May 6, 2009
This is the second film directed and co-written by New York native Dito Montiel and tells the formulaic tale of a talented fighter discovered by a manager with an eye on the money who propels him into a shallow world of money and greed that he is not ready for.
Set in New York City, the film introduces young street fighter, Shawn (Channing Tatum). Shawn is a talented raw fighter but very naïve, and it is during a street brawl that he is discovered and subsequently manipulated by Harvey (Terrence Howard), a failed street fighter and opportunist who has connections to the world of bare knuckle fighting. Sucked into this rollercoaster world of risking his life to make money, and watching the way Harvey relies on Shawn to get the glory which he never got, the film inevitably hurtles along to the moment when the decision has to be made to know when to stop – or not.
Shawn’s journey sees him embark on a rather lame love affair with a struggling single mum who turns out to be not quite what he thought, but at least gives the audiences the typical love scene between the two characters.
Despite the film revolving around Shawn, the memorable performance of the film is that of Harvey. Acting like a surrogate father/manager/trainer to Shawn, Harvey is trying to relive his lost glories, like a typical pushy parent. We learn that Harvey was once a budding street fighter himself but made a foolish decision that cost him dearly. Howard’s performance as Harvey is outstanding and is the salvation of what otherwise would be a tried and tested colour by numbers street fighting film.
We also learn that Shawn’s father rejected him in favour of another young fighter, although this storyline is not exploited enough, and with the ambiguous ending and loose ends to be tied up, I am sure that Fighting – the Sequel, is not too far round the corner.
I expected to hate this movie and thought it was for boys. My verdict is that it is perfect for a teenage audience, but did have enough depth to keep me interested, mainly due to the Howard’s performance as Harvey. The soundtrack and fight choreography are slick enough to be credible for the teen audience. Fighting is an entertaining bout, but never quite delivers the knockout blow.
Set in New York City, the film introduces young street fighter, Shawn (Channing Tatum). Shawn is a talented raw fighter but very naïve, and it is during a street brawl that he is discovered and subsequently manipulated by Harvey (Terrence Howard), a failed street fighter and opportunist who has connections to the world of bare knuckle fighting. Sucked into this rollercoaster world of risking his life to make money, and watching the way Harvey relies on Shawn to get the glory which he never got, the film inevitably hurtles along to the moment when the decision has to be made to know when to stop – or not.
Shawn’s journey sees him embark on a rather lame love affair with a struggling single mum who turns out to be not quite what he thought, but at least gives the audiences the typical love scene between the two characters.
Despite the film revolving around Shawn, the memorable performance of the film is that of Harvey. Acting like a surrogate father/manager/trainer to Shawn, Harvey is trying to relive his lost glories, like a typical pushy parent. We learn that Harvey was once a budding street fighter himself but made a foolish decision that cost him dearly. Howard’s performance as Harvey is outstanding and is the salvation of what otherwise would be a tried and tested colour by numbers street fighting film.
We also learn that Shawn’s father rejected him in favour of another young fighter, although this storyline is not exploited enough, and with the ambiguous ending and loose ends to be tied up, I am sure that Fighting – the Sequel, is not too far round the corner.
I expected to hate this movie and thought it was for boys. My verdict is that it is perfect for a teenage audience, but did have enough depth to keep me interested, mainly due to the Howard’s performance as Harvey. The soundtrack and fight choreography are slick enough to be credible for the teen audience. Fighting is an entertaining bout, but never quite delivers the knockout blow.