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Reviews Counted:117
Fresh:48
Rotten:69
Average Rating:5/10
Consensus: Though Fighting has a likable lead performer, and the fight scenes are impressive, the paper-thin plot ultimately unravels.
Australian Theatrical Release:
Aug 27, 2009 Wide
US Box Office: $23,036,320
Synopsis: In director Dito Montiel’s 2009 drama, FIGHTING, Channing Tatum (G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA) portrays Shawn, a young man from the South trying to make a living on the streets of New York City.... [More]
Starring: Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard, Zulay Henao, Brian White
Director: Dito Montiel
There’s something interesting in this film and that’s the reality it brings to its subject matter. Scenes seem real. And that’s a lot to do with the performances. They’re all terrific. But there’s the reality of New York too, there’s grit here.
Top CriticDespite the formulaic script and cringe worthy moments, the performances from the leads and creation of the subculture are well executed by director Montiel.
Top CriticEntertaining and engaging, Fighting has action, romance and a buddy element in a tight, professional package
Top Criticthe protagonist happens to be played by an actor who looks more like a fashion model than tough street fighter
Fighting consistently feels like a patchwork of better movies without their excitement or rooting interest in character.
The only thing you'll be 'fighting' is your lagging attention span.
Montiel and his collaborators can pat themselves on the back for elevating empty material just a bit, but this is disposable cinema, designed to hit and run after an opening weekend. [Blu-ray]
Fighting is a testosterone-driven movie full of blood, beautiful women, big muscles and enough plot to be a good movie.
All of this, however, is plainly just a veneer on a solidly generic punch-up movie, and it thus becomes a drag. A more cartoonish approach would probably have been more fun.
While everything is highly predictable, the film is well designed and bone-crushingly violent fights are ably staged in Brooklyn.
Quite how that will go down with his testosterone-fuelled, spotty audience, I have no idea.
The problem is that, even with some very strong acting, we're never quite convinced to believe either the relationships or situations.
The tell-it-as-it-is title hardly indicates anything out of the ordinary, but this bare-knuckle boxing flick is put together with more love than you’d expect.
Like a poor man's Fight Club, Fighting is hardly a heavyweight. But with an enjoyable performance from Terrence Howard, the film is no disaster.
There are no surprises here – this is a story that has been told before, many times. But Tatum gives us a glimpse of the charisma that could make him a star.
Top CriticYou couldn't call Fighting great - at its core it is simply too cruddy - but Montiel has managed to inject it with the smell and feel of the streets that he clearly once knew well.
Top CriticMontiel’s film lands on its feet with a gripping, will-he-or-won’t-he third act – it’s worth the wait.
The film is lifted slightly by the performances of Howard and Tatum, even though the latter’s mumbling delivery is more Stallone than De Niro. But even Rocky’s narrative had a redemptive arc.
Fighting has nothing to say about men willing to pummel each other senseless. Montiel's second feature is a facile, unchallenging watch, floating like a butterfly but stinging a bit like one, too.
If you want to see a shirtless hunk knocking the shit out of fierce fighters, who better to do it than gorgeous hottie Channing Tatum.
April 23, 2009:
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