It's basically a rehash of all those down on your luck, fighting 'literally' your way to the top movies. It's no 'Rocky' and there's nothing new or exciting to set it apart but if you like that sort of movie on a much lower budget it's entertaining enough.
19 Reviews
This movie was too short, that's why everyone is complaining
thenextrushmagazine28 July 2021
There were some unnecessary token parts in the film that try to tie it to the first movie, but with so many new characters introduced onto the canvas, they just needed to focus on them. American Wrestler needed almost 2 hours to do that with theirs. There are some great moments here if its an easy series of fight potn you are after. You must watch the first film to appreciate this one more.
Supporting actor Bryan Craig is well established in drama, hitting the notes required when he becomes collateral damage in his friend's twelvth hour gamble. He works well with George Thomas / Korsuros in the setup of the forced-to-fight underdog story. Plenty of tightly choreographed sequences that are natural and fluid and great to watch, definitely the way to go as this story was less character driven unlike its predecessor which was a nice change.
Supporting actor Bryan Craig is well established in drama, hitting the notes required when he becomes collateral damage in his friend's twelvth hour gamble. He works well with George Thomas / Korsuros in the setup of the forced-to-fight underdog story. Plenty of tightly choreographed sequences that are natural and fluid and great to watch, definitely the way to go as this story was less character driven unlike its predecessor which was a nice change.
uffs
ops-5253520 July 2020
Well, i think this is a predescessor for a forthcoming blockbuster on the silverscreen calender, and if your a lover of shadowboxing and real fistfights with quick knockouts this might be one for you. for the rest of you feinsmackers around the world , this is not a blockbuster at all.
its persian ali, or alexander the great, who is into wrestling, that does an exhange student year in california,usa at the time of the iranian revolution and the iran/iraq war starts, he tries to get his family in safety, but they are stopped and father ,a high rank military, are killed, and mum is put in house arrest. ali then has to pay bribes to a local iranian boss to try to get his mum to safety, and that the groundpillar of the plot.
its is a film that tries its best, and they do have some engaging and quite realistic underground fist fights, but the audience are the same in all fight scenes,and some of the school scenes and that gives a low budget impression. also a film that tries to emotional, with a little bit of love here and there, but its overcliched and does not wave welcome to the ladies of the audience.
how things turns out in the end, i shall not tell, its not a boucket' of roses and it has a great lack of blood and gore, allthough there are piles of testosterone in the crowd, and a world record breaking beard growth on one of the mains, from gillette to hairy corsette in a blink of an eye. the grumpy old man, not having the fight genre as favourite, had to view this because of flannerhy, impressed, no but its a recommend in the end
its persian ali, or alexander the great, who is into wrestling, that does an exhange student year in california,usa at the time of the iranian revolution and the iran/iraq war starts, he tries to get his family in safety, but they are stopped and father ,a high rank military, are killed, and mum is put in house arrest. ali then has to pay bribes to a local iranian boss to try to get his mum to safety, and that the groundpillar of the plot.
its is a film that tries its best, and they do have some engaging and quite realistic underground fist fights, but the audience are the same in all fight scenes,and some of the school scenes and that gives a low budget impression. also a film that tries to emotional, with a little bit of love here and there, but its overcliched and does not wave welcome to the ladies of the audience.
how things turns out in the end, i shall not tell, its not a boucket' of roses and it has a great lack of blood and gore, allthough there are piles of testosterone in the crowd, and a world record breaking beard growth on one of the mains, from gillette to hairy corsette in a blink of an eye. the grumpy old man, not having the fight genre as favourite, had to view this because of flannerhy, impressed, no but its a recommend in the end
Unimaginative Garbage
williambrooks-248846 April 2021
I was unfortunate enough to see this a couple months ago and wow, this is just a rehash of every fighter type movie. Avoid watching this if you can. Bad acting, bad directing, bad music. Who funds these movies? Please stop.
Fun - better than expected
awoland12 June 2021
Don't expect a masterpiece! It's a fighter movie set in the 80s & it's just like an 80s fighter movie should be.
It was entertaining, it keeps your attention, it's got good fight scenes, it's completely cheesy. It's nostalgic as hell :-).
Enjoyable & worth the price of admission :-)
It was entertaining, it keeps your attention, it's got good fight scenes, it's completely cheesy. It's nostalgic as hell :-).
