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Dito Montiel, 2009: Is This Film Worth “Fighting” For?
Fresh-faced Hollywood star Channing Tatum is the homeless street hustler who is spotted by Terrence Howard’s talent scout and introduced to a New York nightlife of one-on-one combat where money is not the only route to evil.
Channing Tatum is the homeless street trader who catches the eye of independent businessman Harvey, played by Terrence Howard, whilst trying to sell Harry Potter books, amongst other things. The crowd around him starts buzzing and the young man is forced to protect himself and his property from street hustlers trying to jack him. He does well in his first test and is later recruited by Mr. Howard to make money with him on an independent New York fighting circuit which takes in the Bronx, Brooklyn and, of course, Manhattan.
Channing Tatum taking time out on the set of ‘Fighting’ Image via Wikipedia
Little else to say about this one really, it’s standard fare, clichéd and fluffy but with a little bit of bite in a couple of the fight scenes. My overall feeling though is that the film is undercooked and lacking real character development. For instance it would have been nice to know a little more about Harvey’s young crew, amusing as they were at times, they remain virtually unknown to the audience. Plus, though touched upon, Harvey’s history with his two rivals is also glossed over and would have benefited from a flashback or two to explain that relationship or lack thereof. The direction is decent with the film being let down a script which just isn’t strong enough. Also, for someone in this kind of game it would have been nice to see him train and condition himself a bit more with most of his time being taken up by his pursuit of a waitress whose eye he strove to catch. Apparently likened to Rocky (1976) in some critical circles, Fighting lacks the emotional depths and desperation to which that script took its audience. Could work better as a videogame.
New York City. Image via Wikipedia
4/10
