Reviews & Ratings for
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72 out of 114 people found the following review useful:

Pretty Darn Bad

Author: IndieCredFred from Canada
24 April 2009

As bad as this movie looked, I went into it with an open mind but as I suspected it was pretty bad. The dialogue was the worst part by far; it consists of some combination of mumbling and incoherent slang. The acting is terrible despite Mr. Howard doing his best to try and act his way out of the script. The narrative is scattered and cliché and has no original plot elements. You would figure a movie called "Fighting" would at least be saved by its fight sequences but its not, there are some half decent moments but most of the time you can't really tell what's going on however the final fight wasn't to bad. There are some genuine attempts at emotion throughout but usually they fall flat. There were way to many moments where I laughed but wasn't supposed to, especially the speech given right before the last fight. Overall it's a terribly acted movie with an even worst script.

30 out of 35 people found the following review useful:

Where is Van Damme's "story by" credit?

Author: Nigel McCloud from London, England
26 April 2009

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Jean Claude Van Damme wrote and stared in this movie in 1990 when it was called Lionheart. His version was better.

In the original film - Lyon, played by JCVD, is down on his luck and comes across Joshua, a two-bit hustler/ fight promoter. They team up and make a splash in the underground, no holds barred fight circuit. In the end, Lyon must face Atilla and Joshua bets all of their money on Atilla to win! Lyon famously tells him "wrong bet" and goes on to defeat his foe.

In the new version - Shawn, played by Channing Tattum, is down on his luck and comes across Harvey, a two-bit hustler/ fight promoter. They team up and make a splash in the underground, no holds barred fight circuit. In the end, Shawn must face Evan and Harvey bets all of their money on Evan to win! I won't spoil it and tell you who wins in the new version.

48 out of 71 people found the following review useful:

Fighting leaves you battered, bruised and bored!

Author: the_rattlesnake25 from Sheffield, UK
18 May 2009

Dito Montiel's film has been advertised as the 'Rocky of our generation', however I do believe they were referring to the fifth film in the Rocky franchise. Predictable, boring, tedious, lifeless are just a few words I could use to describe this film, but I really only need to use one; terrible.

Shawn MacArthur (Channing Tatum) is your typical working-class boy who is taken under the wing of an ageing con-man named Harvey (Terrence Howard) and given the opportunity to make his American dream come true by participating in various back-room bare-knuckle fights. Oh, and the stereotypical love-interest in the form Zulay (Zulay Henao) is also thrown into the mix. Now, despite this description describing various films from the last few years (never mind the last few decades), it contains three huge, jaw-shattering constraints: 1) Despite being named Fighting, the film ironically contains very little fighting or brawling in regards to its hundred-minute running time. And when we do get to see some face-bruising action, the Director seems to get incredibly giddy with the camera and what we are left with is some Paul Greengrass jerkiness that allows you to observe very little especially when the camera is thrown into the heart of the action.

2) Terrence Howard puts a little effort into his character and drags out a performance worthy of a film better than this, however Channing Tatum does not follow his lead. His stony expression and Brando-style mumbling is just plain annoying and unconvincing, yet he is the lead protagonist at the forefront of the film, and his performance drags the film down considerably.

3) Finally, Munic and Montiel's script has about as much weight as a feather and as punch as a fighter out-cold on the mat. We learn little about the characters until late into the film when there life stories seem to just be thrown around quickly to fill various plot-holes. While, the majority of the dialogue is just clichéd and cringe-worthy, most notably a scene at the end of the film that precedes the final fight sequence, which can only be described as hilariously idiotic.

Fighting is crime against cinema. It is a film which gives the audience absolutely nothing, yet takes from them their hard-earned cash in the form of their admittance fee. The only reason I can think why this film was distributed to theatres instead of being a straight-to-DVD affair, is down to the influence of having a star like Terrence Howard in the picture. Don't waste your time or money on this abomination.

34 out of 49 people found the following review useful:

Not a knockout !!!

Author: colin_coyne from London
8 May 2009

There seemed to be a positive attitude before the film started – which was given a helping hand by the "star" of the film Channing Tatum (who plays Shawn MacArthur) making a guest appearance before the film started to introduce the movie.

A bit of a poor man's Rocky, with (believe it or not) an even worse story. Delving into the seedy, underground world of bare-knuckle fighting – with no holds barred.

