Directed by Dito Montiel. Starring: Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard, Zulay Henao, Luis Guzman, Roger Guenveur Smith, Brian White.Action/Drama.Synopsis: A young man from Alabama lands in New York City looking to make money any way he can and gets into the underworld of bare knuckle fighting though the urging of a struggling street hustler.
This one wasn't too bad. I don't know that its marketing is exactly spot on because I think the average person sizing this one up would expect to get something really graphic and cutting edge when it comes to the violence and fisticuffs ww will see onscreen and, while there is plenty of fighting action, its not particularly cutting edge or brutally violent by today's standards.
But, I would call Fighting a decent flick if one goes into it with realistic expectations. Sean MacArthur (Channing Tatum) is a young man with a bit of a past up in NYC from Birmingham, AL. He's determined to make some money, and starts out being a street vendor. As these things will, his occupation soon finds him in fisticuffs in the streets and he acquits himself well, catching the eye of Harvey (Terrence Howard Hustle & Flow) who recruits Sean into the world of bare kncukle fighting which, apparently, pays big money.
Of course, we need an ogre to be the antagonist to our protagonist and he comes in the form of Evan (Brian White) a legitimate fighter who has no use for Harvey or Sean, as it seems they have somewhat of a history with each other back in Birmigham...as luck would have it.
The love interest is Zulay (Zulay Henao), whom Sean meets both in his short attempt at street sales and again when he embarks on his fighting career. She is a waitress in a club who also has a history with...Harvey. Of course, the sparks begin to fly and the relationship heats up, leading to Sean's ultimate bout with Evan.
Look, a lot about the premise of this flick is a little hard to buy, not least of which is the amount of money a fighter can make duking it out bare knuckle in clubs with 50 people watching. We really have to suspend disbelief a little too much to buy how quickly and neatly the plot comes together, not to mention guys with ties to one another who just happen to meet up in a city of 8 million people.
But, I said it wasn't too bad and I meant it, the acting is pretty good, especially given the lack of depth given to the characters by the script. Some may think Tatum is trying to hard to be Brando with his slow, low toned delivery of his lines, but I liked him in the role, I did believe him as the Alabama boy in NYC, even if the premise was a little far fetched.Howard is a talented actor and really uplifts the story with his performance as Harvey.
Zulay Henao, in addition to being incredibly beautiful, jumps off the screen and really gives a good performance, there is definite chemistry between her and Tatum. When you have supporting actors like Guzman (Traffic) and Smith (Malcom X) its going to raise your flick up a notch and that is what happens here as well.
I don't think there is anything special about thias flick, but I do think those who watch it will probably be entertained for a couple of hours, as well as enjou some pretty good acting performances. Not the best thing you can contemplate, but not too bad, either, so why not watch it and form your own opinion?
That's what I did.
This one wasn't too bad. I don't know that its marketing is exactly spot on because I think the average person sizing this one up would expect to get something really graphic and cutting edge when it comes to the violence and fisticuffs ww will see onscreen and, while there is plenty of fighting action, its not particularly cutting edge or brutally violent by today's standards.
But, I would call Fighting a decent flick if one goes into it with realistic expectations. Sean MacArthur (Channing Tatum) is a young man with a bit of a past up in NYC from Birmingham, AL. He's determined to make some money, and starts out being a street vendor. As these things will, his occupation soon finds him in fisticuffs in the streets and he acquits himself well, catching the eye of Harvey (Terrence Howard Hustle & Flow) who recruits Sean into the world of bare kncukle fighting which, apparently, pays big money.
Of course, we need an ogre to be the antagonist to our protagonist and he comes in the form of Evan (Brian White) a legitimate fighter who has no use for Harvey or Sean, as it seems they have somewhat of a history with each other back in Birmigham...as luck would have it.
The love interest is Zulay (Zulay Henao), whom Sean meets both in his short attempt at street sales and again when he embarks on his fighting career. She is a waitress in a club who also has a history with...Harvey. Of course, the sparks begin to fly and the relationship heats up, leading to Sean's ultimate bout with Evan.
Look, a lot about the premise of this flick is a little hard to buy, not least of which is the amount of money a fighter can make duking it out bare knuckle in clubs with 50 people watching. We really have to suspend disbelief a little too much to buy how quickly and neatly the plot comes together, not to mention guys with ties to one another who just happen to meet up in a city of 8 million people.
But, I said it wasn't too bad and I meant it, the acting is pretty good, especially given the lack of depth given to the characters by the script. Some may think Tatum is trying to hard to be Brando with his slow, low toned delivery of his lines, but I liked him in the role, I did believe him as the Alabama boy in NYC, even if the premise was a little far fetched.Howard is a talented actor and really uplifts the story with his performance as Harvey.
Zulay Henao, in addition to being incredibly beautiful, jumps off the screen and really gives a good performance, there is definite chemistry between her and Tatum. When you have supporting actors like Guzman (Traffic) and Smith (Malcom X) its going to raise your flick up a notch and that is what happens here as well.
I don't think there is anything special about thias flick, but I do think those who watch it will probably be entertained for a couple of hours, as well as enjou some pretty good acting performances. Not the best thing you can contemplate, but not too bad, either, so why not watch it and form your own opinion?
That's what I did.
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