Do you have anything more substantive to say than that? Haha not much of a review: "Overall, I liked it." I'll probably check it out this weekend. I heard that you shouldnt go in really expecting an mma or jiujitsu movie though, otherwise you'll be a little disappointed.
There goes my film critic career. Actually I do have a lot to say on it, but I didn't want to spoil it if no one else had seen it yet. Most of my comments won't really make too much sense unless other people have seen the movie too, so I just wanted to throw it out there. The theater seemed to be mostly filled with casual BJJ/MMA fans. They apparently knew enough to say "Hey, John Machado was in this! Which guy was he again?" when they saw the credits at the end. However, I guess they didn't know enough to recognize the fact that John Machado was the fucking main evil villain in the giant final battle climax that they had just watched 5 minutes ago. They definitely recognized Randy Couture from TUF though.
I just got back from watching it, and the first half was better than I expected, but then it took a hetarded turn for the worst. Overall I thought it was absolutely ridiculous, and I definitely didn't like it. PLEASE SEE IRON MAN INSTEAD, WHICH WAS FUCKING AWESOME!
The plot turns at the end were both predictable.. yet so poorly articulated that they made no sense. The directing, acting, dialog were all good.. but too much of the story just didn't work for me.
The plot was easily the weakest part of the film. Even in the beginning it was kind of iffy, and at the end it was just ridiculous. However, the movie still worked for me because I cared nothing for the plot. Usually in David Mamet movies there are lots of elaborate unbelievable plot twists, so I pretty much expected the same thing here. To me, it was a just way to put the characters in situations so the acting and dialog could come out. I liked the way the main character was played. He was interesting to me. In a lot of ways, that is pretty much what the entire movie is about, since the plot is silly and he is really the only developed character. How did you feel about the portrayal of BJJ? I liked the realistic techniques, but the main character's attitude was definitely typical TMA through and through. Not necessarily bad TMA like a McDojo, but definitely a TMA attitude. There is a lot of "respect your sensei" vibe and laconic philosophical lessons that you just wouldn't find in even in the most traditional BJJ academy. I mean he berates his brown belt for tapping to an arm triangle, hates competition because it's not realistic enough, and eventually his student commits seppuku to protect the "honor of the school." It made for an entertaining movie and an interesting message, but I've never seen a BJJ school that operated with that sort of philosophy.
I was contemplating seeing this movie just cause i wasnt sure if it was going to be accurate or not. Im glad i read this thread first cause i wouldnt want to waste my time or money.
Haven't seen it yet. I heard Dan Insonto played Helio Gracie. This is the second time he played a Brazilian in a move with a Machado! How does this movie compare with "Throwdown?"
I saw the movie last week when it premiered in LA and NY only with Professor John Machado and some of the guys from the academy. I liked the film, and I'd go as far as to say that it was an anti-MMA movie. Interesting story: In order to better prepare for his role, Rodrigo Santoro decided to research BJJ, and ended up contacting Rorion Gracie to get an abridged history lesson of the sport. When Rorion put on his salesman cap and gave off that promoter vibe, Rodrigo found the person he wanted to emulate in his role as fight promoter/unsavory character.
Worst movie of the year. The last 10 minutes had me shaking my head. Basically the movie starts out with an OK premise but then gets so nonsensical and anti-MMA you think Ashida Kim wrote it. At the end, everyone agreed our money would be better spent seeing Iron Man (the truth being, everyone in the group minus 1 had already seen it). Or better yet, end the movie with that douchebag jiu jitsu instructor getting blasted by Robert Downey Jr.
It was a better movie than I thought it was going to be. I guess I am comparing Red Belt to never back down.
dont lynch me guys but i was more entertained by never back down hahah the movie is just ridiculous. the characters arent believable. i mean cmon its one thing to be dedicated to ur school but to commit suicide to not dishonor it? this movie isnt old school japan its supposed to be modern day bjj. and the part where he gets the red belt in the end??? that was just the icing on the fuckin cake! So by beating another black belt in an unsactioned bjj brawl he gets to be the grandmaster of the entire bjj system... RIGHT
yeah horrible movie. i didnt expect it to be as bad, because a couple of guys in the gym said it was pretty good. i just shook my head at them. i think never back down would have been better because atleast it had some hot chicks in it.
wait wait wait- does the guy actually slit his belly open or was the term seppeku just substituted for suicide? And yes, Never Back Down was just Fast and the Furious for our subculture, no need to take it seriously, just sit back, switch off higher reasoning functions and enjoy
Agreed this actually was a REALLY REALLY bad movie its not even worth the time to download off the internet. I need to go see ironman
