“FISTS OF DYNAMITE”
NOW ON DVD
Starring: Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard, Brian White, Luis Guzman and Zulay Henao
Directed by: Dito Montiel
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense fight sequences, some sexuality and brief strong language/DVD is Unrated
Genre: Action/Drama
By John Delia
From the get go Fighting gets into the hard-hitting plot with some realistic bare-knuckle fistfights. I’m impressed with the movie even on DVD for the acting by Tatum, direction by Montiel and cinematography. If you like movies that have a simple storyline with swift action drama revolving around gut wrenching street fights, then this film should top your card.
The film centers on Shawn MacArthur (Tatum) a mixed martial arts fighter who left his small Alabama town to try to make it in the big city. On one particular day he gets into a fight over some counterfeit goods he is selling and gets noticed by Harvey Boarden (Howard) a fight promoter and scam artist. Seeing that MacArthur has a natural fighter instinct Boarden asks him if he would like to make big money from back room fist fighting. MacArthur agrees and Boarden starts setting up underground fights. But if MacArthur ever hopes to escape the dark world in which he now finds himself, he must face the toughest fight of his life.
I have mixed feelings about the new Channing Tatum film Fighting. On one hand the fighting sequences are very well staged and real looking, while on the other the story line has an unrealistic plot points. It’s the kind of film that you have to watch carefully and pay attention to minor details as most of MacArthur’s background slips by quickly, which had me wondering at times. The same goes for the role of Boarden, as I thought Howard’s performance was shoddy at best, until I realized that he was playing a character that has a depression affliction.
The time line in the film moves along pretty fast as mostly noted by how fast MacArthur heels from his fights and how quickly the romance develops between him and Zulay (Henao). I got the impression that a lot of scenes were cut in the movie so it would not be boring. Maybe you’ll find that this is a good thing. However, I liked Henao’s performance and look forward to seeing her in future projects.
The disc contains a theatrical version and an unrated copy of the film. The only other bonus is the deleted scenes, those that were mentioned in the paragraph above I’m suspecting. Although they add some character build up, I can see why they were snipped. I did like the fact that the film was on DVD however, as I could run back the movie and slow-mo the fight scenes.
The film is rated PG-13 for intense fight sequences, some sexuality and brief strong language so be aware of this before allowing immature children to see the film and become bullies.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A good action film for those who do not shy away from brutal fighting. (3 of 5 Palm Trees)