Enjoyable & worth the price of admission :-)
how to NOT do a sequel and mess up an entire genre
A_Different_Drummer25 July 2020
1. Not many of these Karate Kid knockoffs being made anymore. This film shows why.
2. Plot holes? Ali arrives at college to wrestle on a full ride. And the wrestling team is never seen again.
3. The Persian connection which had gravitas in the original is all wind and air.
4. Some of the above could have been redeemed by a proper finale but no we didn't even get that.
2. Plot holes? Ali arrives at college to wrestle on a full ride. And the wrestling team is never seen again.
3. The Persian connection which had gravitas in the original is all wind and air.
4. Some of the above could have been redeemed by a proper finale but no we didn't even get that.
Supposed to be a true story.
sheepshearer20 July 2020
Another worst action film! Full of boring conversation, and annoying overuse scene! Not recommended!
kwenchow21 May 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This film start with two men fighting, and the introduction of the main character "Ali" scene! As turnout, this film is about Ali need to contend in the world of underground fighting, to eventually have money to save his mother with cancer! Entire film full of boring conversation, and super annoying overuse scene! Such as, overuse of the dreaming scene, overuse of the drinking scene, overuse of the eating scene, overuse of the driving scene, overuse of the calling names scene, overuse of the arguing scene, overuse of the walking scene, overuse of the training scene, overuse of the cheering from the crowd scene, overuse of the collecting bet scene, overuse of the kissing scene, and overuse of the flirting scene! Make the film unwatchable! All the fighting scene have blood at certain point, but overall portray by sideways, portray by long angle, have slow motion, repeat same move constantly, and messy! Make the film frustrated to watch! At the end, Ali winning the rematch with Bas, and saving his mother! Still have a post credit scene! Ali, and his girlfriend "Heidi" watching Star Wars together! That's it! Another disappointed film!
A familiar and predictable tale but with heart
jimbo-53-18651129 August 2021
When college student Ali learns that he needs to amass a large amount of money in a short space of time in order to pay to fly his mother from Iran to the US he is persuaded by his college friend Ryan to participate in a high-stakes illegal fight club. Although initially successful, Ali soon finds himself having to up the ante in order to raise the necessary cash and pits himself against Muay Thai kick-boxing champion Bas. However, he can't do this alone and gets help from alcoholic ex-fighter Duke...
Unlike a lot of films of this nature our protagonist isn't merely doing this to 'prove himself' or to get 'revenge' as is the case in most of these films. He's actually raising the money for his mother's benefit; this selfless act automatically endeared me to the protagonist and gave me a reason to care. Ali's friend also takes a beating trying to look out for his friend showing that a deep friendship existed between the 2 men.
Much of the film is predictable and it's fair to say that you won't see anything here that you haven't seen before (then again who seriously watches films like this to be surprised???). You watch them for their intensity, the thrill of the fight and to watch the underdog overcome his opposition through a combination of brawn, brains and training and that's exactly what happens here. Director Shaun Piccinino keeps things nice and simple here; the dialogue is mostly straight-laced and as a whole the narrative is focused meaning that the film never goes off on a tangent and becomes dull. There's also a certain intensity to many of the fight scenes that kept me hooked.
With so many good fight related films it is a rather crowded genre and in all honesty American Fighter is a long way from being the best that the genre has to offer, but the idea that Ali isn't just fighting for himself does make it slightly different and it's the heart-warming angle to the story that makes it worth seeing.
Unlike a lot of films of this nature our protagonist isn't merely doing this to 'prove himself' or to get 'revenge' as is the case in most of these films. He's actually raising the money for his mother's benefit; this selfless act automatically endeared me to the protagonist and gave me a reason to care. Ali's friend also takes a beating trying to look out for his friend showing that a deep friendship existed between the 2 men.
Much of the film is predictable and it's fair to say that you won't see anything here that you haven't seen before (then again who seriously watches films like this to be surprised???). You watch them for their intensity, the thrill of the fight and to watch the underdog overcome his opposition through a combination of brawn, brains and training and that's exactly what happens here. Director Shaun Piccinino keeps things nice and simple here; the dialogue is mostly straight-laced and as a whole the narrative is focused meaning that the film never goes off on a tangent and becomes dull. There's also a certain intensity to many of the fight scenes that kept me hooked.
With so many good fight related films it is a rather crowded genre and in all honesty American Fighter is a long way from being the best that the genre has to offer, but the idea that Ali isn't just fighting for himself does make it slightly different and it's the heart-warming angle to the story that makes it worth seeing.
