all about UFC. It reminds me of how Vegas tries to market to kids.
Bas Rutten has great comic timing. I can see him as a real star beyond being just a retired fighter. One scene really got me laughing, harder than I've laughed at a movie in a long time. That alone was worth the price of admission (which was nothing but making the time, as this was a press screener).
No sword fights. Surprisingly, this didn't need them.
P.S. Salma was on Letterman last night: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.cbs.com/shows/late_show/video/2289593681/the-late-show-10-10-2012">http://www.cbs.com/shows/late_show/vide ... 10-10-2012</a><!-- m -->
Shadow boxing the apocalypse