10-08-2012, 12:40 PM
I just saw this and will align more on the Greg side of the fence. Yes, it was full of cliches, yet it sucked me in and got me emotionally involved and my heart pounding. I felt cheap and dirty for it (giving me flashbacks of an old whore with a tic at the end of the bar), but hey, what can I say? The movie was a matter of balancing various aspects: acting, MMA realism, gore and brutality, story versus action. The big winners were the critics, who raved about the acting. The big losers were probably hardcore MMA fans, who would have preferred wall-to-wall cage-fights rather than so many emotional scenes and so much back story.
BTW, I thought the injury to the Tom Hardy character was credible, as it wasn't a broken arm but a dislocated shoulder. Barring shock from the pain, I think he could have continued as he did, especially with all those buckets of adrenalin coursing through his veins (thinned, I suppose, by some steroids -- my goodness, it never ceases to amaze me what some actors will do for their craft! He looked pumped as big as Brock Lesnar!)
Things I would have liked: 1) Seeing Nolte actually train the one son. There was absolutely none of that. It seemed a huge oversight. Then again, the director had to juggle a lot of characters and subplots. 2) More Fred-Astaireish fight choreography. "Back away from the fighters," I kept wanting to say. Show what the heck they're doing. Admittedly, the two actors likely busted their butts making it look as good as it was. But I've been spoiled by the likes of Jackie and Jet (and so have a lot of other martial arts aficionados).
The relationship between father and two sons was ... well, a little messed up. I don't think I've ever seen one so utterly damaged. It was like the Titanic sitting on the ocean bottom. Nolte the father would try to inflate the prow and bring it towards the surface, but the two sons kept armbarring the anchor. (This analogy is brought to you by TapouT, official clothing line of clothelines and other MMA techniques.) Okay, I'm wandering all over the place. Must be finished.
All in all, much better than it probably should have been.
BTW, I thought the injury to the Tom Hardy character was credible, as it wasn't a broken arm but a dislocated shoulder. Barring shock from the pain, I think he could have continued as he did, especially with all those buckets of adrenalin coursing through his veins (thinned, I suppose, by some steroids -- my goodness, it never ceases to amaze me what some actors will do for their craft! He looked pumped as big as Brock Lesnar!)
Things I would have liked: 1) Seeing Nolte actually train the one son. There was absolutely none of that. It seemed a huge oversight. Then again, the director had to juggle a lot of characters and subplots. 2) More Fred-Astaireish fight choreography. "Back away from the fighters," I kept wanting to say. Show what the heck they're doing. Admittedly, the two actors likely busted their butts making it look as good as it was. But I've been spoiled by the likes of Jackie and Jet (and so have a lot of other martial arts aficionados).
The relationship between father and two sons was ... well, a little messed up. I don't think I've ever seen one so utterly damaged. It was like the Titanic sitting on the ocean bottom. Nolte the father would try to inflate the prow and bring it towards the surface, but the two sons kept armbarring the anchor. (This analogy is brought to you by TapouT, official clothing line of clothelines and other MMA techniques.) Okay, I'm wandering all over the place. Must be finished.
All in all, much better than it probably should have been.