A new kid in town, down on his luck in the big City meets up with and becomes unlikely friends with a less than successful con man / fight promoter and his entourage of misfits and vagabonds. The fights get increasingly intense as each opponent gets bigger and stronger than the last, until the big showdown with a boyhood nemesis.

Meanwhile, as a sub-plot, the up-and-coming fighter tries to woo a club waitress by always turning up whenever she is around … alas, I suppose stalking has the same effect as a bunch of roses to some people today.

This was a poorly directed film, and the characters were pretty wooden, the story was very laboured and moved very slowly.

The redeeming features were some of the fight scenes (that were a bit on the brutal side), and the "comedy" performance of the girlfriend's Mother that kept popping into the room on the most inappropriate of moments! Although the fight sequences may be of interest to some – I would say that many others would find these quite off putting.

The film tries to save itself with some plot twists, but, unfortunately – you could see these punches coming from a long way off.

Channing Tatum in the opening introduction before the film started described the plot line of the movie as being loosely based on "Midnight Cowboy" – but it is a very loose connection both in story, acting ability or finished result – and this film definitely wasn't the winner.

36 out of 56 people found the following review useful:

B-Movie At Best

Author: pimpcj from United States
27 April 2009

It was well made, but clearly not worth seeing in theaters. All in all, besides a number of movies that this resembles (as you can read in the other IMDb comments), it was truly a poor case of storytelling. The dialog was very close to being on the nose allowing for the most predictable storyline and course of events. Best parts were the fighting which was filmed "O.K." and the women, a.k.a. "sex." New York felt very real throughout this movie, but with the American Gangster soundtrack being used repetitively it quickly lost it's realism. Acting was cool, but then again the characters were unbelievable and boring.

I say 4 out of 10. It could have been filmed like clover-field and still received the same rating. If the story would have been more original, then I would have said higher rating.

Oh and the "Antagonist" throughout this storyline made me laugh. My 5 year old nephew could take him down let alone our main character.

21 out of 33 people found the following review useful:

Cool Fighting Movie! Understated and Excellent Cast

Author: luke_morgan from United Kingdom
5 September 2009

Not sure what disposition everyone else was in when watching this movie but it must have been a dark one.

Yes, its a formulaic fighting movie and I can understand that it might rub you up the wrong way but I really liked the minimal insecure way in which the down on their luck main characters Shawn (Channing Tatum) Harvey (Terrence Howard) held themselves acting wise and I thought they established an excellent rapport by the end. The casting overall felt just right.

Neither of them were likable in the beginning and it was this roughness that gave the film more realism. I don't think you can really compare this to Never Back Down which was, like many beat em up movies, more of a glossy cartoon with human actors. 'Fighting' has more of a grime to it, made immersing by excellent cinematography of NYC and cool locations.

I liked the fact that the fight scenes were not an all singing and all dancing over stylised Tonay Jaa affair. Because of this I felt totally absorbed by the 'in the crowd' camera shots; catching different angles. You really felt the fighting was more realistic, as if you've ever been in a fight you'll know that technique can only take you so far- Its really down to mind, heart and of course luck.

Nothing was overstated in this film and I think that might be the reason it has received such bad rating. I don't care that it felt budget and its nice to have an understated fighting movie for once without too many bells and whistles.

23 out of 37 people found the following review useful:

It hurt my head...

Author: tcrich-1 from United States
3 September 2009

I've never in my life felt like my head was going to explode while watching a movie. Throughout the whole film I tried making sense of it all, and finally just came to my senses, it's down right horrible.

Every emotion was misplaced. The dialogue didn't mesh. There was no build up aside from the minor tension between Channing Tatum and Brian J. White.

The movie "cleverly titled" FIGHTING, had not a single worthwhile fight scene in it worth watching. In fact the whole time, I couldn't understand why he was getting praised as a good fighter. It's not even till the very end that you even see a fight where you feel he's got some fighting talent.

I could go into how horrible each actor was, but ultimately decided it wasn't their fault. I'm 100% convinced that the director had no idea how to coach his actors, nor how to write a good script. In fact I'm almost convinced he encouraged them to do horribly.

I felt Brian White did well. And the only other acting that I really could tolerate was the crazy old grandmother. Everything else just seemed like interacting characters were reading from separate scripts.

I used a free promo code to save $1 at RedBox to watch this movie, and I'm still disappointed I didn't get my money's worth.

