The Philly Kid (2012)

A former NCAA champion wrestler is paroled after 10 years in prison. Now, to save a friend's life, in a series of cage fights he must agree to do the impossible - lose.

Director:

Jason Connery

Writer:

Adam Mervis

Stars:

Wes Chatham, Devon Sawa, Sarah Butler

Cast

Credited cast:
Wes Chatham	...	Dillon
Devon Sawa	...	Jake
Sarah Butler	...	Amy
Neal McDonough	...	LA Jim
Lucky Johnson	...	Ace
Chris Browning	...	Marks
Adam Mervis	...	Ryan Maygold
Bernard Hocke	...	Lenny
Ava Bogle	...	Allison Kaufman
Eric Scott Woods	...	Spencer
Michael Jai White	...	Arthur Letts
Andrew Sensenig	...	Larry
Rich Clementi	...	Sanchez
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rhonda Floyd Aguillard	...	Fight Spectator
Richard Arwood	...	Uniformed Officer

Storyline

A former NCAA champion wrestler is paroled after 10 years in prison. Now, to save a friend's life, in a series of cage fights he must agree to do the impossible - lose.

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Taglines:

His only way out is getting back in

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 May 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gladiators

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

After Dark Films, Autonomous Films, Fourth Floor Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Take Me Home"
Written By Ian Honeyman and Mark Bates
Performed by Mark Bates
Produced and Mixed by Ian Honeyman

User Reviews

Step into the cage with the Philly Kid

With the explosion of the MMA world there have been more and more films following it but much like every other genre they don't always work. The latest to tackle the genre is the Philly Kid featuring Wes Chatham, Devon Sawa, Neal McDonough, and Michael Jai White. Can this latest fight drama deliver the one two punch is it striving for or will it get knocked down for the count?

Philly Kid follows a former NCAA wrestler just out of jail who is forced into the underground cage fighting scene to save a friend's life. This film doesn't bring anything all that new to the genre, but it is still well crafted enough to be entertaining. The story here is a pretty straight forward formula that has been used countless times, but works to deliver the overall feel they are going for. The performances were all decent enough, but sadly Michael Jai White is barely here. He has such a commanding presence whether he is fighting of just talking that his bits are great, but isn't given anything to do to bring this movie up a notch. Neal McDonough did a great job, but in reality it would have been nice to see him and White switch places as they are both better fit for the other parts. IT was nice to see Devon Sawa who had a huge surge for a while there, then seemingly dropped out of the spotlight for a bit. Chatham did a decent job carrying the film, but just didn't bring anything all that special to the role. The real spotlight here is really the fighting which is well done, but never really pushes the boundaries to give it the stand out action it needed.

Philly Kid is a decent addition to the MMA genre delivering some decent performances and action. With a little more time spent on stepping up the quality of the action it could have been so much more, but unless you are actually into martial arts, then it probably won't be anything you notice because it is well shot and executed. If you're looking for a decent martial arts rental then give Philly Kid a try.