Bland and toothless
skykeepers29 March 2022
Much better than I expected
chairhead_8224 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
With good pacing, likable characters, a good soundtrack, and (spoiler alert!) a happy ending, this movie was much better than I would have thought.
It somehow managed to feel nostalgic and 80s yet also modern, but without feeling anachronistic.
It also kept me interested the entire time, I highly recommend to anyone looking for a feel-good action flick.
Nostalgic Fight Movie with Heart
walkerboe20 July 2020
American Fighter is a deceiving title as it's not what you might think from it's name. It's actually a harrowing story of a young man fighting on many different levels. He combats racism in 1981 (not a great time to be Iranian in America, see the Iranian hostage crisis), fighting to save his ailing mother who's stuck in a war torn Iran and of course swinging fisticuffs in the ring. All in all this is a heart wrenching and ultimately heart warming tale with really solid performances. Film veterans Tommy Flanagan and Sean Patrick Flanery really shine while new comers George Kosturos an Bryan Craig knock it out of the park!
I highly recommend checking this gritty, fun throwback action flick with tons of heart.
I highly recommend checking this gritty, fun throwback action flick with tons of heart.
Nostalgia, Fights and realism make American Fighter a great watch!
editor-8047122 July 2020
Shaun Paul Piccinino directs American Fighter and you can tell from the fight scenes that Piccinino (said Peach-ah-nino) has a vast amount of experience in the stunt business. The film's cinematography doesn't blow you away, but what the director does, is choose to go with a realistic approach to the fights.
Gone is the blood and gore that has become a staple of the genre; we don't get any dramatic slow-motion punches and heads swing around with sweat spinning off. We get a rawness and fast-paced energy in each fight that helps keep the narrative at the centre of the film, while still satisfying the fight fans needs.
The choice to go with the gritty rather than glitzy was a bold choice but one that was well made and gave the film a realism. Being a movie set in the 80s the use of the training and fight montages fits more snuggly than it does in today's movies and the choices of homage to Rocky and some other 80s classics make this fun to watch.
Gone is the blood and gore that has become a staple of the genre; we don't get any dramatic slow-motion punches and heads swing around with sweat spinning off. We get a rawness and fast-paced energy in each fight that helps keep the narrative at the centre of the film, while still satisfying the fight fans needs.
The choice to go with the gritty rather than glitzy was a bold choice but one that was well made and gave the film a realism. Being a movie set in the 80s the use of the training and fight montages fits more snuggly than it does in today's movies and the choices of homage to Rocky and some other 80s classics make this fun to watch.
Definitely recommend!
zahadi3 April 2021
Fun fighting movie
donumdei24 May 2021
Great looking actors doing a decent low-rent fighting film.
LeatherCajun13 June 2021
The forced-to-fight-in-underground-fighting plot is SOOOOO overdone. There must be some other way to plot a fight movie.
In this case, the actors are great looking and almost half the runtime of the film is spent watching fighting or in an underground fight club. I wish there were fresh aspects to the film, but if you like mindless punch um up 80s style cheese, this is reasonably good.
In this case, the actors are great looking and almost half the runtime of the film is spent watching fighting or in an underground fight club. I wish there were fresh aspects to the film, but if you like mindless punch um up 80s style cheese, this is reasonably good.
Solid fight movie
destroyerwod24 November 2023
I stumble a bit randomly on this movie. As a fighting movie fan i rarely find something made years ago that i have not seen yet so it was a big surprise for me. I just learn while coming here to make the review that this is actually a sequel to another movie call American Wrestler The Wizard.
Honestly if i didn't learn it, i wouldn't had know. The movie pretty much work completely on its own and never made me feel like i had miss a "first part". It seem the cast is almost entirely new outside the main character as well.
Now i have to be honest, this movie does nothing new in the genre in term of story. You seen this type of movie a bunch of time. That said, if like me you enjoy these type of stories, you will certainly do with this movie as well. There are a few parts wich are "expedited" a bit, and the movie could had benefit from an extra 15 to 20 minutes in my opinion, but its not a huge issue either.
The fight scenes are plenty and they are well done. Its more of a gritty realistic kinda style with hard hitting punches and kicks and not a lot of "camera effects" or flashy stuff, but it work very well in the context.