28 out of 48 people found the following review useful:

Fighting Movie Review from The Massie Twins

Author: GoneWithTheTwins from www.GoneWithTheTwins.com
23 April 2009

Fighting capitalizes on the basic entertainment value derived from audiences' desire to see an underdog rise from the ashes and emerge victorious. Upon closer inspection our protagonist proves not to be much of an underdog, but at least his battles against adversity and increasingly stronger opponents come with several camera tricks and creative sound effects to emphasize a high level of intensity and brutality even without the appropriate amount of bloodletting. Channing Tatum convincingly plays the unrefined and uneducated Southern fighter while Terrence Howard mimics a more iconic hustler, and while the film succeeds in the thrills of ruthless street fighting, it sadly falters in the original story department.

Young Shawn MacArthur (Channing Tatum) is reduced to selling bootlegs on the streets to survive in his newfound home of New York City. But his situation quickly changes when he meets hustler and con man Harvey Boarden (Terrence Howard), who introduces him to the dangerous and highly profitable world of underground street fighting. As he rapidly rises to the top, Shawn's unwavering code of honor and his troubled past will find him in the match of his life - and a fight for it.

Terrence Howard will likely receive plenty of praise for his role as a good-intentioned hustler, even though it almost completely duplicates Dustin Hoffman's famous turn as "Ratso" Rizzo. And as he helps the down-on-his-luck, fish-out-of-water counterfeiter succeed in underground fighting (initially swindling him, then offering a place to stay), it's difficult not to compare this film's plot to Midnight Cowboy with an anti-Rocky lead (complete with a very brief training montage on a subway), minus the aforementioned films' flawless execution.

When Shawn is most in need of money, he still insists upon his code of honor and refuses to throw a match. This is utterly ridiculous considering his reason for fighting and the fact that the fights themselves are "anything goes." Where's the honor in that? Apparently the trophy for integrity outweighs the desire for food and shelter, especially for someone content with living like a derelict.

At least there's humor found in desperation, and comic relief in the quagmire of hustling taking place. The laughably bad supporting villains and perfectly cliché main rival don't help Fighting with the sense of distinction so desperately needed after swallowing the simplicity of the title. And when the first two fights establish that skills are pointless in the face of an unruly free-for-all, it's even more difficult to care whether or not Shawn sticks to his principles, wins the girl, gains respect amongst his friends, or defeats his nemesis - all formulaically in that order.

- The Massie Twins

13 out of 19 people found the following review useful:

Okay at best but this has no connection to reality at all

Author: dbborroughs from Glen Cove, New York
3 May 2009

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

In a New York that is almost like the real thing, some people, who are sort of like the real thing get involved in underground fighting. There should be a large title at the start of this film that says "any connection between what happens and reality is purely a weird coincidence-frankly you'd be better off winning the lottery". Watching this was a trip since I knew many of the locations but even though they were real places none of it felt real. They go to a diner I've eaten at a couple dozen times and it felt fake. Its strange. The plot which has a white kid hustling bootleg goods outside of Radio City(?) meeting another hustler, (Terrence Howard in a really good performance as a motor mouth) never seems real. Who are these people? Its as if the writer never met any one from the South or Chicago (or any other place) and gave them hometowns based upon a whim. The fights are good, but the moves that get us to them make no sense. I can't believe that there is this huge underground fight industry, certainly not like this. The film seems internally consistent for its own weird world but thats about it. I never believed a word of it, worse I never really cared because I never believed. I have no idea how to rate this. If you buy it you'll like it, if you don't you're going to feel like you're trapped on an an alien planet thats very much like our own but ever so slightly different.

18 out of 30 people found the following review useful:

Bad... very bad

Author: filmsploitation from United Kingdom
20 August 2009

Fighting Review by Phil Hobden First there was Never Back Down, then Never Surrender and now Fighting… all three proving that it's pretty easy to take one of the worlds fastest growing and exciting sports and make it dull as dishwater on screen. The uninspiring storyline of a street kid fighting for money has been done more times Paris Hilton and the flat direction does nothing to help it along. The fights are dull and pretty poorly put together and the whole film lacks scope… I've seen no budget Indie actioners with more style than this. Lead Channing Tatum isn't bad (if a little wet) but displays charisma that might see him be more than a pretty boy down the line but conversely Terrence Howardjust doesn't work at all as mentor/promoter Harvey. In short the dull Fighting is one to avoid.

Film 1.5/5 Action 1/5 If you liked this try: Underground; Never Back Down; Karate Kid

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