Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor, who's really came into his own in the last few years) is a Jujitsu trainer who's trying to keep honor, and stand his ground, keeping his values intact even though circumstances seem to be conspiring against him in David Mamet's newest film. The film revolves around Mixed martial arts, but if you watch it hoping for an action packed extravaganza, you'll be sorely disappointed. While it does have a few (very few) rock solid fight scenes, this film aims higher and generally succeeds as a absorbing, gripping character study about morality replete with typically great dialog courtesy of Mamet. Their are some scenes that tend to stretch credibility (especially the ending), but for the most part the film succeeds admirably and I enjoyed it immensely.
My Grade: B+
DVD Extras: Commentary with David Mamet & Randy Couture; a 19 minute behind the scenes featurette; Inside mixed martial arts; Q&A with Mamet; an interview with Dana white; fighter profiles; the magic of Cyril Takayama featurette; theatrical trailer for this film; corporate schilling for Blu-ray; and trailers for "Married Life", "Standard Operating Procedure", "the Wackness", "Baghead", "the children of Huang Shi", "When did you last see your father?", "Brick Lane", "the Counterfeiters", "the Band's Visit", "Cj7", "Persepolis", "the art of war 2", & "Felon"
My Grade: B+
DVD Extras: Commentary with David Mamet & Randy Couture; a 19 minute behind the scenes featurette; Inside mixed martial arts; Q&A with Mamet; an interview with Dana white; fighter profiles; the magic of Cyril Takayama featurette; theatrical trailer for this film; corporate schilling for Blu-ray; and trailers for "Married Life", "Standard Operating Procedure", "the Wackness", "Baghead", "the children of Huang Shi", "When did you last see your father?", "Brick Lane", "the Counterfeiters", "the Band's Visit", "Cj7", "Persepolis", "the art of war 2", & "Felon"