Movie is set in the 80s and beside technology being accurate and a few glimpse of the 80s feel, most of the time you wouldn't even notice too much. Majority of the characters look like current day teens/young adults without the traditional hairstyles of the 80s and once you are in the fight club area, you wouldn't know if not for the fact that nobody hold a cellphone. So the time period didn't played a huge factor for me, but since its a sequel to a movie inspired by a real person, they had to keep with the continuity.
Overall i had a great time with this movie. Its a great surprise to find something from 2019 i had not seen in a genre that i really enjoy.
Honestly if i didn't learn it, i wouldn't had know. The movie pretty much work completely on its own and never made me feel like i had miss a "first part". It seem the cast is almost entirely new outside the main character as well.
Now i have to be honest, this movie does nothing new in the genre in term of story. You seen this type of movie a bunch of time. That said, if like me you enjoy these type of stories, you will certainly do with this movie as well. There are a few parts wich are "expedited" a bit, and the movie could had benefit from an extra 15 to 20 minutes in my opinion, but its not a huge issue either.
The fight scenes are plenty and they are well done. Its more of a gritty realistic kinda style with hard hitting punches and kicks and not a lot of "camera effects" or flashy stuff, but it work very well in the context.
Movie is set in the 80s and beside technology being accurate and a few glimpse of the 80s feel, most of the time you wouldn't even notice too much. Majority of the characters look like current day teens/young adults without the traditional hairstyles of the 80s and once you are in the fight club area, you wouldn't know if not for the fact that nobody hold a cellphone. So the time period didn't played a huge factor for me, but since its a sequel to a movie inspired by a real person, they had to keep with the continuity.
Overall i had a great time with this movie. Its a great surprise to find something from 2019 i had not seen in a genre that i really enjoy.
A Good Movie Despite Being A Familiar Yarn
zardoz-1314 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Sometimes, the most interesting character in a movie is the villain. You cannot take your eyes off Tommy Flanagan in the predictable but entertaining feel-good movie "American Fighter" as the shady underground fight promoter. He is as crooked as a dog's hind leg, and only those people who look after our hero's interests can keep him in line. Flanagan looks every inch a villain with his facial scars and his Van Dyke beard wreathing his chin. He acquired those distinctive scars before he embarked on his acting career when two hooligans slashed his face outside a nightclub where he was working as a disc jockey. Flanagan has parlayed a film career out of those scars. He is best known for his roles in "Braveheart" (1995), "Face/Off" (1997), "Gladiator" (2000), and "Sin City" (2005) as well as in all 92 episodes of the biker FX-TV series "Sons of Anarchy" (2008-2014). While Flanagan towers above everybody else in the cast, George Kosturos delivers a sturdy performance as the beleaguered protagonist. Mind you, "American Fighter" resorts to every cliché you've ever seen in a fight movie as it aspires to emulate Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky" movies.
Writer & director Shaun Paul Piccinino's "American Fighter" arrives two years after its belated 2019 release date as a sequel to Alex Ranarivelo's high school underdog sports saga "American Wrestler: The Wizard" (2016), with Greek actor George Kosturos reprising his role as the heroic Iranian teen Alidad Garahasnaloo Jahani. Jahani's parents smuggled him out of their war-torn homeland during the hostage crisis in 1980 after Islamic radicals overthrew the dreaded Shah and took hostages from the American Embassy. Jahani found refuge with an uncle in the tiny California town of Petaluma. Otherwise, he would have been doomed to an early death clearing minefields for the military because the army felt him unfit for duty. Now, Ali is in college and awaiting the arrival of his parents from Iran. At the airport, he learns the heartbreaking news that gunmen pulled his father off the plane before it left Iran and shot him in the head execution-style. Afterward, they arrested his mother. Ali's parents were coming to America so his mom (Salome Azizi) could be treated for cancer. Ali learns all this first-hand from the pilot who explains their absence.
Ali learns from a fellow countryman that getting his mom out of Iran will cost $30 thousand. The trouble is he lacks that amount of money, and his poor mother will surely die if he doesn't rescue her soon enough. Moreover, according to his contact, he must get her out soon before the tense situation in Iran worsens. When this tragedy occurs, Ali is attending Northeastern California University on a wrestling scholarship. Ali's roommate Ryan Caulder (newcomer Brian Craig) suggests he enter underground bare-knuckled boxing where rules are ignored and only the strong survive. Further, he can amass the cash quickly without paying taxes on it. Ryan introduces Ali to a Scotsman named McClellan, and our hero clobbers every opponent until the Scotsman pits him against an invincible adversary, Bas (Eddie Davenport of "Gangster Squad"), whose forte is MMA kickboxing. Sadly, beaten to a pulp, Ali loses everything, but he has nowhere to turn to raise that amount of money as quickly. Now, our naive protagonist realizes McClellan has suckered him.
A besotted bare-knuckled boxer, Duke (Sean Patrick Flanery of "Born A Champion"), who serves as McClellan's ringside nurse, hates the evil Scotsman for stringing Ali along and decides to train him for the inevitable rematch with Bas. Duke is an injured ex-pugilist who has seen and done it all. He puts our hero through a grueling regimen before he turns Ali loose on the MMA fighter for the rematch. Flanery makes a charismatic trainer and manages to whip the Persian youth into shape. Nevertheless, Duke doesn't trust the conniving McClellan and neither do Ali's contacts who have arranged to smuggle his mom out of Iran. Predictably, you know Ali cannot lose, but Piccinino and co-writer Carl Morris take it down to the ropes. A disposable romantic subplot that has Ali dating a white female college student, Heidi (Allison Paige of "The Wedding Party"), pads out this gritty, low-budget, 98-minute fisticuffs that warranted an R-rating for mixed martial arts violence, boozing, and racial insults. Although it doesn't rank as a knock-out, "American Fighter" packs enough emotional clout to counterpose its clichés.
Writer & director Shaun Paul Piccinino's "American Fighter" arrives two years after its belated 2019 release date as a sequel to Alex Ranarivelo's high school underdog sports saga "American Wrestler: The Wizard" (2016), with Greek actor George Kosturos reprising his role as the heroic Iranian teen Alidad Garahasnaloo Jahani. Jahani's parents smuggled him out of their war-torn homeland during the hostage crisis in 1980 after Islamic radicals overthrew the dreaded Shah and took hostages from the American Embassy. Jahani found refuge with an uncle in the tiny California town of Petaluma. Otherwise, he would have been doomed to an early death clearing minefields for the military because the army felt him unfit for duty. Now, Ali is in college and awaiting the arrival of his parents from Iran. At the airport, he learns the heartbreaking news that gunmen pulled his father off the plane before it left Iran and shot him in the head execution-style. Afterward, they arrested his mother. Ali's parents were coming to America so his mom (Salome Azizi) could be treated for cancer. Ali learns all this first-hand from the pilot who explains their absence.
Ali learns from a fellow countryman that getting his mom out of Iran will cost $30 thousand. The trouble is he lacks that amount of money, and his poor mother will surely die if he doesn't rescue her soon enough. Moreover, according to his contact, he must get her out soon before the tense situation in Iran worsens. When this tragedy occurs, Ali is attending Northeastern California University on a wrestling scholarship. Ali's roommate Ryan Caulder (newcomer Brian Craig) suggests he enter underground bare-knuckled boxing where rules are ignored and only the strong survive. Further, he can amass the cash quickly without paying taxes on it. Ryan introduces Ali to a Scotsman named McClellan, and our hero clobbers every opponent until the Scotsman pits him against an invincible adversary, Bas (Eddie Davenport of "Gangster Squad"), whose forte is MMA kickboxing. Sadly, beaten to a pulp, Ali loses everything, but he has nowhere to turn to raise that amount of money as quickly. Now, our naive protagonist realizes McClellan has suckered him.
A besotted bare-knuckled boxer, Duke (Sean Patrick Flanery of "Born A Champion"), who serves as McClellan's ringside nurse, hates the evil Scotsman for stringing Ali along and decides to train him for the inevitable rematch with Bas. Duke is an injured ex-pugilist who has seen and done it all. He puts our hero through a grueling regimen before he turns Ali loose on the MMA fighter for the rematch. Flanery makes a charismatic trainer and manages to whip the Persian youth into shape. Nevertheless, Duke doesn't trust the conniving McClellan and neither do Ali's contacts who have arranged to smuggle his mom out of Iran. Predictably, you know Ali cannot lose, but Piccinino and co-writer Carl Morris take it down to the ropes. A disposable romantic subplot that has Ali dating a white female college student, Heidi (Allison Paige of "The Wedding Party"), pads out this gritty, low-budget, 98-minute fisticuffs that warranted an R-rating for mixed martial arts violence, boozing, and racial insults. Although it doesn't rank as a knock-out, "American Fighter" packs enough emotional clout to counterpose its clichés.
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